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Last weekend, a go-karting phenom from Lumsden, Sask., found himself holding the Canada Final Title.
The Max Karting Group Canada Final near Edmonton was a three-day tournament, and the young driver stayed in the top three all weekend, earning him an invitation to represent Team Canada.
Nine-year-old Jack Klym will be going to the Rotax Grand Finals in Bahrain in November.
“It felt overwhelming and unreal,” said Klym. “It felt like a dream, and everybody after was just congratulating me.… I got the ticket to Bahrain, and it was just a really fun weekend.”
Bahrain International Karting Circuit will host 400 drivers hailing from 60 nations to compete across eight categories. Klym is competing in the Micro Max division, where he will go up against the best racers in the world from seven to 10 years old.
“You’re going really fast and you’re in and out of people all the time. I thought it was gonna be easy at the start … because they looked kind of slow, but actually in reality they were actually pretty fast.”
Klym started his racing career three years ago at South Sask. Kart Club just northeast of Regina.
“We were doing dirt bikes before at the same location and we spotted go kart, and we just thought it was a lot cooler and safer,” said Klym.
“So we tried that for a couple days and we liked it. So we turned out to be go karters. My dad did it for a bit then once I started beating him he just quit.”
Klym has had many trainers on his path to success, one of whom was Scott Campbell. He’s a Canadian Motorsports Hall of Famer who has been to the world go-karting championships 12 times, and took home the trophy in 2010.
“I actually haven’t had a chance to talk to him since he got the tickets,” said Campbell.
“My personal advice to everybody in the very first time they go is just go for the experience, have fun, have no expectations, because that’s the way you’re going to get the most out of it.”
Klym will be the first Saskatchewan representative to compete on the world stage since 2018.
WATCH | Sask. kart racer named to Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame:
Scott Campbell joined Saskatoon Morning to talk about his induction to the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame and what racing has means to him and Saskatchewan.