While some of the 150 competitors may have been disappointed when the 2008 Barrie Grand Prix race was relocated from Lakeshore Drive in Barrie to the Innisfil Indy Karting Track last weekend due to ongoing construction, that wasn’t the case for everyone.

“This is one of my favourite tracks,” said 12-year-old Alex Covello, pointing to the two near-hairpin corners on the 0.755-km track. Covello has been racing for more than four years, and Innisfil is his home club.

“We always try to create a track where there’re technical corners,” said Tina Isaac, the series administrator, adding that the track they put together for the Grand Prix was their most difficult.

There were only a couple of areas where drivers could easily pass, and drivers “loved it.”

Because the Lakeshore race is a street race, it usually attracts drivers from Quebec and the United States, but even with the relocation, many of the drivers still attended.

“We all missed having the Barrie event,” said Isaac, “It’s a totally different atmosphere.” But despite the relocation, she says, the weekend was perfect. “We’re really, really happy. Exhausted but happy.”

Close to 200 officials and volunteers worked to make the event a success, including track repairs and painting prior to the event.

Covello races in the Junior Rotax division and with 20 cars in each race, space can be limited.

According to Covello, that’s what he watches out for. He’s flipped over once before in a race and doesn’t want to do it again.

While the junior races can be tight, it’s in the senior races where things get really close.

Michael Glaze of Tottenham placed second in the Senior Honda race on Saturday, competing against 30 other go-karts on the track.

“Stay out of trouble,” he said, when asked about his race strategy. “Especially in senior, where everyone is really close in time.”

The Grand Prix is a Regional race, with the best drivers from all the clubs competing. In the Senior Honda race, the top 10 competitors finished within a 10th-of a second.

Because Innisfil is such a tight track, racers reach speeds of 100 km/h on the straightaways, which for go-karting is relatively slow. On a bigger track, like Shannonville, drivers can reach up to 170-180 km/h.

When asked what he likes about the sport, Glaze simply says, “Everything.” Competitors usually arrive on Friday and stay until Sunday, and it’s as much the social aspect that he likes as the racing, though that can cause problems.

“Sometimes it makes it harder (knowing his competitors),” he said, “'cause I don’t want to take them out.”

One of the biggest challenges of the sport is the heat, which comes from the combination of protective suits and the sun; but this weekend, racers had something other than temperature to consider.

“Five laps to go in the final race (on Sunday) it started to hail,” said Isaac, “They raced through the hail.”

Some racers began the race with dry tires, with others using rain tires.  

“The couple (drivers) on dry tires did really well until the hail, then the ones with rain tires caught up,” said Isaac, “It makes for exciting races.”

The fifth event of the Grand Prix Series was also scheduled to be at Barrie’s Waterfront. Its new location is yet to be determined.