Exclusive Autosport Release:
Canadian team assembling strong rookie line-up for 2018 East Coast schedules
SASKATOON, SK (March 29, 2018) – As the reigning F1600 Super Series and F1600 Canada (formerly Formula Tour 1600) champions, Exclusive Autosport is extremely motivated to get back on track to defend their titles in 2018. The Canadian team is planning to run four Australian-built Spectrum 014 F1600 cars in all three of the country’s programs, including the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship, the renamed F1600 Canada program, and the combined four-race Formula 1600 Super Series, which features the two biggest events in both programs. The team is pleased to announce top Canadian kart racer Kellen Ritter will compete in his first full season of car racing with Exclusive Autosport this year (2018).
“It is great to officially welcome Kellen to the Exclusive Autosport program,” enthused Michael Duncalfe, Team Principal. “Kellen ran with us last year at Circuit Mont Tremblant for the final weekend of the Formula Tour 1600 Championship. He performed very well with three top-five finishes, including one podium. Through the off-season, we put together an extensive testing program for Kellen to prepare him for the upcoming F1600 season in Canada. I have no doubt that Kellen will continue to grow and develop as a driver over the coming months and that he will be challenging at the front of the field from the drop of the green flag.”
Ritter comes to Exclusive Autosport with an impressive karting resume, having won the opportunity to represent his country on two occasions at the prestigious Rotax Grand Finals. These successes put the 17-year-old into international competition for Team Canada in 2016 and 2017, taking him to Sarno, Italy and Portimao, Spain. In addition, at the end of the 2017 season, Ritter capped off his full-time karting career as the #8 ranked driver in North America in the eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings. Kellen tested the open-wheel waters at the Formula Tour 1600 finale last fall at Le Circuit Mont Tremblant and impressed in the weekend’s tripleheader, finishing all three races in the top-five. Racing against the series veterans and the full-season Exclusive Autosport team drivers, Ritter scored a strong third-place finish in the second race to highlight his debut weekend.
“I think starting off my car career with Exclusive Autosport this year was the best choice I could have made,” commented Ritter, who hails from North Vancouver, British Columbia. “I truly believe that with the team’s expertise and my driving ability, we’ll be able to achieve great things this season. With driving the same circuits a few times over in each championship, learning the tracks and the limit of the cars will be a lot easier. That said, we’re also competing on tracks like the Canadian GP circuit in Montreal, so getting only one practice / qualifying session before we race will be a challenge for the driver’s like me who haven’t driven the track yet. I’m excited to get the season started.”
Among the three programs that Exclusive Autosport will run this year, two of them will award tickets for the lucrative Mazda Road to Indy $200,000 Scholarship Shootout at the end of the season. The Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Series and the Formula 1600 Canada Supported by Toyo Tires Canada will each send their champions to the Shootout for a chance to win a season of USF2000 racing.