Thomas Nepveu and his Coy Motorsport Team beat adversity at ROK Vegas event

Thomas Nepveu and his Coy Motorsport team raced in their next-to-last event of the 2021 kart season driving a Senior ROK class machine in the ROK Vegas event on a totally new track for them and the whole field, the Planet Hollywood/Paris/Bally's hotel lots.

Thomas Nepveu and his team worked through a long five-day event, showing up with a quick kart and then having to repair the machine after two crashes that had a negative impact on his results in qualifying and in the four Heat Races that determined the grid position for the 25-lap Final on Sunday. The young driver regained his speed after each repair, enough to pass an incredible 59 karts, including the Final race which he finished in 11^th position after another stirring drive through the pack from 26^th place on the grid.

Super Driving by Thomas Nepveu

Thomas Nepveu is not really satisfied with the results of the weekend, affected as the team was by the two incidents that effectively cost him a good position at the start of the Final and a chance at a top 5 finish at the end. 

"I was disappointed Saturday with our results with the Final still to be run on Sunday. We prepared a kart that was good enough for a top-5 finish and have not yet been able to take full advantage of it in the preliminaries due to incidents with other competitors and an off-track excursion that is my fault. These incidents left us starting two of the four Heat races (that determine the grid position for the Final) from the tail end of the grid (35^th and 38^th) and needed to move up to the front pack in heavy traffic. In the Final, I anticipate getting a good start and gaining several positions on the first and second laps, before the pack in front of me settles down starts running in a tight single file, making passing them cleanly extremely difficult." 

"Today (Sunday) we started the 25-lap Final from 26^th place on the grid as determined by the results of the four Heat races. I did not get as great a start as I expected in the first lap tussle, moving up only two positions before the race settled into a long string that was not easy to pass, as I anticipated. I ran in 16^th place from lap 5 to lap 15 before working my way up to 11^th place by the lap 25 finish, a good result after the on-track incidents we experienced since last Wednesday and the repair and setup work, we did as a result," explained the driver.

On the other hand, the Oka driver gave us a great demonstration of his racing talents over the weekend, namely:

• The fastest time in the first practice session on Thursday morning;
• A 22-position gain and the fastest time in the second qualifying race (Heat 2) on Friday;
• A second 22-position gain in Heat 4 on Saturday;
• Overtaking 15 karts in the Final, going from 26^th on the grid to 11^th at the finish of the Final, for a total of 59 passes in race conditions.

Thomas Nepveu possesses an uncanny ability to pass people effectively, and especially in the early laps. He studies and then anticipates the moves of racers in front of him and passes them in decisive moves that other drivers cannot respond to. His technique is helped by the new kart brand (Kart Republic) that is more efficient following the development work carried out by Thomas Nepveu and Coy Arbour, his sports manager.

"We have shown top-5 speed all week long, but a mistake in Heat 1 and some bad luck in Qualifying and in Heat 3 prevented Thomas from getting the results he deserved. We must thank Kart Republic, Kartsport North America, AM Engines and Nash Motorsportz for their support," mentioned Coy Arbour.

Next Race

Thomas Nepveu and his team will be back in Las Vegas on December 1 to 5 for the SKUSA Supernationals held at the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino track. This will mark the end of Thomas Nepveu's 2021 racing season, a very intense one where he gained considerable experience as a professional driver over close to 50 races in top-line karting and as a rookie in the USF2000 Series.

Driving Instructor

Thomas Nepveu's personality and technical knowledge also make him an ideal driving instructor, capable of transmitting his knowledge while making the student and the family comfortable during these important and often emotionally charged moments. Thomas Nepveu began working with novices in the spring of 2019, when he was only 14 years old, and continues to do so for the BCR (Ben Cooper Racing) race team. Last winter, with he even helped some PSL Karting drivers at a track in addition to taking care of his own machine (track walks, debrief meetings after each track session). 

Kart Republic

Founded in 2017 by Dino Chiesa, this Italian manufacturer has dominated kart racing at the international level since its inception. It quickly moved to American competition, taking its first win at the most competitive North American event, the Las Vegas SKUSA SuperNationals (1^st - X30 Senior class - Nov. 2018). The brand has recorded a multitude of wins since then and solidified its position at the top of the kart racing world.

2021 Thomas Nepveu Karting Schedule

Photo Credit: Canadian Karting News

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Thomas Nepveu Career Path and Results

Born in Oka (Quebec), Thomas Nepveu has always shown a great interest in extreme sports, starting with small motorcycles on dirt tracks. He quickly moved on to karts first in the Montreal area, then on to provincial and national series in Canada, on to the United States, Europe and other continents. 

2020

• Single seater debut in the Mexican F4 series at the Autodromo de Querétaro, Mexico
• 1 victory and 2 podiums out of 3 F4 races
• Victory in the ROK Fest East series - Charlotte (NC) (ROK Senior class)
• 6^th out of 52 entries, one pole from 3 races in ROK Cup Florida Winter Tour
• 6^th and 1 podium (3^rd) out of 4 races in the SKUSA Winter Series
• 8^th and 2 poles out of 6 races in the SKUSA Pro Tour 

2019

• Transition to Rotax Senior class
• Canadian Karting Champion
• Canadian Shifter Open Champion
• Two top-5 finishes in the SKUSA Pro Tour (Senior class)
• Qualified for the Final in the WSK Euro Series (Sarno, Italy) 

2018

• US Open Champion
• 3^rd in the ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour series
• 4^th in the Max Challenge class at the Rotax Grand Final (Brazil)
• 15^th in the CIK-FIA World Championship OKJ (Sweden)
• 5^th in the ROK the Rio (Las Vegas)

2017

• Transition year to the Junior class (12 to 16)
• 1st in the Florida Winter Tour (2^nd round)
• 2^nd in the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship  

2016

• Debut with PSL Karting
• Youngest driver (11) on the Canadian Karting Team
• Champion in the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship with 7 victories in 7 races, a first in this event
• Champion at the Mini Swift Super Nationals
• Runner-up in the Mini Max world championship
• Team Canada finishes first of 54 countries in the Rotax World Championships with Thomas Nepveu the top Canadian finisher in the Mini-Max class

2015

• Transition year (11 to 13 age group)
• Quebec Cup runner-up
• 4^th in the Eastern Canada Championship
• 3^rd in the Canadian Championship

2014

• Quebec Cup champion
• Eastern Canada champion
• 3^rd in the Canadian Championship
• 3^rd in the Florida Winter Series (first podium for Thomas Nepveu in the United States)

2013

• Wins all Canadian championships in the 9-year-old class
• Quebec Cup champion
• Western Canada champion
• Eastern Canada champion
• 6^th in the Micro Max class at the Rotax Grand Finals in New Orleans, Louisiana

2012

• First year in racing, in the Micro Max class, in Quebec and Ontario
• 5^th in the Quebec Cup