INSIDE TRACK READERS’ CHOICE AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Inside Track Readers' Choice Awards Announced

Canadian road racing star Ron Fellows continues to dominate prestigious awards

For immediate release: May 5, 2008

TORONTO, ON – After more than two months of voting and the counting of over 5,000 ballots, the winners have been determined for the Sixth Annual Inside Track Readers’ Choice Awards, presented by Castrol. Between January 11 and March 14, Canadian motorsports enthusiasts cast their votes in 12 categories – via a secure, online survey – to determine Canada’s top past, current and future racing stars.

The big winner – once again – is Canadian road racing legend Ron Fellows. Although he scaled back his racing efforts somewhat in 2007, Fellows was still the readers’ choice in three categories, including Overall Canadian Racer of the Year, Canadian Racer of the Year Competing at the Highest Levels of International Competition, and Most Deserving of Induction into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.

It was the fourth time in the program’s six years that Fellows has earned the honour of being named Overall Canadian Racer of the Year by the readers of Inside Track Motorsport News (ITMN). He also won in ’04, ’05 and ’06.

In the majority of the categories, six racers were nominated via a consultation process involving the magazine’s editors and contributors. The nominees were chosen based on their achievements in 2007 and represented all regions of Canada. And while write-in candidates garnered a considerable number of votes, the winners of each category came from the list of nominees put forward by ITMN’s editorial team.

In addition to Fellows, the other class winners are: Canadian Stock Car Racer of the Year – Andrew Ranger (NASCAR Canadian Tire Series); Up and Coming Canadian Stock Car Racer of the Year – Brandon Watson (Barrie Speedway); Canadian Road Racer of the Year – Daniel Morad (Formula BMW); Up and Coming Canadian Road Racer of the Year – Kyle Marcelli (Formula Ford); Canadian Motorcycle Racer of the Year – Steve Crevier (Parts Canada Superbike Series); Up and Coming Canadian Motorcycle Racer of the Year – Jeremy Medaglia (CMRC Motocross); Canadian Drag Racer of the Year – Kyle Jessup (Show Me The Money Tour); Canadian Kart Racer of the Year – Mike Vincec (SRFKC); and Canadian Rally Racer of the Year – Antoine L’Estage (Canadian Rally Championship).

“We’re very pleased with the outcome of the Inside Track Readers’ Choice Awards,” said Editor Greg MacPherson. “Once again, our readers demonstrated their considerable knowledge and passion for our sport. All of the winners and nominees can be proud of what they accomplished last year and we know that being an Inside Track Readers’ Choice Award winner will be mentioned prominently on their racing resumes. We’d also like to thank our sponsor Castrol and the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame for their support of this worthwhile program to celebrate Canadian racers.”

All voting was conducted via a controlled balloting procedure at the Survey Monkey website. Previous Overall Canadian Racer of the Year winners were Steve Robblee (2002) and Paul Tracy (2003).

Sixth Annual Inside Track Readers’ Choice Awards, presented by Castrol
Top 3 and their percentages (Based on more than 5,000 votes received at Surveymonkey.com)

CATEGORY / RACER PERCENTAGE OF VOTES

Canadian Stock Car Racer of the Year
1. Andrew Ranger 27.3
2. Derrick Tiemersma 20.3
3. Patrick Laperle 17.5

Up and Coming Canadian Stock Car Racer of the Year
1. Brandon Watson 22.8
2. Steve Arpin 19.2
3. Spencer MacPherson 18.2

Canadian Road Racer of the Year
1. Daniel Morad 28.9
2. Sasha Anis 26.9
3. Cindy Stevens 12.6

Up and Coming Canadian Road Racer of the Year
1. Kyle Marcelli 26.1
2. Charles-André Bilodeau 18.5
3. Devin Cunningham 16.7

Canadian Motorcycle Racer of the Year
1. Steve Crevier 22.6
2. Jordan Szoke 21.5
3. Donald Taylor 20.9

Up and Coming Canadian Motorcycle Racer of the Year
1. Jeremy Medaglia 32.0
2. Paul Glenn 20.5
3. Shane Wiebe 16.0

Canadian Drag Racer of the Year
1. Kyle Jessup 22.5
2. Rob Becker 18.4
3. Raymond Commisso 16.3

Canadian Kart Racer of the Year
1. Mike Vincec 44.3
2. Pier Luc Oullette 18.0
3. Christophe Boisclair 12.8

Canadian Rally Racer of the Year
1. Antoine L’Estage 33.0
2. Colin Armstrong 24.5
3. Andrew Comrie-Picard 15.5

Canadian Racer of the Year Competing at the Highest Levels of International Competition
1. Ron Fellows 33.6
2. Jacques Villeneuve 18.9
3. Mike Konopacki 13.6

Overall Canadian Racer of the Year
1. Ron Fellows
Honourable mention to Sasha Anis, Patrick Laperle, Steve Arpin, Derrick Tiemersma and Andrew Ranger

Most Deserving of Induction into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame
1. Ron Fellows
Honourable mention to Langis Caron and Jacques Villeneuve

Inside Track Communications fast facts: Inside Track Communications is the industry leader in motorsports publications. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Inside Track Communications publishes Inside Track Motorsport News (www.insidetracknews.com), Inside Motorcycles (www.insidemotorcycles.com), and Inside Motocross (www.insidemotocross.com).
For more information about the Readers’ Choice Awards, contact Greg MacPherson at (416) 962-7223.