FW: Championship News Flash!

The Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship Presented by Toyo Tires was featured at the Grand Prix de Mirable and the new ICAR facility.  Thirty competitors were tested by the technically challenging track throughout the weekend.

Two practice sessions were held on Friday as many experienced the track for the very first time.  Drivers found it challenging to find the correct turn-in points because of the wide-open and flat nature of the track.  There were a number of off-track excursions as drivers braked to late or tried to carry to much speed into the tighter portions of the track.

 

Saturday’s qualifying was run on a clear track and sunny skies.  Kuno Wittmer in his Honda took top honours in Super Touring Class by eight tenths of a second over Mathieu Audette in his Acura followed by Charles-Andre Bilodeau in his BMW.   Alain Lauziere in his Mini out-qualified the Touring Class competitors by over one second followed by teammates Eric Leblanc and Christian Raymond in their Mazdas.

 

The first race of the weekend was run in dry conditions on Saturday afternoon.  Super Touring Class was won by Kuno Wittmer followed by Mathieu Audette and Charles-Andre Bilodeau.  Alain Lauziere won in Touring Class race followed by Daniel Blanchette and Eric Leblanc.

 

A light rain began to fall just before the start of the feature race and the teams hurried to make final adjustments before the cars took to the track.  The impressive field took the green flag and searched for the best grip on the wet track before a full course yellow came out as Roger Bowes crashed in ICAR’s final “Corner of Champions.”  The cleanup was quick and the race continued. 

 

The top cars in Super Touring Class were covered by only a few seconds as Mathieu Audette worked his way passed Kuno Wittmer only to have a suspension failure end his race.  At the chequered flag, Kuno Wittmer won in his Honda followed by teammates Charles-Andre Bilodeau and Etienne Borgeat in their BMWs.  Alain Lauziere put on a driving school in the rain and brought his Mini home to win by almost one minute over Brad Young and P.J. Groenke in their Hondas.

Dave Ciekiewicz started at the back in the feature race and drove in the rain to fourth in Super Touring Class.  His drive has won him the Hard Charger Award sponsored by CSC Racing Products Inc.

The Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship features Canada’s Best Drivers Racing Today’s Hottest Touring Cars.

From John Bondar  // 416.707.0358  // www.touringcar.ca  // Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship Presented By Toyo Tires