BOWMANVILLE, ON – Ray Courtemanche Jr. came away satisfied after his first ride in a Dave Jacombs-prepared car at the official pre-season test held April 30 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
The car was quick and easy to drive, until an unfortunate slip on a speed bump damaged the rear suspension and forced the La Cité de Mirabel Inc. team to park the car for the rest of the day.
Ray Jr. was impressed with the car as soon as he went out for a shakedown run. After a stop in the pits to make sure that all systems were Go, Ray Jr. was back out and driving harder, cutting his time by at least two seconds on each of his laps. The rear end slid out from under him on the 8th lap and the car rode over the speedbumps on the corner 3 exit. This damaged a bracket and the test was stopped at that point.
For driver Ray Jr. the run was both satisfying and frustrating.
“The car was working better than anything I have ever driven, and I was getting more and more comfortable in it. I tried to accelerate a little too hard coming out of corner 3 and damaged the car. I was in the low 30s and felt I could certainly get into the high 20s with more practice. Man, I was having so much fun.”
A close inspection showed a weakness in the car’s suspension as well as several pieces that were hanging too close to the ground. At the end of the day, the incident will serve to better prepare the car for the first race.
As preparation specialist Dave Jacombs commented, “We will bring a better car to the track next time, and thus improve Ray’s chances for the race, which is what testing is all about anyway.”
The 2013 NCATS season for the La Cité de Mirabel Inc. team will start on May 19 at CTMP.
From: Baldwin Marketing
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