ST-CROIX, QC – Donald Theetge of Boischatel, QC, earned his second straight Série ACT Castrol win at Circuit Riverside Speedway in St-Croix, QC, on Saturday, June 16. Theetge was the class of the field all day and worked his way from the 12th starting position for the win. He held off the likes of former Castrol Champions Patrick Laperle and Karl Allard over several caution periods during the 100-lap event. It was Theetge’s 18th career Série ACT Castrol win, which keeps him atop the all-time wins list.
Jonathan Bouvrette snatched the lead from the outside pole on the first lap, but held it only through lap 7. Laperle started in the seventh position and was running third by the completion of the first lap. He made his way to the point on lap 8 and began building a healthy lead before the first caution of the event came on lap 20. The first caution was a three minute and 30 second red flag period as the track safety workers repaired holes in the asphalt in turns one and two.
After the restart, Theetge quickly knocked off the remaining competitors between himself and Laperle. Theetge took over the lead on lap 30 as Laperle dropped backward with a tire going down. The tire eventually caused Laperle to spin coming off of turn four on lap 32. Laperle would ultimately make his way back to second, but was no match for Theetge over several caution periods in the second half of the event.
Allard completed the podium, while David Michaud and Patrick Cliche rounded out the top five. Steven Boissonneault, Patrick Hamel and Etienne Cliche were the only three remaining cars on the lead lap. Gaetan Lauzier and Jonathan Desbiens completed the top ten.
The 100-lap event saw a total of 11 cautions including two red flag periods. One red flag was for repairs to the track on lap 20, while the second was the final caution on lap 85 which required cleanup of a multiple car accident on the front stretch. The event was completed in one hour and forty-five minutes including the combined nine minutes and thirty-seven seconds of combined red flag. Eight cars finished on the lead lap and eleven cars were on the track for the checkered flag.
Theetge had already qualified for the Bond Auto ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 22. He also unofficially moved into the Série ACT Castrol point lead after point leader Jean-François Déry suffered engine problems and finished 24th. Third place point main, Dany Trepanier also had a rough day as he was involved in a hard wreck on lap 85, which ended his day but he still came home 11th.
The Série ACT Castrol has next weekend off before heading to Autodrome Montmagny in Montmagny, QC, on Saturday, June 30 for their fourth event of the 2012 season.
Riverside 100 Unofficial Results
Série ACT Castrol
Circuit Riverside Speedway – St-Croix, QC
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Pos. (Start) Driver, Hometown, Laps Completed
1. (12) Donald Theetge, Boischatel, QC, 100 Laps
2. (7) Patrick Laperle, St-Denis, QC, 100 Laps
3. (15) Karl Allard, Saint-Felicien, QC, 100 Laps
4. (16) David Michaud, St-An-des-Plns, QC, 100 Laps
5. (5) Patrick Cliche, St-Jean-Chry., QC, 100 Laps
6. (13) Steven Boissonneault, Lyster, QC, 100 Laps
7. (8) Patrick Hamel, Sainte-Croix, QC, 100 Laps
8. (9) #Etienne Cliche, Vallee-Jonction, QC, 100 Laps
9. (6) Gaetan Lauzier, St-Cyprien, QC, 99 Laps
10. (19) Jonathan Desbiens, Levis, QC, 98 Laps
11. (14) Dany Trepanier, St-Edouard, QC, 85 Laps
12. (18) Brandon White, Kahnawake, QC, 85 Laps
13. (10) Marc Beaudoin, St-Anne, QC, 84 Laps
14. (24) Gaetan Gaudreault, Quebec, QC, 82 Laps
15. (4) Jacques Poulin, East Broughton, QC, 81 Laps
16. (3) Claude Leclerc, Lanoraie, QC, 72 Laps
17. (23) Rejean Bissonnette, St-Adele, QC, 66 Laps
18. (2) Jonathan Bouvrette, Blainville, QC, 66 Laps
19. (20) Yannick Tremblay, Chicoutimi, QC, 63 Laps
20. (22) Steve Lesage, Pont-Rouge, QC, 62 Laps
21. (17) Eric LeHoux, St-Elzear,QC, 54 Laps
22. (1) #Patrick Boyer, Quebec, QC, 51 Laps
23. (21) Jean-Pierre Ouimet, Terrebonne, QC, 46 Laps
24. (11) Jean-Francois Dery, Quebec, QC, 26 Laps
Lap Leaders: Jonathan Bouvrette, 1-7; Patrick Laperle, 8-30; Donald Theetge, 31-100.
Time of Race: 1:45:18
Margin of Victory: .478 seconds
Cautions: 11 (Lap 20(red for 3:32), 20, 22, 26, 32, 46, 51, 63, 66, 85, 85(red for 6:05))
Heat Winners: Patrick Cliche, Patrick Hamel, Karl Allard
Consi Winners: David Michaud
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