MISSISSAUGA, Ont. (June 3, 2018) – This past weekend, the Nissan Micra Cup presented the third and fourth rounds of its 2018 series at Calabogie Motorsports Park, southwest of Ottawa. Under clear skies and sunny conditions, the drivers experienced 2 series firsts: Saturday and Sunday’s races were each on a different track for 40-minutes in length. Saturday’s event was held on the 2.8km short track, while Sunday’s race was held on the 5.5km long track – the longest in Canada. Much to the drivers and spectators’ pleasure, the Micra Cup races were increased from 30-minutes for the first time since the series’ inception in 2015. At the end of two action-packed days, 2015 and 2017 series champion Olivier Bédard drove away with two more victories.
On Saturday’s short track, Bédard – who went into the weekend as the championship leader – earned the pole position by finishing more than four-tenths of a second lead ahead of his closest rival, Kevin King. A perfect lap by Bédard created a significant gap in a series that normally produces finishes within less than a thousandth of a second, with drivers all at the wheel of identical and nearly stock Micra S cars.
Normand Boyer, Valérie Limoges, Jake Exton and Austin Riley rounded out Saturday’s top six. Within the group, Riley delivered the best qualifying session of his career, finishing ahead of four other drivers, grouped less than four-tenths of a second behind him. This put the 19-year-old – who has autism and races under his organization’s team Racing with Autism – in a great position for the weekend.
In Saturday’s race, Bédard dominated for the 40-minute duration, claiming his third victory in four races. Kevin King and Valérie Limoges rounded out the podium after Jake Exton, the 2017 Novice champion, was disqualified despite finishing third, for his vehicle being under the minimum weight requirement. Grouped in a tight peloton for most of the race, top rookie Fadi Mourad secured fourth place followed by, Senior Class winner Frédéric Bernier, Austin Riley and American Mike Ogren. In his series debut, Marc Héroux finished eighth, ahead of Peter Dyck and Carl Wener.
On Sunday, the drivers moved to the long 5.5km track but the hierarchy remained relatively consistent after qualifying. Bédard grabbed first place ahead of King, Limoges, Boyer, Exton, Ogren, Mario Berthiaume and Riley.
Bédard once again won the second race, chased by Boyer, Limoges and King. Not far behind, Austin Riley finished another error-free race to finish in fifth place – the best finish in his Micra Cup career.
Jake Exton completed the top six, ahead of Mourad and Ogren. Frédéric Bernier and Sylvain Ouellet followed to take second and third in the Senior Class.
In the driver’s championship, Olivier Bédard retains the top spot with Kevin King in second and Normand Boyer third while also leading the Senior Class. Fadi Mourad tops the Novice drivers.
For more information on the Nissan Micra Cup and its drivers, please visit the site www.micracup.com. Don’t miss series news on the Nissan Micra Cup Facebook page, as well as live information and results during practice sessions, qualifying and races on Twitter @micracup. All official videos will be available on the Micra Cup TV YouTube channel.
NEXT EVENT:
The fifth and sixth rounds of the 2018 season will be contested on Saturday, July 27th and Sunday, July 28th at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant, in the Laurentian region of Quebec.
About the Nissan Micra Cup
Sanctioned by Auto Sport Québec (ASQ) and presented by JD Promotion & Compétition with the support of Nissan Canada, the 2015 Nissan Micra Cup exclusively featured the stock Micra 1.6 S M/T model with minor modifications, including racing suspension – to render it race-ready.
Unlike most motorsport events, each competing Nissan Micra race vehicle had the exact same specifications, resulting in a competition that truly revealed the most skilled drivers. The 2015 Nissan Micra Cup race vehicles were equipped with the Nissan Micra’s stock 1.6-liter DOHC 4-cylinder engine with dual fuel injection and Twin CVTC (Continuously Variable Timing Control) and stock 5-speed manual transmission. In its inaugural season, more than 25 Nissan Micras competed on each race weekend which included two hours of track time consisting of: a 30-minute trial, a 30-minute qualifying session and two 30-minute races.
Young karting drivers, the average Canadian looking for an entry point into motorsport competition, or anyone who wants to experience the rush of adrenaline inherent with racing cars are all well-suited to this series. In summary, the Nissan Micra Cup is for people who are passionate about motorsports, want to experience all the fun and thrills of racing, but without spending staggering amounts of money.
For more information on the Nissan Micra Cup, please go to the website Nissan.ca/MicraCup.
About the Nissan Micra
In 2014, the Nissan Micra returned to Canada after 23 years as an all-new model, offering Canadians unbeatable value with the lowest starting Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) in Canada at $9,998. One item that sets the 2015 Micra apart is its agility. Micra is easy to drive and park, thanks to excellent all-round visibility and turning radius, electric power steering and a power to weight ratio that surprises. Powering the front-wheel drive Micra is a DOHC 1.6-litre 4-cylinder engine rated at 109 horsepower @ 6,000 rpm and 107 lb-ft. of torque @ 4,400 rpm.
About Nissan North America
In North America, Nissan’s operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized annually by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year since 2010. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and INFINITI vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.INFINITIUSA.com, or visit the U.S. media sites NissanNews.com and INFINITINews.com.
About Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
Nissan is a global full-line vehicle manufacturer that sells more than 60 models under the Nissan, INFINITI andDatsun brands. In fiscal year 2017, the company sold 5.77 million vehicles globally, generating revenue of 11.9 trillion yen. On April 1, 2017, the company embarked on Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022, a six-year plan targeting a 30% increase in annualized revenues to 16.5 trillion yen by the end of fiscal 2022, along with cumulative free cash flow of 2.5 trillion yen. As part of Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022, the company plans to extend its leadership in electric vehicles, symbolized by the world’s best-selling all-electric vehicle in history, the Nissan LEAF. Nissan’s global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, manages operations in six regions: Asia & Oceania; Africa, the Middle East & India; China; Europe; Latin America; and North America. Nissan has partnered with French manufacturer Renault since 1999 and acquired a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors in 2016. Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi is today the world’s largest automotive partnership, with combined sales of more than 10.6 million vehicles in calendar year 2017.
For more information about our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit
nissan-global.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and see all our latest videos on YouTube.
About Nissan Canada Inc.
Nissan Canada Inc. (NCI) is the Canadian sales, marketing and distribution subsidiary of Nissan Motor Limited and Nissan North America, Inc. NCI directly employs 306 full-time staff across offices in Vancouver (BC), Mississauga (ON), and Kirkland (QC). There are 200 independent Nissan dealerships, including 45 that also act as Nissan Commercial Vehicles dealers, and 42 INFINITI retailers across Canada. A pioneer in zero emission mobility, Nissan made history with the introduction of the Nissan LEAF, the first affordable, mass-market, pure-electric vehicle and winner of numerous international accolades including the prestigious 2011 European Car of the Year and World Car of the Year awards.
More information about Nissan in Canada and the complete line of Nissan and INFINITI vehicles can be found online at www.nissan.ca and www.INFINITI.ca.
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