TROIS-RIVIERES, QC – At the wheel of car #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare | Omnifab, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin got off to a great start to the 2024 season of the NASCAR Canada series, taking third place on Sunday, on the Mosport racetrack (Canadian Tire Motorsport Park), after led several laps and was in contention for victory until the last restart.
Series’ Triple champion, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin arrived confidently on the Ontarian track, which he particularly appreciates for its fast turns and its atmosphere. For the occasion, more than 30,000 spectators attended the 51-lap event, extended to 53 due to late-race incidents.
“I’m a little disappointed with the yellow flag which sent the race into overtime because I really expected to be able to fight until the end with Marc-Antoine Camirand for victory. I saw that his tires were more worn than mine in the last laps and I believed in my chances. But overall, starting the season with a podium is a satisfying result for our team. We showed our competitiveness throughout the weekend, with a special mention to the Dumoulin Compétition team during the pit stops: the work and strategy were perfect,” mentions Louis-Philippe Dumoulin.
The day before, during free practice and then qualifying, Dumoulin was already in the first places of the 30-car peloton. “I qualified fifth because I didn’t have complete confidence in the tires. The set of tires tested for qualifying didn’t give me complete satisfaction but I dealt with it. Then the second set, used for qualifying and with which we have to start the race, also did not allow me to exploit the full potential of the car although my time was still good,” summarizes Dumoulin.
As soon as the race started, under a summer sun on Sunday afternoon, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin climbed among the leaders. He took the lead on the 18th lap, at the second restart, before going to the pits to refuel on the 23rd lap, when the event was again under a full course yellow.
“After refueling, we decided to return to the pits a second time under FCY, to change the four tires. The bet was big because we expected the race to be restarted at any moment but it was the right choice. I then had new tires to attack the second part of the race,” explains the Trois-Rivières driver. Remember that the regulations of the NASCAR Canada series prohibit teams from refueling at the same time as changing tires, during a pit stop.
Starting far back in the peloton, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin took no time to return to the Top 3. “I had some difficulties with drivers who had not changed tires and were still blocking the trajectory although slower with their old tires, but overall I didn’t lose too much time,” he confides.
The race ultimately went to overtime. “It’s a shame the last full course yellow because victory was possible before that. I finally conceded a place during the last restart, to the benefit of Gary Klutt, to finish third but this road circuit car that we completely rebuilt really gave complete satisfaction. It’s nice to think that you arrive at a racetrack to aim for victory, to fight forward. The entire team worked very hard during the offseason to start 2024 on a good pace. It’s a very promising podium for the future,” concluded L.P. Dumoulin.
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