BOWMANVILLE, ON (June 23, 2013)- Race 2 of the BARC Grand Prix of Ontario delivered plenty of intense action, both on and off track.
Under sunny, hot and humid conditions the field 23 cars took to the ultra fast Canadian Tire Motorsport Park lead by A Class Pole Winner Jack Mitchell, Jr. and B Class Pole Winner Mike Gayowski.
At the drop of the green Mitchell Jr lead a 5 car breakaway pack including Thomas McGregor, Max Hanratty, Zach Robichon and Jesse Lazare.
Lazare went on the move early and made some quick work of a couple of competitors and was in third by the end of Lap 2 and up to second by the end of Lap 3.
Thomas McGregor would get the lead from Exclusive Autosport teammate Mitchell, Jr. followed closely by Lazare. Contact on Lap 4 between Lazare and McGregor in Corner 10 would bring out the full course caution, ending McGregor’s day.
As the field went back to green, Mitchell, Jr. would take control and cross the line as the winner followed by Hanratty, Lazare, Robichon and Jantzi.
“It’s been a dream weekend for me,” said winner Mitchell, Jr. “I have been running well all season so far and knew my first win in the Toyo Series was coming. I can’t thank my team at Exclusive Autosport enough for giving me such a great car,” he added.
The results were contested immediately after the race. Official results were then amended to show Mitchell, Jr as the winner with Zach Robichon moved up to 2nd and Shane Jantzi to 3rd.
Lazare was excluded from the event for the contact with McGregor and Hanratty was penalized (placed at the rear of the A Class field) for a pass under a yellow condition.
The ‘B’ Class race was an outstanding tussle between the second to fifth place cars of Connor Wagland, Craig Willis, Graham Lobban and Steve Bodrug.
Gayowski was in command the entire race, leading flag to flag, and was pressured somewhat after the restart as Willis and Lobban fought for the final 2 podium spots.
At the line it was Gayowski, Willis then Lobban. Most impressive was the fact that the B Class front-runners finished the event in 4th, 5th and 6th overall.
Gayowski said, “That was a great race. I was a little concerned on the restart because Willis and Lobban were racing hard but managed to get a bit of a gap and bring it home for the win. It feels great.”
Other notable drives include Max Hanratty’s pace over the weekend. He struggled somewhat on the Friday test day ,but worked hard with his engineer and his Exclusive Autosport teammates and was showing great pace by Sunday, qualifying second for Race 2. Steve Bamford, a Toronto native who competes full-time in the USF1600 and F2000 Championship Series, as he drove the BGR Team Grote Piper to a fourth place finish. Serge Lacroix, of Canton Magog, QC, finished a solid sixth in his first appearance at Canadian Motorsport Park.
The full race results are available at http://formula1600.com/website/index.php/f1600-results
Next up for the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Series is the BARC Canadian Touring Trophy July 27/28 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Series is the premiere open wheel series in Ontario, sanctioned by CASC Ontario Region and proudly supported by Toyo Tires, MG Homes, Cove Dentistry, MK Technologies, Braidan Tires and Rod Ends Mechanical. The series is comprised of a seven event, double header format and competes at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Shannonville Motorsport Park and Calabogie Motorsport Park.
From: Move Motorsports
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