Mirabel, QC – Andrew Ranger collected his third win of the season on Saturday, as Paillé Course//Racing was at Circuit ICAR for the NASCAR Canada Series. Marc-Antoine Camirand also had a strong outing, earning a third-place finish.
Ranger was hoping to be back strong at Circuit ICAR, where he had four wins in the past, and knew that his GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada No. 27 Camaro could be very fast. Second in practice, just 0.009 seconds behind the leader, he posted the fastest time in qualifying, setting a new track record and earning his first pole position of the season.
“My team, Innovation Auto Sport, prepared a very fast car and we were aiming at the victory here,” said Ranger.
Right at the start of the race, he set a quick pace, but conceded the lead after 6 laps.
“I was able to take the lead back with about 12 laps to go and I pushed to keep the lead during those last laps,” said Ranger. “We are very happy with this third win of the season. It has been a very good day for my team Innovation Auto Sport and Paillé Course//Racing. It has been an almost perfect day, with the pole and the win. It feels very good to be back in victory lane after a disappointing end of the race at GP3R.”
Marc-Antoine Camirand also scored a strong podium finish, earning third place in the Evirum 100. Sixth in practice and fifth in qualifying, Camirand was hoping that he would have a car to battle for the win in the 43-lap race.
“During the practice session and qualifying, I struggled a bit to find speed in my GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada No. 96 Camaro, but my team Camirand Performance worked hard throughout the day,” said Camirand. “At the beginning of the race, I quickly climbed to fourth spot and, for most of the race, the top-four set up a very fast pace. I was saving my car and I knew that I could be very strong at the end.”
After the last restart, with 12 laps to go, he took the third spot and started putting pressure on the leaders.
“We had a very fast pace at the end,” concluded Camirand. “I could have taken a few more laps, because I believe that my car was better on the long run. We are still very happy with this third place. We scored good championship points and we are heading to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with good momentum.”
With three races left in the season, Camirand leads the NASCAR Canada Series drivers’ standings by 23 points over Ranger.
Paillé Course//Racing, with drivers Andrew Ranger and Marc-Antoine Camirand, will be back on track this coming weekend, on the fast road course of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, near Bowmanville, ON.
- By Paillé Racing/Service Presse
