MISSISSAUGA, Ont. (July 29, 2018) – After the first two events of the 2018 Nissan Micra Cup season were contested in Ontario this spring, the series kicked off its summer season this weekend with rounds five and six at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant in the Laurentians of Quebec. Though the track is well known by many of the contestants, it presented a new challenge for four new drivers – Éric Chaput, André Lapointe, Frédéric Bouthillier and Perry Wener – who made their Micra Cup debut this weekend. The races’ top honours went to Olivier Bédard on Saturday and Kevin King on Sunday.
Another challenge awaited drivers new and old on Saturday when it started to rain before the start of the qualifying race. It was not enough however, to dampen the spirits of the competitors at the wheel of their agile Micra S cars on the majestic Circuit Mont-Tremblant. By the end of the session, two-time series champion (2015, 2017) and current championship leader, Olivier Bédard, claimed another pole position, ahead of veteran and Senior Class leader, Normand Boyer, Kevin King, Jake Exton, novice Fadi Mourad and Valérie Limoges.
Sunny skies dried out the track in the afternoon for the Nissan Micra owners’ parade lap and the race drivers opted for slick tires on the dry track to start the race. As soon as the green flag was waved, 20 Nissan Micra S vehicles began a stellar show!
The top six drivers quickly found themselves in a good battle, with Englishman Jake Exton wheel-to-wheel with Bédard for the top spot. Limoges, Mourad, King and Boyer followed suit, ready to benefit from even the slightest error among the leaders. Not far behind, American Mike Ogren, Austin Riley and Frédéric Bernier were put on an impressive show.
The drivers crossed the finish line under a caution flag after an incident eliminated Mourad and Limoges, securing another victory for Bédard as he finished ahead of Exton, King, Ogren, Riley, Bernier, Boyer (penalized three positions following contact with Limoges/Mourad), Ouellet, Touchette and Chaput. Chaput’s top 10 result was especially impressive given it was his racing debut. The other rookies Bouthillier, Lapointe and Wener were grouped in 14th- 16th respectively.
After claiming pole position in Sunday’s qualifying session leading up to the second race, King was in a great place to put an end to Bédard’s winning streak. All drivers had an excellent start and as per the qualifying order, King, Boyer, Bédard, Limoges and Exton did not let up for the entire 40-minute race. Thousands of trackside spectators held their collective breath on multiple occasions as they witnessed several skillful passing maneuvers by the Nissan Micra Cup drivers. Despite pressure from Bédard, who finished ahead of Boyer by only a few hundredths of a second, nobody was able to overtake King on his way to a well-earned victory.
Boyer was penalized and finally finished sixth, Limoges clinched a spot on the podium, Jake Exton was fourth and Fadi Mourad was once again the top Novice finisher and fifth overall. Frédéric Bernier, Nicolas Touchette, Mario Berthiaume and Mike Ogren completed the top 10. Among this weekend’s new drivers to the series, Chaput repeated as the dominant of the 4, finishing 11th overall, while Bouthillier was 15th, Lapointe 18th and Wener 19th.
In the drivers’ championship, Bédard maintains his lead on the standings, sitting ahead of King, Boyer – leader of Senior Class – and Limoges. Mourad remains the leader of the Novice group.
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 on Twitter at @micracup. All official videos will be available on the Micra Cup TV YouTube channel.
NEXT EVENT:
The seventh and eighth rounds of the 2018 season will be held on Saturday, August 11 and Sunday, August 12 as part of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières. Nissan Canada has also planned many activities at the track and in town all weekend long.
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