MISSISSAUGA, ON – Just over a week ago, the Nissan Micra Cup participated in the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières (GP3R) as the second-largest series contested.
During the weekend’s events, Nissan also played host to memorable off-track activities including a successful evening show. The series now prepares for the penultimate round of the season this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), northeast of Toronto.
CTMP’s NASCAR weekend hosts the third and final outing of the Nissan Micra Cup Ontario season, prior to the series’ grand finale at Circuit Mont-Tremblant at the end of September. The small, practically stock Nissan Micra S cars will be in the company of two major NASCAR series: the Canadian series, which includes several former Nissan Micra Cup drivers, and NASCAR’s popular Truck American Championship, which amazes tens of thousands of spectators with its monstrous and heavily modified trucks at the series’ only annual Canadian event.
With the Nissan Micra Cup paddocks located just metres from the NASCAR truck paddocks, all CTMP fans can get up close to the world of NASCAR, as well as the big Nissan Micra Cup family, before they take to the track. While the NASCAR truck drivers master the enormous power of their vehicles, Nissan drivers command their agile Micras in battles that come within tenths of a second.
As the winner of the last two races, contested at the GP3R, Olivier Bédard will attempt to use the two rounds at CTMP to increase his lead in the championship. The two-time series champion (2015, 2017) has a 69-point lead in the championship standings ahead of Kevin King. With a maximum of 88 points attainable by a single driver in a two-race event (including qualifying), the title is still up for grabs. However, if Bédard collects more points and King misses a podium, Bédard could secure the 2018 championship this weekend.
While many eyes will be on the battle for the title, several other drivers will draw fans in for the ninth and tenth rounds of the 2018 season. Englishman Jake Exton, the 2017 Novice Champion, currently sits in third place overall in the series standings. He’ll try to fend off advances by Valérie Limoges and Senior Class leader, Normand Boyer. Additionally, American Mike Ogren is hot on Boyer’s heels after excellent performances at GP3R, and rookie leader Fadi Mourad can still climb within the overall standings.
The CTMP event will welcome Nicolas Barrette back to the track; one of the sons of Michel Barrette, Nicholas was a last-minute entry following two top 10 finishes at GP3R. Many Ontario drivers will also be returning to the track to compete on home soil, including Vic Simone and Eddy Wong of the Nissan Alta Group team, Peter Dyck, Austin Riley and Jake Exton.
The 2018 Nissan LEAF all-electric vehicle will be back in action as the official security vehicle of the series, after an exciting outing at the GP3R. It will be the first time a 100 per cent electric car is used as a pace car in an Ontario motorsport event. Following the LEAF’s popular appearance in Trois-Rivières, there is little doubt that it will attract plenty of attention at CTMP this weekend.
The Nissan Micra Cup drivers will take to the track six times this weekend for two practice sessions on Friday, plus two qualifying sessions and two races between Saturday and Sunday. Fans are invited to two autograph sessions in the paddocks, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Additionally, Nissan Micra owners are invited to attend the entire weekend, free of charge. To register, follow the link to the Nissan Micra Cup site before August 22: https://www.micracup.com/eventregistration/.
The autograph sessions are always an opportunity for fans to talk with the drivers of the Nissan Micra Cup and to obtain signatures on sometimes unusual objects!
For those who can’t make it to CTMP this weekend, they can still watch everything series drivers have to offer online; the two Nissan Micra Cup races will be broadcast live on YouTube: Micra Cup TV.
Schedule and how to follow the weekend’s events:
Practice sessions: Friday, August 24, 11:40 a.m. – 12:10 p.m. and 2:40 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
First race qualifying: Saturday, August 25, 8:25 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
First race: Saturday, August 25, 4:10 p.m. – 4:50 p.m.
Second race qualifying: Sunday, August 26, 9:00 a.m. – 9:20 a.m.
Second race: Sunday August 26, 5:00 p.m. – 5:40 p.m. (immediately following the NASCAR truck race)
Each of the two races will be for a duration of 40 minutes.
Fans can obtain important information, live from the track, by following the series Twitter account @micracup. They can also watch interviews and exclusive reports on Facebook Live by following the Coupe Nissan Micra Cup Facebook page all weekend long.
For more information on the Nissan Micra Cup, please visit www.micracup.com.
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 Canada Inc.
Nissan Canada Inc. (NCI) is the Canadian sales, marketing and distribution subsidiary of Nissan Motor Limited and Nissan North America, Inc. NCI was the first Japanese-based automaker to incorporate in Canada in 1965, and now directly employs 306 full-time staff across offices in Vancouver (BC), Mississauga (ON), and Kirkland (QC). There are 207 independent Nissan dealerships, including 81 that also act as Nissan Commercial Vehicles dealers, 114 electric vehicle-certified dealers, and 42 INFINITI retailers across Canada.
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.
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.
Media contacts:
Didier Marsaud/ Director, Corporate Communications- Nissan Canada
Telephone: 905-629-6400
Email: didier.marsaud@nissancanada.com
Roxane Barry/ Specialist, Corporate Communications- Nissan Canada
Telephone: 905-629-6461
Email: roxane.barry@nissancanada.com
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