Barrie, ON- BGR Team Grote scored yet another podium finish with Zacharie Robichon grabbing the second place trophy in Montreal,with possibly the drive of the day.
With three BGR cars entered for the annual event, Robichon was joined by Rookie Bruno Chapinotti and team regular Marc Bishara. Only Bishara had any experience at the Formula One event so the only qualifying session would be the first time for both Robichon and Chapinotti. A solid qualifying effort put Robichon solidly in the top ten with Bishara using his experience to just out qualify Chapinotti deeper in the field of 30 cars.
Race One was run Saturday and Robichon advanced quickly to the top five where he would swap positions with a fierce pack of racers. While running fifth, he suffered a rear suspension component failure that forced him to pit lane. Chapinotti also made great gains but a spin, and then contact, ended a promising day for the Brazilian. Bishara faded at the end fighting an issue with the car after making up several spots but would rebound nicely the next day.
Race Two was a typical F1600 style barn burner with one of the best races the Montreal crowd had seen in years.
Robichon showed his racecraft and pace with a wonderful run to second from his 10th starting spot. It was a wild one with some of the countries best junior drivers battling with the best veteran F1600 drivers and putting on a great show for the fans. In the end Robichon stood proud on the second step of the podium representing BGR Team Grote well.
Chapinotti made a great start and moved up rapidly to the top ten but for the second day had his race cut short when a spinning car clipped him and forced him into retirement. Bishara again showed pace and finished just inside the top 20 for a solid result on the historic grand prix course.
“It was another typical Montreal weekend, with some great racing, some rough patches, and ultimately a great podium finish for Zach and BGR. Zach was the fastest of all the first timers and really in the end was only one spot from the win so we are very excited and proud of the result. Bruno had a tough go of it but is definitely making progress despite some bad luck. His speed is coming along and we are confident that once he gets some more track time he will be a contender. Marc had a good weekend but his results really don’t reflect his overall pace over the course of the weekend,” commented team owner Brian Graham.
The team now looks forward to the third weekend of the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship at CTMP.
BGR Team Grote has put more drivers in the winners circle than any other team in OFFC history and continues to strive to provide the perfect environment for karters to make the transition to the open wheel ranks. The winners of the past seven consecutive years of Rookie of the Year will be looking to continue that tradition this season.
To learn more about the team visit www.briangrahamracing.com and follow us on facebook https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/144083092268782/
From: Brian Graham/ BGR-Team Grote
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