TORONTO, ON (May 1, 2013) – The Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Series gets rolling the weekend at the 63rd Annual BEMC Spring Trophy Races with an impressive field of young stars and former champions.
An estimated grid of 25 will take the green for the first of the weekends double headers on Saturday, May 4 with the second taking place in the afternoon of the 5th at the historic Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Two classes of cars make up the field, the A Class for the newer cars and the B Class for cars manufactured before 1994. Both classes have the option of running the traditional “Kent” motor produced by Ford or the new Honda HPD motor which is sourced from the Fit road car.
The A Class championship is a wide-open affair as 2012 winner Michael Adams and 2nd place finisher Caitlin Johnston are not returning to the series. Many feel that multiple winner and former champion Shane Jantzi could be the early favourite with a strong challenge coming from rookie Zach Robichon who will be racing out of the Brian Graham Racing Team Grote stable – known for getting the most out of rookie talent.
In B Class returning champion Paul Bollenbach will be getting some heavy competition from rookies Connor Wagland and Craig Willis – with Willis capturing the final two rounds of the 2012 season shortly after his series debut.
“We are very excited to get this season started,” said Diane Dale, promoter for the series. “There is so much talent on the grid this year and the passion for F1600 racing seems to be growing again. It will be very interesting to see how some of these young guns looking to make a career of auto racing fare against the depth of filed we have with our veteran drivers. It will be some of the closest wheel to wheel action you will see on track this summer,” she added.
RACE: 63rd Annual BEMC Spring Trophy Races
TRACK: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario
DATE: Saturday May 4 & Sunday May 5
TWITTER: @ToyoTiresF1600
SERIES HASHTAG: #ToyoTiresF1600
SERIES CONTACT: Jason Sharpe, (416) 557-5451 or jasons@movemotorsports.com, Twitter: @jasonsharpe
NOTABLE FACTS
The Race: This is the season opening round for the Championship. The series will visit Canadian Tire Motorsport Park four more times over the course of the season.
The Format: Both A and B Class cars race together, with an equalization package for the Honda and Ford motors. There is one practice and one qualifying session for each of the weekend’s races.
SuperTeams: Three notable teams will have multiple cars entered in this event. Leading the way will be Brian Graham Racing Team Grote with 4 cars entered – 3 Piper Hondas and 1 Van Diemen Ford; Britain West will also have 4 in the race – 2 Van Diemen Fords and 2 Van Diemen Hondas; brand new team Exclusive Autosport will have 3 Spectrum Hondas entered.
Ringers: This event will have some of the best open-wheel talent in North America in attendance. Scott Hargrove of (age 17) of Surrey, BC is the current USF2000 points leader having won 3 of the first 4 races; Jesse Lazare (age 15) of Montreal, QC sits 3rd in USF2000 points; Dalton Kellett (age 19) of Stouffville, ON sits 20th in USF2000 points and Thomas McGregor (age 21) of Saskatoon, SK competed in the 2012 USF2000 series for Andretti Autosport
About the Toyo Tires Formula 1600 Championship Series: 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 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.
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