Coupal and King Win Two Spectacular Races at Mont-Tremblant

- In warm temperatures, the Nissan Micra Cup made its return to the Circuit Mont-Tremblant with victories for Xavier Coupal and Kevin King -

MONT-TREMBLANT, QC, May 29, 2016 /CNW/ - The Nissan Micra Cup held its third and fourth races of the 2016 season as part of the Spring Classic at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant this past weekend.  It was an action-packed two days in summer-like temperatures which resulted in another win for Xavier Coupal on Saturday, and one for Kevin King on Sunday.

For full race results, visit:
http://www.micracup.com/Results_2016_Race?RID=3 (race 3)
http://www.micracup.com/Results_2016_Race?RID=4 (race 4)

To see the overall championship standings after four races, please visit: 
http://www.micracup.com/Results_2016_ClassGen

Second in the championship after the first event, Albertan Stefan Rzadzinski (Pneus Touchette) showed his determination right away as he earned pole position heading into Saturday's race. Rzadzinkski was just ahead of series leader, Xavier Coupal (Albi Nissan) - who was no less than eight-tenths of a second ahead of third place - 2015 champion Olivier Bédard (Albi Nissan). Rzadzinski and Coupal's intense performances in the series' identical and practically stock Micra S's were a highlight for all spectators.

The start of the first race took place under extreme heat on Saturday afternoon and a battle for the victory quickly took shape between four drivers.  The lead changed hands many times between Rzadzinski, Bédard, Coupal and Kevin King who is the winner of the first round of the season.  In the end, King won with a slim two-tenths of a second lead over Coupal and half a second over Rzadzinski.

However, after reviewing on-board footage, series officials stated that both King and Rzadzinski were guilty of making avoidable contact during the last lap.  King received a 35-second penalty and Rzadzinski a 30-second penalty on their overall race times, dropping them far down the final standings.  Xavier Coupal was eventually declared victor ahead of Valérie Limoges, giving the Quebecker his second consecutive win.

Valérie Limoges was never able to take the lead during the 30 minutes of competition, but she nevertheless remained just behind the leaders throughout the entire duration.  Finishing less than a second behind Coupal, her first podium of the season was well-deserved.  Along the way, she passed Marc-Antoine Demers, Normand Boyer and Olivier Bédard, who lost several places in the last lap as the victim of a collision. Chris Sahakian completed the Top 6 ahead of Yves Aubé, Pierre Clavet, Frédéric Bernier and Brian Makse.

The following day, Olivier Bédard had pole position ahead of Stefan Rzadzinski, but it was Kevin King, starting in third, who quickly challenged Bédard for the victory. The two former karting teammates provided a tight and respectable battle right until the end, which saw King earn his second win of the season.  Bédard finished seventh-tenths of a second behind him, followed by Rzadzinski and Coupal, who has been penalized by series officials after the race and dropped to seventh place which now slightly closes the gap in the drivers' championship. Another good battle occurred between Metod Topolnik and Valérie Limoges, as both took advantage of the Micra's agility at every turn in hopes of passing one another.  Topolnik eventually finished fourth ahead of Limoges, Marc-Antoine Demers, Xavier Coupal, Pierre Clavet, Chris Sahakian and Normand Boyer.

In the drivers' championship, Xavier Coupal remains in the lead with 136 points ahead of Stefan Rzadzinski (105), Valérie Limoges (104), Kevin King (90), Marc-Antoine Demers (78) and Olivier Bédard (65 points, tie with Jacques Bélanger and Metod Topolnik). For the rookies, Ashley Sahakian was the only driver competing this weekend and therefore earned both wins, further increasing her lead at the top of championship standings for this category. 

Following this weekend at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant, the next outing for the Nissan Micra Cup will be on Sunday, June 19th for the fifth and sixth rounds of the season at the Autodrome St-Eustache.  This marks the only time on the calendar that the two races will take place on the same day. 

For more information on the Nissan Micra Cup, please visit: www.nissan.ca/coupemicra.

Nissan Micra Cup 2016 Season Calendar:

May 13 - 15	Calabogie Motorsports Park, Ontario
May 27 - 29	Spring Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Québec
June 19	Autodrome St-Eustache, Québec
July 8 - 10	IMSA Weekend, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Ontario
July 22 - 24	Summer Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Québec
August 12 - 14	Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, Québec
September 2 - 4	NASCAR Weekend, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Ontario
September 23 - 25	Fall Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Québec

About the Nissan Micra Cup
Sanctioned by Auto Sport Québec (ASQ) and presented by JD Promotion & Compétition with the support of Nissan Canada, the 2016 Nissan Micra Cup exclusively features the stock Micra 1.6 S M/T model with minor modifications, including NISMO suspension - to render it race-ready.

Unlike most motorsport events, each competing Nissan Micra race vehicle has the exact same specifications, resulting in a competition that truly reveals the most skilled drivers. The Nissan Micra Cup race vehicles were equipped with the Nissan Micra's stock 1.6-litre 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 last year, 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 www.nissan.ca/micracup.

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.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan's second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 247,500 employees globally, Nissan sold 5.32 million vehicles and generated revenue of 11.38 trillion yen (USD 103.6 billion) in fiscal year 2014. Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of more than 60 models under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands. Nissan leads the world in zero-emission mobility, dominated by sales of the LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle. It is the best-selling EV in history with almost 50% share of the zero-emission vehicle segment.

For more information on our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/.

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 directly employs 306 full-time staff across offices in Vancouver (BC), Mississauga (ON), and Kirkland (QC). There are 191 independent Nissan dealerships, 39 Infiniti retailers and 45 Nissan Commercial Vehicle dealers across Canada. A pioneer in zero emission mobility, Nissan made history with the introduction of the Nissan LEAF, the first affordable, mass-market, pure-electric vehicle and winner of numerous international accolades including the prestigious 2011 European Car of the Year and World Car of the Year awards.

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.

SOURCE Nissan Canada Inc.

Image with caption: "Second race podium: Kevin King, Olivier Bédard, Stefan Rzadsinski and the first place rookie, Ashley Sahakian. (CNW Group/Nissan Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160529_C5049_PHOTO_EN_701715.jpg

Image with caption: "Kevin King wins the second race of the weekend. (CNW Group/Nissan Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160529_C5049_PHOTO_EN_701719.jpg

Media contacts: Didier Marsaud, Director, Corporate Communications, Nissan Canada, Tel: [phone], Email: [email protected]; Jenn McCarthy, Cohn & Wolfe, Tel: [phone], Email: [email protected]