Kevin King and Olivier Bédard are winners after an action-packed day!

- Rounds five and six of the Nissan Micra Cup were held today at the Autodrome St-Eustache -

MISSISSAUGA, ON, June 19, 2016 /CNW/ - The 2016 Nissan Micra Cup held its fifth and sixth races of the season today at the Autodrome St-Eustache, near Montreal. For the first and only time this season, the drivers competed in two races and qualifying sessions on the same day. This format was a successful one for Kevin King and Olivier Bédard, both of whom won a race.

The first race of the day saw lot of action, during which Kevin King, Olivier Bédard and Stefan Rzadzinski established a significant lead in front of the rest of the drivers. A black flag penalty of a few seconds caused Rzadzinksi to fall behind and Marc-Antoine Demers climbed to third place, earning a position on the podium beside his teammate Olivier Bédard (2^nd) and Kevin King (1^st).

Although King led the entire first race, the pressure was on with the presence of Bédard at his back the whole time. Several great battles took place on the track, including Bertrand Godin who proved he has not lost his touch after finishing ninth in his first ever Nissan Micra Cup race. He fought with the young Chris Sahakian, as well as with veteran Jacques Bélanger.

The final race had similarities and differences from the first. The same three drivers who had qualified in first, second and third place for the first race, started in the same positions for the second race. Kevin King started in pole position, followed by Olivier Bédard and Stefan Rzadzinski. It is only at the end of an action-packed event that Bédard was able to win his first race of the season, only one corner away from the start/finish line!

Aside from the King-Bédard battle, Xavier Coupal gave a hard time to Stefan Rzadzinski who had to give away his third position to the NASCAR driver. Coupal only drove during the second race, sharing the wheel of his car with Bertrand Godin.

In the drivers' championship, Kevin King clinched the lead with 170 points, ahead of Xavier Coupal (168 points), Stefan Rzadzinski (163 points), Valérie Limoges (152 points), Olivier Bédard (143 points) and Marc-Antoine Demers (115 points). For the rookies, Peter Dyck is now leading with 36 points. In the Team standings, Albi Nissan car #572 driven at the first events by Xavier Coupal and today in St-Eustache by Bertrand Godin remains on top, followed by car #86 (Perry Performance/Hull Nissan) and #220 (TOTAL Canada).   

Following this event at the Autodrome St-Eustache, the next outing for the Nissan Micra Cup will be on July 8, 9 and 10 in Ontario. The seventh and eighth rounds of the season will be held at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, in Bowmanville, during the famous IMSA SportsCar Weekend. This marks the first race weekend at this legendary racetrack, formerly known as Mosport, for the Nissan Micra Cup. 

For full race results, visit:
http://www.micracup.com/Results_2016_Race?RID=5 (race 5)
http://www.micracup.com/Results_2016_Race?RID=6 (race 6)

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

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: "First race podium: Kevin King, Olivier Bédard, Marc-Antoine Demers and Ashley Sahakian, first rookie (CNW Group/Nissan Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160619_C4374_PHOTO_EN_717190.jpg

Image with caption: "Olivier Bédard, winner of the second race (CNW Group/Nissan Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160619_C4374_PHOTO_EN_717194.jpg

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