- Second half of the season starts with two spectacular races in the rain and the sun -
MISSISSAUGA, ON, July 24, 2016 /CNW/ - Held this past weekend as part of the Summer Classic at Circuit Mont-Tremblant (Québec), the ninth and 10th rounds of the 2016 Nissan Micra Cup alternated between extreme rain for Saturday's race and scorching summer sun for Sunday's race. This marked the start of the second half of the 2016 season.
The Nissan Micra Cup drivers dealt with different forces of nature during this event, demonstrating the versatility of the practically stock Nissan Micra S race cars in both wet and dry conditions. The dry weather for Saturday morning's qualifying session was replaced by intense rain for the first race, before the sun came back out for Sunday's qualifying session and race.
Kevin King earned the pole position following the first race, ahead of 2015 champion Olivier Bédard and Valérie Limoges, who had her best qualifying finish in the series since she started last year. Albertan Stefan Rzadzinski and the series leader, Xavier Coupal, completed the top five.
Having kicked off under rain conditions worthy of a tropical storm, the afternoon race saw the drivers brilliantly manoeuvre their Nissan Micras through a significant amount of water. Despite these conditions and next to no visibility, no incidents occurred, confirming once again the excellent driving ability displayed in this series. The race was halted on two instances, including a three-car collision that eliminated veteran Normand Boyer, Frédéric Bernier and rookie Stéfan Gauthier, who were battling for a spot among the top 10, two laps prior to the finish.
At the front of the pack, Kevin King led the first few laps before watching Olivier Bédard take over, ahead of his teammate Xavier Coupal. The order looked to be solidified, but three laps before the finish, Coupal was able to take the lead en route to his third victory of the season. Bédard finished in second place, ahead of Nic Hammann, the Nissan GT Academy driver and winner of the 2014 United States GT Academy. The young American, clearly comfortable in the rain, had his best race since starting in the series this past spring, climbing four positions to finish on the podium.
Valérie Limoges, Stefan Rzadzinski, Kevin King, Marc-Antoine Demers, Chris Sahakian, Metod Topolnik and Valérie Chiasson rounded off the top 10. Starting in last place, NASCAR driver Patrick Dussault, who was making his grand debut in the series, gained nine places to finish 14th.
The following day brought completely different weather. To the delight of the spectators, sun was in the sky during the second race, an even more intense battle with no less than 10 leader changes in the 30 minutes of racing. The lead driver was Stefan Rzadzinski, who qualified in pole position, followed by Olivier Bédard, Nic Hammann, Kevin King, Metod Topolnik and Xavier Coupal. Valérie Limoges was also part of the pack before her race ended following a collision.
At the end of the race, Coupal was crowned with a perfect weekend after winning his second consecutive victory. He beat out Bédard by only two-tenths of a second and Rzadzinski by six-tenths. Hammann finished in fourth, just ahead of King, who led for more than half of the race. Topolnik, Demers and Boyer rounded out the top eight.
Another exceptional battle took place for ninth place between Valérie Chiasson, Patrick Dussault, Jeff Boudreault and Frédéric Bernier. After succumbing to a DNF (did not finish) the previous evening, Bernier took revenge by claiming this hard-fought ninth place, ahead of Chiasson who took 10th spot from Dussault four laps before the finish. Boudreault finished 12th.
After the event concluded, race officials penalized four drivers with a 30-second penalty for avoidable contact, including Valérie Chiasson and Metod Topolnik. As a result, Jeff Boudreault secured a spot in the top 10.
In the drivers' championship, Xavier Coupal remains solidly at the top of the standings with 324 points, ahead of Olivier Bédard (293), Stefan Rzadzinski (273), Kevin King (266), Valérie Limoges (222) and Marc-Antoine Demers (206). For the rookies, Ashley Sahakian and Stefan Gauthier claimed victory on Saturday and Sunday respectively, but Ontarian Peter Dyck remains in the lead of this class.
After this Summer Classic at Circuit Mont-Tremblant, the Nissan Micra Cup will be at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières on August 12th, 13th, and 14th. Nissan Canada will be one of the event partners and will have multiple activities for spectators to take part in between the two races.
For full race results, visit:
http://www.micracup.com/Results_2016_Race?RID=9 (race 9)
http://www.micracup.com/Results_2016_Race?RID=10 (race 10)
General overall championship standings after 10 races:
http://www.micracup.com/Results_2016_ClassGen
For more information on the Nissan Micra Cup, go to: www.nissan.ca/micracup.
| 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: "Two races and two victories for Xavier Coupal this weekend (CNW Group/Nissan Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160724_C2767_PHOTO_EN_740554.jpg
Image with caption: "The podium following the first race, with Olivier Bédard (second), Xavier Coupal (first), Stefan Rzadzinski (third) and Ashley Sahakian (first rookie) (CNW Group/Nissan Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160724_C2767_PHOTO_EN_740556.jpg
Media contacts: Didier Marsaud, Director, Corporate Communications, Nissan Canada, Tel: 905-629-6400, Email: [email protected]; Jenn McCarthy, Cohn & Wolfe, Tel: 647-259-3305, Email: [email protected]
Share this article