Attrell and Hebert win at the NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge

Toronto, August 20th 2011 – It was an exciting day for Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Continental Tire (CTCC) competitors as they were competing in Round 13 at the NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge. On the starting grid of the famed Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Pole position was held by St. Leonard d’Aston driver Marc-Antoine Camirand in his BMW Z3 with a best lap time of 1:51.796. Camirand was followed by Brampton drivers Sasha Anis in his Hyundai Genesis Coupe and his teammate Bob Attrell in third in a Hyundai Genesis Coupe. The fourth and fifth grid positions were held by Montreal drivers Etienne Borgeat in a Pontiac Solstice and Nick Wittmer in his Honda Civic Si. Also in the field, Marc-André Bergeron from Trois-Rivières was driving his Mazda RX8 starting at the 28th position and Simon Dion-Viens from St. Joseph de Kamouraska was driving a BMW 328 from 8Legs Racing, starting at the 11th.

As the race started, Dion-Viens had to pull off on the first lap and had to retire from the race due to mechanical problems. A few laps later, the leader in Super Class points, King City driver Richard Boake pulled off in the last corner with a blown engine. Sure enough, this misfortune has cost him his first place in the Championship, for the time being with only two Rounds left this season. St. Anne des Lacs driver, Mathieu Audette also blew his engine unexpectedly early in the race.

Camirand was leading the field for quite a while, followed very closely by Anis. Both drivers were battling for the win, but close to the end, Camirand experienced mechanical problems which melted some wires and caused him to stop. Anis also experienced mechanical problems. At the same time, Ottawa driver Alex Healy blew the motor in his Acura RSX.

Super Class

That left Nick Wittmer in the lead in his Honda Civic Si followed by Bob Attrell. After a few laps Wittmer`s engine blew handing the lead and win to Attrell. Scott Nicol from Barrie, Ontario managed to climb from the tenth position to end in second place in a Honda Civic Si. Nicol was returning to CTCC racing for the first time after several years of absence. Borgeat got the third position, now placing him in first place of the Championship.

“Montreal is my hometown and whenever I have the chance, I come on this track to ride my bike, it paid back”, pleasantly said Borgeat. “All season long, I kept the pace, finishing the races and cumulating points, now I pushed Boake from the first place and I did that here at home and I am very happy about that!”

Post race analysis showed that the race was run past its 30 minute time limit and that Nick Wittmer had finished in first. Unfortunately he was later disqualified for a technical procedure infraction.Best lap time was made by Marc-Antoine Camirand with 1:52.99.

 

Touring Class

While the Super Class cars were having a tough race and multiple mechanical surprises, the Touring Class vehicles were handling the circuit Gilles-Villeneuve pretty nicely. Fortunately, no incidents were encountered by any of the cars. As a matter of fact most of the drivers were lapping within two seconds of each other.

At the checkered flag, Trois-Rivières driver Jocelyn Hébert took the victory in front of teammates Tom Kwok and Gary Kwok who respectively finished in second and third positions in their Honda Civic Si. Those three drivers battled a very nice and clean race.

“After Jocelyn passed me, I tried to come back and passed him again and I could not reach him” declared Tom Kwok. “Even though I tried during all race, I just couldn’t get to him because he was too fast.”

Unfortunately two drivers did not participate in the race because of engine problems: MINI driver Alain Lauzière from Vaudreuil-Dorion and Trois-Rivières driver Jacques Deshaies in his Mazda 3 Sport.

Best lap time was made by Jocelyn Hébert with 1:58.245.

To get the complete result of Round Thirteen, visit www.touringcar.ca. You can also follow CTCC on Facebook and Twitter. The Championship’s final Rounds 14th and 15th will take place on September 9 to 11 at Circuit ICAR during the Continental Sundown Enduro.

 

About CTCC

The Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Continental Tire is Canada’s only professional road racing series. Now in its fifth year, CTCC showcases race cars based on their stock street version. In 2011, CTCC will be featured at Circuit ICAR, Mosport International Raceway, Honda Indy Toronto, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières.

Experience the rush of touring car racing!

 

© RIF | CTCC