2004 Trois-Rivieres - Hankook Touring

Three of the closed wheel categories the Federation Auto Quebec was responsible for administering during the 2004 Quebec road racing season were Touring, Sedan GTU and Sedan GTO.

Touring – This category is for production-based vehicles manufactured within the last twelve years. The cars are powered by four or six-cylinder engines with a maximum displacement of 2.8-liters. Motors can be modified turbochargers or superchargers are not allowed. Engines are used to determine the weight of a vehicle. Brakes must retain their original location and the anti-lock must be disconnected. No alterations to the bodywork are permitted. Original bumpers and dashboard cannot be replaced, but a rear wing may be added. For safety reasons, all vehicles must be equipped with a roll cage, five-point seatbelts, window net, fire extinguishing system and fuel cell. The series is sponsored by Hankook tires and all competitors are required to use the brand.
Sedan – This group is split into two classes as determined by the vehicle’s engine displacement.
- Sedan GTU – under three-liter engines which must be normally aspirated
- Sedan GTO – over three-liter engines which are permitted to use a turbocharger or supercharger
Unlike the Touring category, there are very few restrictions. There is no weight limit; modifications are allowed to the engine, transmission, suspension and bodywork. However, like the Touring class, there are similar safety requirements.

The Hankook Touring series visits a couple of new venues in 2004 – Sanair and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The season kicks off at Autodrome St-Eustache in early May. This is followed by a race weekend in June at Sanair. Then it is back to Autodrome St-Eustache for round three. Next is one of the highlights of the season, a stop at Le Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres. Teams travel to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for another high profile event during the Molson Indy weekend. The penultimate race is the series second visit to Sanair. The finale is held at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant at the end of September.

Round four of the 2004 Hankook Touring series was held at the eleven-turn 1.5-mile temporary street circuit at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.

A field of twenty-nine Hankook Touring competitors enter the main straight at Trois-Rivieres, ready for the start of round four. On the pole is Ontario’s Aaron Povoledo in the No. 33 Kensai Racing prepared Acura Integra Type R. On the outside of Povoledo is the No. 43 GT Racing Hyundai Tiburon of Jacques Gravel. Behind the fastest qualifiers is the Honda Civic Si-R of Jacques Belanger and Yves Bedard in a VW Golf GTi.

The defending series championship, Jocelyn Hebert, returned in his familiar No.89 Acura Integra Type R. Hebert won the opening round of 2004 at Autodrome St-Eustache. He had not finished on the podium since that event. Hebert was eighth fastest in the wet qualifying conditions at Trois-Rivieres. The track was dry for the race. He moved up the order and benefited from the retirement of some drivers to capture the win.

It appeared that Jacques Gravel was playing ‘musical chairs.’ Last season, Gravel was in a BMW 328i prepared by Key Motorsports and in 2002, he raced a Hyundai Tiburon. This year Gravel is driving the No. 43 GT Racing Hyundai Tiburon. His record in 2004 was three podiums in three starts but no victories. At Trois-Rivieres, Gravel started on the outside of the front row and finished in the runner-up position.

Kensai Racing entered their first race of the season in round three at Autodrome St-Eustache. They were not competitive – driver Aaron Povoledo started eleventh and finished sixteenth. At Trois-Rivieres, Povoledo and the No. 33 Acura Integra Type R were on form. On a very wet track, Povoledo put the Acura on the pole by a margin of 0.135-seconds. Unfortunately, he retired after a crash on lap-8.

Finishing third in round four of the 2004 Hankook Touring championship was Charles-Andre Bilodeau. To date, the highlight of Bilodeau’s year was a victory in race two at Sanair. He was fourteenth fastest in the wet qualifying session at Trois-Rivieres. During the race, Bilodeau and the No. 26 Promotion Motorsports Inc. BMW 325i excelled on the dry track, which allowed him to grab the podium’s final spot.

Another driver that benefited from a dry track on race day and the retirement of several quicker competitors was Bobby Hamel. At the conclusion of the qualifying session, Hamel was the twentieth fastest in a field of thirty cars. During the contest, he moved up the lap chart and at the end of twenty-laps, Hamel crossed the finish line in the fourth position.

FINISH	START	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	8	Jocelyn Hebert	Acura Integra Type R	20	-
2	2	Jacques Gravel	Hyundai Tiburon	20	-
3	14	Charles-Andre Bilodeau	BMW 325i	20	-
4	20	Bobby Hamel	BMW 328i	20	-
5	9	David Gosselin	Dodge Neon ACR	20	-
6	3	Jacques Belanger	Honda Civic	20	-
7	12	Mathieu Pichette	Honda Civic	20	-
8	16	Jacques Montpetit	Honda Civic	20	-
9	11	Pascal Carre	Honda Civic	20	-
10	17	Steve Djelebian	Hyundai Tiburon	20	-
11	7	Claude Rheault	Honda Del Sol	20	-
12	13	Sebastien Rochon	BMW 323i	20	-
13	23	Joao Ramalho	Honda CRX	20	-
14	26	Yves Levesque	Honda Civic	20	-
15	19	Stephane Trahan	Volkswagen Beetle	20	-
16	22	Roberto Guerra	Honda Civic	19	-
17	18	Hugo Vadeboncoeur	Honda Civic	19	-
18	10	Alexandre Dupre	Honda Del Sol	19	-
19	28	Jean-Francois Trahan	Toyota Echo	18	-
20	30	Martin Hamel	Acura Integra Type R	15	Did Not Finish
21	25	Jean-Marc Alcaraz	BMW M3	12	Did Not Finish
22	1	Aaron Povoledo	Acura Integra Type R	8	Did Not Finish
23	27	David Fiset	Toyota Echo	7	Did Not Finish
24	6	Kuno Wittmer	Honda Civic Si-R	6	Did Not Finish
25	5	Nick Wittmer	Honda Prelude	6	Did Not Finish
26	24	Benoit Martin	Honda Prelude	6	Did Not Finish
27	21	Alain Demers	Honda Civic Si-R	6	Did Not Finish
28	4	Yves Bedard	Volkswage Golf GTi	4	Did Not Finish
29	15	Paul Sarrazin	Volkswagen Corrado	4	Did Not Finish
-	29	Eric St-Gelais	Ford Focus ZX3	-	Did Not Start

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