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2011 was the fifth season for Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship.
The series continued to offer racers an excellent opportunity to showcase their talents at some of
eastern Canada’s most widely recognized and well-established race tracks.
The series provided amateur competitors with professionally organized events that would attract fans and sponsors.
The success of the championship was reflected in the number of drivers who participated in race weekends.
The average car count per event in 2010 was thirty-one- entries.
In the off-season, there were a couple of newsworthy stories. For the first time, teams would be competing at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, supporting the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Also, the Canadian Touring Car’s relationship with Toyo Tires ended and race cars would be equipped with Continental Tires. This 2011 schedule consists of eight race weekends at five different facilities. The format at each venue includes two races – generally, thirty-minutes in length. The exception is Montreal, where there will only be one contest. As has become tradition, the season kicks off on the Victoria Day long weekend at Mosport International Raceway. Next on the calendar is a visit to ICAR in early June. This is followed by the second of three stops to Mosport - supporting the NASCAR Canadian Tire series. Two weeks later, the series holds one of their premier events – Exhibition Place, Toronto, with the IndyCar Championship. Then it is back to Mosport for rounds nine and ten, during the Grand Prix of Mosport. The remainder of the season is conducted in Quebec. First up is the series only stop on the street circuit at Trois-Rivieres, followed by a single event at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Series champions will be crowned when teams make their second visit to ICAR in September. In 2011, there were two classes. To help fans distinguish between the groups, the cars are fitted with different coloured windshield banners.
The first two rounds of the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Continental Tires were held at Mosport International Raceway on the Victoria Day long weekend. There were two thirty-minute races conducted Saturday and Sunday around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course. |
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The start of round two for the 2011 Castrol Touring Car Championship at Mosport International Raceway. Jumping into the lead is the pole-sitter, Richard Boake, in the No. 36 Donington Wenzel Motorsport Subaru WRX STi. Next in line is Dean Fantin, who started behind Boake, driving the No. 13 Amico Racing BMW 330i. Trailing Fantin is the No 10 8Legs Racing BMW 330i of Arek Wojciechowski. |
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After a one-year hiatus, Richard Boake returned to the 2011 Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship driving the familiar Donington Wenzel Motorsport Subaru WRX STi. It was a triumphant comeback for Boake, who qualified fifth for round one and finished first overall and in the Super Touring category. Starting on the pole in the feature, he led flag-to-flag – winning by a margin of over six seconds. |
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Dominating the Touring category in round one of the 2011 Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship was Gary Kwok. Kwok qualified an incredible fourth overall and first in class. Driving the No. 66 M&S Racing Acura CSX, he beat his brother, Tom, to the checkered flag. In a repeat performance on Sunday, Kwok captured a second victory and left Mosport International Raceway with a sizeable lead in the points chase. |
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M&S Racing fielded three cars during the opening weekend of the championship. In addition to Gary Kwok, there were Touring class Honda Civics entered for Jonathan Young and Gary’s brother, Tom. Tom piloted the No. 55 Civic. On both Saturday and Sunday, he started and finished in the runner-up position. |
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Ottawa resident, Arek Wojciechowski, was another competitor who had an excellent opening weekend, scoring valuable points towards the 2011 championship. Wojciechowski was second fastest in qualifying for the season’s first race. He chased the eventual winner, Richard Boake and finished second driving the No. 10 8Legs Racing BMW 330i. Despite a poor start on Sunday, Wojciechowski captured another runner-up finish. |
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Octane Motorsport entered two Mini Cooper S in the Touring category. The No. 46 Mini was raced by Michel Sallenbach. Sallenbach made his Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship debut last year and finished second in the title chase. He opened this season with a third-place finish behind the Kwok brothers. In the finale, Sallenbach finished fifth after he was passed by his teammate, Alain Lauziere and P.J. Groenke. |
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Last season, Dean Fantin only completed a partial schedule. The No. 13 BMW 330i was severely damaged in an accident during the Toronto Indy Car event. With repairs made for 2011, Fantin was on pace. He qualified and finished third overall and in the Super Touring category for the weekend’s first race. In Sunday’s round, he shot into second place but lost positions to Arek Wojciechowski and Etienne Borgeat. |
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P.J. Groenke debuted his new Touring class Volkswagen Golf GTi Turbo during the second weekend of 2010. He did not earn any podium finishes with the Volkswagen, but consistent results in the top-10 placed him fifth in the final standings. The team started 2011 with a year of experience and it showed at Mosport. Groenke finished fifth in class on Saturday and in round two, he captured the final spot on the Touring class podium. |
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Series veteran, Etienne Borgeat, was the fastest qualifier for the opening round of the 2011 Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship at Mosport International Raceway. Unfortunately, the race did not go as well for the driver of the No. 2 GT Racing prepared Pontiac Solstice GXP and he finished a distant fourth in Super Touring. In the final race of the weekend, Borgeat redeemed himself and was third in class. |
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Sunday’s Super Touring podium for round two of the 2011 Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship at Mosport International Raceway. In the center is the winner for the second day in a row, Richard Boake. On the left side of the rostrum, also repeating Saturday’s performance, is 8Legs Racing’s, Arek Wojciechowski. Completing the podium is the third-place finisher from GT Racing, Etienne Borgeat. |
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| FINISH | CLASS | DRIVER | CAR / SPONSOR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Super Touring | Richard Boake | Subaru WRX STi / Donington Motorsport | 13 | - |
| 2 | Super Touring | Arek Wojciechowski | BMW 330i / 8Legs Racing | 13 | - |
| 3 | Super Touring | Dean Fantin | BMW 330i / Amico Racing | 13 | - |
| 4 | Touring | Gary Kwok | Acura CSX / M&S Racing | 13 | - |
| 5 | Touring | Tom Kwok | Honda Civic / M&S Racing | 13 | - |
| 6 | Touring | Michel Sallenbach | Mini Cooper S / Mini Canada | 13 | - |
| 7 | Touring | Alain Lauzière | Mini Cooper S / Mini Canada | 13 | - |
| 8 | Super Touring | Etienne Borgeat | Pontiac Solstice GXP / GT Racing | 13 | - |
| 9 | Touring | P.J. Groenke | VW Golf GTi Turbo / Pfaff Racing | 13 | - |
| 10 | Touring | Paul Dargis | Honda Civic Si-R / Dargis Motorsports | 13 | - |
| 11 | Super Touring | Eric Hochgeschurz | BMW 330i / 8Legs Racing | 13 | - |
| 12 | Super Touring | Gunter Schmidt | Chevrolet Cobalt SS / GS Motorsports | 13 | - |
| 13 | Super Touring | Michael Delle Donne | BMW 330i / RMP Competizione | 13 | - |
| 14 | Super Touring | Rocco Marciello | BMW 330i / RMP Competizione | 13 | - |
| 15 | Super Touring | Sasha Anis | Hyundai Genesis / G1 Racing | 12 | - |
| 16 | Touring | Ryan Blanchet | Honda Civic Si / Blanchet Motorsports | 12 | - |
| 17 | Touring | Jonathan Young | Honda Civic / M&S Racing | 12 | - |
| 18 | Super Touring | Alex Healy | Acura RSX Type-S / Alex Healy Racing | 4 | Did Not Finish |
| 19 | Super Touring | Bob Attrell | Hyundai Genesis / Hyundai Racing Team | 3 | Did Not Finish |
| 20 | Touring | Luc Lesage | Scion TC / Media Racing Team | 3 | Did Not Finish |
| - | Super Touring | Glenn Chaplin | Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing | - | Did Not Start |
| - | Super Touring | Lee Chaplin | Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing | - | Did Not Start |
| - | Super Touring | Jeff Pabst | Audi A5 / Pfaff Racing | - | Did Not Start |
| FINISH | CLASS | DRIVER | CAR / SPONSOR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Super Touring | Richard Boake | Subaru WRX STi / Donington Motorsport | 20 | - |
| 2 | Super Touring | Arek Wojciechowski | BMW 330i / 8Legs Racing | 20 | - |
| 3 | Super Touring | Etienne Borgeat | Pontiac Solstice GXP / GT Racing | 20 | - |
| 4 | Super Touring | Dean Fantin | BMW 330i / Amico Racing | 20 | - |
| 5 | Super Touring | Alex Healy | Acura RSX Type-S / Alex Healy Racing | 20 | - |
| 6 | Super Touring | Bob Attrell | Hyundai Genesis / Hyundai Racing Team | 20 | - |
| 7 | Super Touring | Eric Hochgeschurz | BMW 330i / 8Legs Racing | 20 | - |
| 8 | Super Touring | Gunter Schmidt | Chevrolet Cobalt SS / GS Motorsports | 20 | - |
| 9 | Touring | Gary Kwok | Acura CSX / M&S Racing | 20 | - |
| 10 | Touring | Tom Kwok | Honda Civic / M&S Racing | 20 | - |
| 11 | Touring | P.J. Groenke | VW Golf GTi Turbo / Pfaff Racing | 19 | - |
| 12 | Touring | Alain Lauzière | Mini Cooper S / Mini Canada | 19 | - |
| 13 | Touring | Michel Sallenbach | Mini Cooper S / Mini Canada | 19 | - |
| 14 | Touring | Luc Lesage | Scion TC / Media Racing Team | 19 | - |
| 15 | Super Touring | Rocco Marciello | BMW 330i / RMP Competizione | 19 | - |
| 16 | Touring | Paul Dargis | Honda Civic Si-R / Dargis Motorsports | 19 | - |
| 17 | Touring | Jonathan Young | Honda Civic / M&S Racing | 19 | - |
| 18 | Super Touring | Michael Delle Donne | BMW 330i / RMP Competizione | 19 | - |
| 19 | Touring | Ryan Blanchet | Honda Civic Si / Blanchet Motorsports | 19 | - |
| 20 | Super Touring | Sasha Anis | Hyundai Genesis / G1 Racing | 1 | Did Not Finish |
| - | Super Touring | Glenn Chaplin | Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing | - | Did Not Start |
| - | Super Touring | Lee Chaplin | Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing | - | Did Not Start |
| - | Super Touring | Jeff Pabst | Audi A5 / Pfaff Racing | - | Did Not Start |
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