2015 Canadian Tire Motorsport Part - Canadian Touring Car Championship

In 2015, the Canadian Touring Car Championship (CTCC) was in its ninth season. With sponsorship from Continental Tires, the series consisted of seven race weekends at five different tracks in Ontario and Quebec. The series opened in May on the Victoria Day Weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP). Following CTMP, teams would compete at Shannonville Motorsport Park, Toronto, Circuit ICAR, and Trois-Rivieres. The final two race weekends would see the championship return to CTMP and Circuit ICAR.

One of the series biggest changes in 2015 was the elimination of the B-Spec category and the return of Grand Touring. There was a Grand Touring class in the series first season. The championship has three different groups which compete in the same race.

Touring: This is intended to be an entry-level category. Vehicles competing in this class are allowed minimal performance enhancements. Engine, suspension and chassis modifications are not allowed. Changes can be made to the ignition and exhaust systems. Brake rotors can also be replaced provided they meet the OE specs. Manufacturers represented in this group include the – Mini Cooper S, Honda Civic Si, Acura RSX and Hyundai Tiburon.

Super Touring: Super Touring includes many of the same makes and models found in Touring. However, this category allows engine modifications, changes to the suspension, upgrades to the brakes and aerodynamic body enhancements. Additional manufacturers competing in this group include BMW and Porsche.

Grand Touring: The BMW M3, Porsche 996 and Ford Mustang are three of the most popular vehicles racing in this category. Like Super Touring, some changes and modifications are permitted. Cars in this class are typically powered by six or eight-cylinder engines. Of the three groups, these cars produce the most horsepower.

The Victoria Day weekend event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park included the NASCAR Canadian Tire and Pirelli World Challenge series. This event was the Canadian Touring Car Championship’s season opener. Drivers would be competing in two 40-minute races around the ten turn 2.459-mile road course.

It was a healthy entry list for the opening weekend of the 2015 Canadian Touring Car Championship. A field of twenty-seven starters receives the Starter’s flag and head into corner one. Leading the way is Mathieu Audette in the Audette Racing Acura RSX. Next to Audette is Gary Kwok in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X. Just behind Audette is the series defending Super Touring champion Roger Ledoux driving a Subaru WRX Sti.

Audette Racing entered two cars in the season opener. Father, Francois Audette was scheduled to make his return to racing in a Super Touring Porsche Cayman – unfortunately - the Porsche had an engine failure in practice. On the other hand, it was a dominant weekend for Francois’ son, Mathieu. Mathieu driving the family entered Acura RSX qualified on the pole and won rounds one and two.

Another driver dominating the weekend at CTMP was Martin Crisp driving the wutfun Racing Mazda MX-5. Crisp’s weekend began by grabbing the Touring category pole - starting in the fourteenth grid position. In race one, he had a great opening lap and gained two positions. However, a mistake dropped him to sixteenth. Crisp worked his way through the field - finishing eighth overall and took the class victory. Round two was not as eventful - he captured another Touring category win.

Touring car veteran, Jocelyn Hebert had a great start to the 2015 season. Hebert, racing the Equipe 89 Racing Team Honda Civic Si captured two second place finishes in the Touring category. Hebert qualified third in round one – 0.718-seconds behind pole-sitter, Martin Crisp. He started sixteenth overall and led the class before finishing second. The weekend’s second event mirrored the first – he led the category early but was second at the checkered flag.

Qualifying third overall and in the Super Touring category was Gary Kwok. Kwok drove the No. 66 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X prepared by M&S Racing. In the first event of the weekend, he passed second place starter Nick Wittmer on the first lap and held the position to the checkered flag – finishing 14.572-seconds behind the winner, Mathieu Audette. In race two, Kwok started second but retired with a mechanical issue on lap-17.

Winning the Grand Touring race on Saturday was Glenn Chaplin. Chaplin qualified the Fastco Racing Ford Mustang Boss 302R third in class and twentieth overall. When the faster qualifiers had issues, Kuno Wittmer retired and Pascal Carre failed to start the race, he took the victory. Carre’s quicker BMW was repaired for the final race of the weekend and Chaplin has to settle for second place in Grand Touring.

2014 Super Touring champion, Roger Ledoux, had a good opening weekend. In the first qualifying session, Ledoux put his Lachute Performance sponsored Subaru WRX Sti fourth on the starting grid. In round one, he inherited third place when the Honda Accord of Nick Wittmer retired with a mechanical issue. Ledoux started third in the weekend’s final event and when Gary Kwok encountered problems he was able to finish second.

Pascal Carre qualified ninth overall and second in the Grand Touring category but an accident Saturday prevented him from starting round one. With the help of Arek Wojciechowski and the 8Legs Racing crew repairs were made to Carre’s BMW M3 in time for Sunday’s event. Starting from the back of the grid, he charged through the field and passed eighteen cars on the way to a class victory and a seventh place finish overall. The win was Carre’s first in the series.

Scott Nicol qualified fifth in the Super Touring category. Nicol was in the fourth position when he retired on lap-24. Suspecting there was something wrong with the engine he parked the Honda at Moss Corner. The team decided to change the motor for Sunday’s contest. Nicol started fifth – problems for Nick Wittmer and Gary Kwok and a pass on Tom Kwok allowed him to capture the final spot on the Super Touring podium.

Karl Wittmer’s season got off to a rocky start. In qualifying, Karl crashed the No. 82 Honda Civic Si and sustained substantial damage to the right side of the car. Remarkably, the crew was able to make repairs and although the car was far from perfect, Wittmer was ready for round one. In the first race, he started last and finished eighth in the Touring category. The following day, Wittmer was twenty-third overall and ninth in class.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	SPONSOR / CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Super Touring	Mathieu Audette	Audette Racing Team / Acura RSX Type S	27	-
2	Super Touring	Gary Kwok	M&S Racing / Mitsubishi EVO X	27	-
3	Super Touring	Roger Ledoux	Lachute Performance / Subaru WRX Sti	27	-
4	Super Touring	Tom Kwok	M&S Racing / Acura CSX Type S	27	-
5	Super Touring	Eric Hochgeschurz	8Legs Racing / BMW 330i	27	-
6	Super Touring	Kyle Tasker	JDS Autosport / Hyundai Tiburon	26	-
7	Super Touring	Marc-André Bergeron	Masif Performance / Mazda RX-8	26	-
8	Touring	Martin Crisp	wutfun Racing / Mazda MX-5	26	-
9	Touring	Jocelyn Hebert	89 Racing Team / Honda Civic Si	26	-
10	Super Touring	Nathalie Henault	Lachute Performance / Subaru WRX Sti	26	-
11	Grand Touring	Glenn Chaplin	Fastco Motorsports / Ford Mustang Boss 302	26	-
12	Touring	Alain Lauziere	Team Octane / Mini Cooper S	26	-
13	Touring	Michel Sallenbach	Team Octane / Mini Cooper S	25	-
14	Touring	Paul Gravel	Octane Motorsport / Mini Cooper S	25	-
15	Touring	Ian Madden	Octane Motorsport / Mini Cooper S	25	-
16	Grand Touring	Ian Crerar	ClearWater Design Racing / Porsche 996	25	-
17	Super Touring	Bob Attrell	Blanchet Motorsports / Hyundai Genesis Coupe	25	-
18	Touring	Christian Raymond	FUELD / Honda Civic Si	25	-
19	Super Touring	Scott Nicol	Velocity Motorsports Club / Honda Civic Si	24	-
20	Super Touring	Scott Giannou	Lombardi Honda Racing / Honda Civic Si	24	-
21	Touring	Karl Wittmer	Lombardi Honda Racing / Honda Civic Si	24	-
22	Touring	Eric Leblanc	FUELD / Honda Civic Si	23	-
23	Super Touring	Damon Sharpe	Blanchet Motorsports / Hyundai Genesis Coupe	19	-
24	Super Touring	Nick Wittmer	Ste. Rose Honda Racing / Honda Accord Coupe	13	Mechanical
25	Touring	Marlin Langeveldt	Can-Saf Motorsports / Mazda RX-8	13	Mechanical
26	Grand Touring	Kuno Wittmer	Fastco Motorsports / Ford Mustang Boss 302	9	Mechanical

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	SPONSOR / CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Super Touring	Mathieu Audette	Audette Racing Team / Acura RSX Type S	27	-
2	Super Touring	Roger Ledoux	Lachute Performance / Subaru WRX Sti	27	-
3	Super Touring	Scott Nicol	Velocity Motorsports Club / Honda Civic Si	27	-
4	Super Touring	Marc-André Bergeron	Masif Performance / Mazda RX-8	27	-
5	Super Touring	Bob Attrell	Blanchet Motorsports / Hyundai Genesis Coupe	27	-
6	Super Touring	Eric Hochgeschurz	8Legs Racing / BMW 330i	27	-
7	Grand Touring	Pascal Carre	PCS Motorsports / BMW M3	26	-
8	Grand Touring	Glenn Chaplin	Fastco Motorsports / Ford Mustang Boss 302	26	-
9	Super Touring	Kyle Tasker	JDS Autosport / Hyundai Tiburon	26	-
10	Super Touring	Scott Giannou	Lombardi Honda Racing / Honda Civic Si	26	-
11	Super Touring	Tom Kwok	M&S Racing / Acura CSX Type S	26	-
12	Touring	Martin Crisp	wutfun Racing / Mazda MX-5	26	-
13	Touring	Jocelyn Hebert	89 Racing Team / Honda Civic Si	26	-
14	Grand Touring	Ian Crerar	ClearWater Design Racing / Porsche 996	26	-
15	Super Touring	Nathalie Henault	Lachute Performance / Subaru WRX Sti	26	-
16	Super Touring	Damon Sharpe	Blanchet Motorsports / Hyundai Genesis Coupe	26	-
17	Touring	Marlin Langeveldt	Can-Saf Motorsports / Mazda RX-8	26	-
18	Touring	Paul Gravel	Octane Motorsport / Mini Cooper S	25	-
19	Touring	Michel Sallenbach	Team Octane / Mini Cooper S	25	-
20	Touring	Alain Lauziere	Team Octane / Mini Cooper S	25	-
21	Touring	Ian Madden	Octane Motorsport / Mini Cooper S	25	-
22	Touring	Christian Raymond	FUELD / Honda Civic Si	25	-
23	Touring	Karl Wittmer	Lombardi Honda Racing / Honda Civic Si	25	-
24	Grand Touring	Kuno Wittmer	Fastco Motorsports / Ford Mustang Boss 302	24	-
25	Super Touring	Gary Kwok	M&S Racing / Mitsubishi EVO X	17	Mechanical
26	Touring	Eric Leblanc	FUELD / Honda Civic Si	12	Accident
27	Super Touring	Nick Wittmer	Ste. Rose Honda Racing / Honda Accord Coupe	1	Mechanical

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