2023 Toronto's Exhibition Place - FEL Motorsports Sports Car Championship Canada

In 2021, FEL (Franczak Enterprises Ltd.), an automotive learning and promotion company, expanded its presence in Canadian motorsports.

FEL saw an opportunity to revitalize and reinvest in Canadian car racing. As a featured sponsor, FEL's foray into the 2017 Toyo Tires F1600 Series resulted in fields growing from twelve to fifteen entries to over thirty cars in just three years.

The company is now making its mark in the Touring and Sports Racer categories. The FEL Motorsports Sports Car Championship Canada is for vehicles prepared to GT4, TCR and TCA specifications. Various models of the purpose-built Radical SR3 sports racers compete in the FEL Cup Canada.

Three classes participate in the FEL Motorsports 2023 Sports Car Championship Canada presented by Michelin – GT4, TCR and TCA.

GT4 – These cars are prepared to the SRO (Stephane Ratel Organisation) GT4 technical specifications. The quicker of the two groups, this class includes cars such as the Ford Mustang GT4, BMW M4 GT4, Mercedes-AMG, Audi R8 and Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. Vehicles competing in this division produce between 400 - 450 horsepower and are capable of speeds over 175-mph.
TCR - This class is based on the global touring car category TCR. Vehicles racing in this group include the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, Honda Civic TCR, Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR and Audi RS3 LMS TCR. They use a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine which will produce between 300 – 350-horsepower.
TCA – Cars competing in this group have a minimum amount of modifications. Most changes are to improve the safety of the vehicles. Using turbocharged or normally aspirated power plants, these cars produce between 160 and 185-horsepower.

There are six events and each race weekend consists of two forty-minute contests.

May 19-21 - Canadian Tire Motorsport
July 15-17 - Honda Indy Toronto
August 4-5 - Grand Prix Trois-Rivieres
September 1-3 - Canadian Tire Motorsport

Rounds four, five and six of the 2023 FEL Sports Car Championship Canada, presented by Michelin, were conducted at Toronto's Exhibition Place during the Honda Indy Toronto weekend. Drivers would compete in three races around the eleven-turn 1.755-mile temporary street circuit.

The event in Toronto saw the participation of a couple of drivers from the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. One of the visitors was GT4 competitor Nick Galante. Galante was entered in the No. 77 VPX Motorsport Mercedes AMG GT4. He won the first race of the weekend. An aggressive pass by Jack Polito in the next contest left Galante with a runner-up result. In the finale, he collected his second victory of the event.

Touring car veteran Richard Boake had mixed fortunes in the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park season opener. His finishes ranged from eleven place to a runner-up result. The No. 84 Betz Pools Audi RS3 LMS driver is no stranger to Toronto. Last season, he won the first race at the street circuit. This year, Boake outdid himself. He swept the TCR category and finished in the top five overall each round.

Another driver sweeping the Honda Indy Toronto weekend was James Vance. Vance is another competitor who brings experience from the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and, in addition, has participated in the Mazda MX-5 Cup. At Toronto, he drove the No. 44 FEL Motorsports Hyundai Veloster N in the TCA category. On the way to his class victories, Vance finished fourteenth overall three times.

Preventing Nick Galante from collecting a hat trick in Toronto was local GT4 competitor Jack Polito. Polito swept the opening rounds at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in the No. 22 Polito Ford Lincoln Ford Mustang. In the first race of the weekend, he finished 0.292-seconds behind Galante. Contact with Galante gave Polito the victory in round five. He ended the weekend with another runner-up result and the GT4 points lead.

On the first weekend of the season, TCR competitor Dean Baker collected a third-place finish and two wins, one of which was an overall victory. The combined results gave the class points lead to the driver of the No. 52 A2Z Automobiles Audi RS3 LMS. At Toronto, Baker found himself chasing the No. 84 Audi of Richard Boake to three runner-up finishes. However, he still leads the championship by forty markers.

Demi Chalkias opened her 2023 GT4 campaign at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with three runner results. Chalkias, who drives the No. 34 JMF Motorsports prepared Mercedes AMG, was the fastest qualifier for round four at Toronto's Exhibition Place. Unfortunately, her race didn't go as well and she finished thirteenth overall. In the next two contests, Chalkias finished third and is second in the title chase.

Marco Cirone was one of the many veterans in the field. His racing resume includes the 2019 Masters Championship of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada. He was sixth in the TCR standings after the first three rounds of this year's Sports Car Championship Canada. However, Cirone earned two podium results in Toronto and a fourth-place finish, which moved him to fourth in the points.

After helping his brother, Travis, win the TCR title in 2021, Trevor Hill is taking his turn behind the wheel. Hill pilots the No. 2 Crater Labs Honda Civic Si in the TCA category. He won the season's first three rounds at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. At Toronto, a new challenge came in the form of James Vance. However, Vance isn't a registered driver, which allowed Hill to collect points for two wins and a runner-up result.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	ENTRANT / CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	GT4	Nick Galante	Zachin Auto Group / Mercedes AMG GT4	14	-
2	GT4	Jack Polito	Polito Ford Lincoln / Ford Mustang GT4	14	-
3	GT4	Stefano Lucente	Bestline AutoTech / Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS	14	-
4	TCR	Richard Boake	Betz Pools / Audi RS3 LMS	14	-
5	TCR	Dean Baker	A2Z Automobiles / Audi RS3 LMS	14	-
6	TCR	Marco Cirone	NIN Transportation / Audi RS3 LMS	14	-
7	TCR	Mark Wilkins	Bryan Herta Autosport / Hyundai Elantra N TCR	14	-
8	TCR	Justin Di Benedetto	InsuJet / Audi RS3 LMS	14	-
9	TCR	Gary Kwok	M&S Quality Produce / Honda Civic FL5 TCR	14	-
10	TCR	Ron Tomlinson	Tomlinson Motorsports / Audi RS3 LMS TCR	14	-
11	TCR	Connor Attrell	Hyundai Racing Canada / Hyundai Elantra N TCR	14	-
12	TCR	Tom Kwok	M&S Quality Produce / Honda Civic FK7 TCR	14	-
13	GT4	Demi Chalkias	JMF Motorsports / Mercedes AMG GT4	14	-
14	TCA	James Vance	FEL Motorsports / Hyundai Veloster Turbo TCA	13	-
15	TCA	Trevor Hill	Crater Labs / Honda Civic Si FE1	13	-
16	TCA	Bob Attrell	Hyundai Racing Canada / Hyundai Veloster Turbo TCA	13	-
17	TCA	Eric Kunz	SickKids / Honda Civic Si TCA	13	-
18	TCA	Megan Tomlinson	Tomlinson Motorsports / Honda Civic Si FE1	13	-
19	TCA	Jonathan Young	M&S Quality Produce / Honda Civic Si TCA	13	-
20	TCR	Ed Killeen	Bestline AutoTech / Audi RS3 LMS TCR	4	Did Not Finish
21	TCR	Quinn Attrell	Hyundai Racing Canada / Hyundai Veloster Turbo TCR	4	Did Not Finish
22	TCR	Olivier Montour	Kamloop / V.W. Golf GTI TCR SEQ	3	Did Not Finish
23	TCR	Louis-Philippe Montour	Kamloop / V.W. Golf GTI TCR SEQ	2	Did Not Finish
15	GT4	Marc Lafleur	Riding Strikers / Mercedes AMG GT4	1	Did Not Finish

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	ENTRANT / CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	GT4	Jack Polito	Polito Ford Lincoln / Ford Mustang GT4	23	-
2	GT4	Nick Galante	Zachin Auto Group / Mercedes AMG GT4	23	-
3	GT4	Demi Chalkias	JMF Motorsports / Mercedes AMG GT4	23	-
4	TCR	Richard Boake	Betz Pools / Audi RS3 LMS	23	-
5	TCR	Dean Baker	A2Z Automobiles / Audi RS3 LMS	23	-
6	TCR	Louis-Philippe Montour	Kamloop / V.W. Golf GTI TCR SEQ	23	-
7	TCR	Marco Cirone	NIN Transportation / Audi RS3 LMS	23	-
8	TCR	Mark Wilkins	Bryan Herta Autosport / Hyundai Elantra N TCR	23	-
9	TCR	Gary Kwok	M&S Quality Produce / Honda Civic FL5 TCR	23	-
10	TCR	Justin Di Benedetto	InsuJet / Audi RS3 LMS	23	-
11	TCR	Ron Tomlinson	Tomlinson Motorsports / Audi RS3 LMS TCR	23	-
12	TCR	Tom Kwok	M&S Quality Produce / Honda Civic FK7 TCR	23	-
13	TCR	Olivier Montour	Kamloop / V.W. Golf GTI TCR SEQ	22	-
14	TCA	James Vance	FEL Motorsports / Hyundai Veloster Turbo TCA	22	-
15	TCA	Trevor Hill	Crater Labs / Honda Civic Si FE1	22	-
16	TCA	Eric Kunz	SickKids / Honda Civic Si TCA	22	-
17	TCA	Jonathan Young	M&S Quality Produce / Honda Civic Si TCA	22	-
18	TCA	Megan Tomlinson	Tomlinson Motorsports / Honda Civic Si FE1	21	-
19	TCR	Quinn Attrell	Hyundai Racing Canada / Hyundai Veloster Turbo TCR	21	Did Not Finish
20	TCR	Connor Attrell	Hyundai Racing Canada / Hyundai Elantra N TCR	16	Did Not Finish
21	TCA	Bob Attrell	Hyundai Racing Canada / Hyundai Veloster Turbo TCA	9	Did Not Finish
22	GT4	Stefano Lucente	Bestline AutoTech / Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS	5	Did Not Finish
-	GT4	Marc Lafleur	Riding Strikers / Mercedes AMG GT4	0	Did Not Finish
-	TCR	Ed Killeen	Bestline AutoTech / Audi RS3 LMS TCR	0	Did Not Finish

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	ENTRANT / CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	GT4	Nick Galante	Zachin Auto Group / Mercedes AMG GT4	23	-
2	GT4	Jack Polito	Polito Ford Lincoln / Ford Mustang GT4	23	-
3	TCR	Richard Boake	Betz Pools / Audi RS3 LMS	23	-
4	TCR	Dean Baker	A2Z Automobiles / Audi RS3 LMS	23	-
5	TCR	Marco Cirone	NIN Transportation / Audi RS3 LMS	23	-
6	TCR	Mark Wilkins	Bryan Herta Autosport / Hyundai Elantra N TCR	23	-
7	GT4	Demi Chalkias	JMF Motorsports / Mercedes AMG GT4	23	-
8	TCR	Louis-Philippe Montour	Kamloop / V.W. Golf GTI TCR SEQ	23	-
9	TCR	Justin Di Benedetto	InsuJet / Audi RS3 LMS	23	-
10	TCR	Ron Tomlinson	Tomlinson Motorsports / Audi RS3 LMS TCR	23	-
11	TCR	Quinn Attrell	Hyundai Racing Canada / Hyundai Veloster Turbo TCR	23	-
12	TCR	Tom Kwok	M&S Quality Produce / Honda Civic FK7 TCR	23	-
13	TCR	Ed Killeen	Bestline AutoTech / Audi RS3 LMS TCR	23	-
14	TCA	James Vance	FEL Motorsports / Hyundai Veloster Turbo TCA	22	-
15	TCA	Eric Kunz	SickKids / Honda Civic Si TCA	22	-
16	TCA	Trevor Hill	Crater Labs / Honda Civic Si FE1	22	-
17	TCA	Jonathan Young	M&S Quality Produce / Honda Civic Si TCA	22	-
18	TCA	Megan Tomlinson	Tomlinson Motorsports / Honda Civic Si FE1	21	-
19	TCA	Bob Attrell	Hyundai Racing Canada / Hyundai Veloster Turbo TCA	21	-
20	TCR	Gary Kwok	M&S Quality Produce / Honda Civic FL5 TCR	3	Did Not Finish
21	TCR	Olivier Montour	Kamloop / V.W. Golf GTI TCR SEQ	1	Did Not Finish
-	GT4	Stefano Lucente	Bestline AutoTech / Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS	0	Did Not Start
-	GT4	Marc Lafleur	Riding Strikers / Mercedes AMG GT4	0	Did Not Start
-	TCR	Connor Attrell	Hyundai Racing Canada / Hyundai Elantra N TCR	0	Did Not Start

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