2000 marked the third season that the Canadian Formula Ford Championship was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company. Running as a support race for high profile events such as the Canadian Grand Prix and the Toronto Indy contributed to healthy grids and close racing.

The 2000 season opened on the May long weekend at Mosport International Raceway. This event was followed by the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and another popular venue on the calendar, the Molson Indy Toronto. Rounds four and five were the series only doubleheader weekend. Competitors would race on Saturday and Sunday at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres. The next two events took place at Mosport with races being conducted on the first and last weekends of August. The championship concluded in early September at Autodrome St-Eustache.

The single seater, open-wheel race cars in the series were powered by a four-cylinder, 1600-cc Ford engine which produced 120-horsepower. A mixture of European and North American chassis was used by competitors. Two of the most successful cars were constructed in Canada – the Aero and CMV. Minimum vehicle weight was determined by the design of the suspension and ranged from 1050 to 1125-lbs. with the driver. Teams were required to use a spec fuel from Sunoco (Ultra 94) and a spec tire (Hankook Z2000).

Round four of the 2000 Canadian Formula Ford Championship was conducted on the eleven-turn 1.721-mile temporary street circuit at Toronto’s Exhibition Place. This was the third race of the year as the previous event at Shannonville was cancelled due to heavy rain.

A large grid, extended caution periods and a time certain schedule meant competitors only completed nine of the twenty-five slated laps.

An incident in corner one caused the first two-laps to be completed under caution. On the restart, the pole-sitter, Matt White driving a Van Diemen RF99 led the field of thirty-two starters into corner one. Behind White is Jean –Sebastien Bedard who started on the outside of the front row in a Vector MG-93. Trailing Bedard is the point’s leader and the winner of the first two rounds, Johnathan Macri driving an Aero II.
Jonathan Macri was proving to be unbeatable in 2000. Macri driving the No. 31 Aero II won the opening rounds at Mosport and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. At Toronto, the point’s leader was third fastest in qualifying. During the race, Macri inherited second place when the pole-sitter, Matt White was disqualified. On the last lap, he closed the gap on the leader, Jean-Sebastien Bedard and made the pass for the victory at the finish line.
Jean-Sebastien Bedard had qualified well in the first two-rounds but failed to finish both races. At Exhibition Place, he turned in another solid qualifying performance and would start on the outside of the front row. On the race’s restart, Bedard moved into first place, later to be passed by Matt White who was penalized for jumping the start. Bedard was in the lead on the last lap but was unable to hold off Jonathan Macri.
Martin Guimont was making his first outing of the season in a Vector MG-93s prepared by Scuderia LM. He was fifth quickest at the end of the abbreviated qualifying session. During the race, Guimont ran in a pack that included Walter Kohler and Didier Schraenen. At the checker, he crossed the finish line in fourth but the third-place driver, Kohler was disqualified which meant Guimont earned the final spot on the podium.
The No. 33 Van Diemen RF94 was driven by Frederick Martel. Martel was another driver who performed well in qualifying but was unable to deliver the same results in the race. At Toronto’s Exhibition Place, he started in the twelfth grid position but soon joined the battle which included Martin Guimont, Didier Schraenen and Walter Kohler. On the penultimate lap, Martel passed Schraenen for what would be fifth place.
Two time and defending series champion, Didier Schraenen entered round-three second in the point standings. Driving the Radio Energie/RDS sponsored CMV, Schraenen qualified sixth quickest. As the lead trio pulled away, he found himself in a three-way fight with Martin Guimont and Walter Kohler. On the last lap, he was challenged by Frederick Martel. Unable to hold-off Martel, Schraenen finished fifth.
Local driver, Mark Rossi was the highest placed Rookie. Rossi drove the No. 00 Van Diemen RF94 prepared by Team Scalzo. Rossi’s first race of 2000 was round two at Montreal where started and finished mid-pack. In Toronto, he was gridded eleventh. A steady drive and the misfortune of Matt White and Walter Kohler allowed Rossi to move up the race order. At the checkered flag, he was in sixth place.
Matt White driving the No. 4 Van Diemen RF00 had shown great speed in the first two races of the season. At both Mosport and Montreal, he qualified well but had difficulty finishing the events. An accident took him out of contention in round one and at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve White retired after just four laps. Although he started on the pole, White was excluded from the race for his action during a restart.
The short-lived Canadian Formula Ford Championship podium at Exhibition Place. In the center is the race winner and point’s leader, Jonathan Macri. To Macri’s left is the driver who led the most laps but came up short of first place by 0.001-seconds, Jean Sebastien Bedard. Completing the podium is Walter Kohler. Unfortunately, Kohler would lose third place when his car was disqualified.

POSSTARTDRIVERCARENTRANTLAPSRETIREMENTS
13Jonathan MacriAERO IIAIM Motorsports9-
22Jean-Sebastien BedardVector MG-93Scuderia LM9-
35Martin GuimontVector MG-93Scuderia LM9-
412Frederick MartelVan Diemen RF94Scuderia LM9-
56Didier SchraenenCMVDynatec9-
611Mark RossiVan Diemen RF94-9-
713Gerry KavanaughVan Diemen RF91EDJ Packaging9-
814Ryan HorsesVan Diemen RF98Basi Autosport9-
915Robert BoyerVan Diemen RF98Spasco9-
1017Tom ReinselVan Diemen RF97Broken Bones Racing9-
1116Melanie PatersonVan Diemen RF97Sunoco/Pennzoil9-
1220James YottVan Diemen RF98Groupe DKY Advertising9-
1321Louis-Philippe DumoulinVan Diemen RF90CHB Forest9-
1425Edouard AubeVan Diemen RF94Team Scalzo9-
159Eric ParadisVan Diemen RF97Amusement 2229-
1622Marc YottVan Diemen RF98Belgh Brasse9-
1724Robbie McMullenVan Diemen RF85NTN/Herbrand9-
1819Kevin HooSwift DB-1Can-Jam Auto9-
198Brett OslerVan Diemen RF92SPOC Telecom9-
2018Isabelle RoyVanDiemen RF93Basi Autosport9-
2128Alex MichieVan Diemen RF98Tooling & Equipment9-
2229Steve PickeringVan Diemen RF90Transmissions Unlimited9-
2327Chris MaldenVector MG-93Grand & Toy9-
2432Roland M. FodorVan Diemen RF97CHOM 97.7 FM9-
2531Francois BellemareEuroSwift SC92Thomas Bellemare9-
2623Guy LandryHarfang 2000Pier-Quip9-
2726Marc DeVellisVan Diemen RF98Key Motorsport7Did Not Finish
281Matt WhiteVan Diemen RF00Britain West6Did Not Finish
2910Michael GayowskiVan Diemen RF92Monarch Automotive6Did Not Finish
3030Lew MackenziePRS RH01Cantel AT&T6Did Not Finish
314Francis MacriAERO IIAIM Motorsports0Did Not Finish
DSQ7Walter KollerVan Diemen RF92Britain West Racing9Disqualified

Copyright Notice:
All content (photographs and text) appearing on this website are the exclusive property of © www.zoompics.com and are protected under International copyright laws. The subject matter on this website may not be reproduced, copied, stored or manipulated.

© Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019

Return to home page.