2002 Trois-Rivieres - Canadian Formula Ford Championship

The 2002 Canadian Formula Ford Championship kicks off on the Victoria Day weekend at Mosport International Raceway. This event is followed by the biggest race on the series calendar - the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The Montreal round will take place in front of over 100,000 spectators and the winner will receive a cheque for $7,000. Round three is on the Canada Day weekend at Autodrome St-Eustache, followed by the series second high-profile event, the Molson Indy at Toronto’s Exhibition Place. Next teams travel to Quebec for the series only doubleheader weekend at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres. Trois-Rivieres is followed by the series second visit to Mosport, which is the penultimate round. The championship concludes in late September with a visit to Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant.

To attract participants and spectators, there are high-profile venues and a TV package. Presenting sponsor, A.N. Deringer, is in its second year of a two-year contract. Returning supporters include Autosport Basi Racing School, Team Players, Ford Canada, Hankook Tires and Cardinal Watches.

The television coverage will be provided by CTV Sportsnet and RDS. They will broadcast five magazine-type shows starting in the Fall. Sportsnet will televise thirty-minute programs that will feature race coverage, interviews with drivers and team owners, behind the scenes segments and technical reviews. The RDS network will provide similar content, but its shows will be sixty-minutes in length.

The single-seater, open-wheel race cars in the Canadian Formula Ford Championship are powered by a four-cylinder, 1600-cc Ford engine, which produces120-horsepower. A mixture of European and North American chassis is used by competitors. Two of the most successful cars are constructed in Canada – the Aero and CMV. Minimum vehicle weight is determined by the suspension design and ranges from 1050 to 1125-lbs., with the driver. Teams are required to use fuel from Imperial Oil (Esso) and a spec tire (Hankook Z2000).

The only doubleheader of the 2002 Canadian Formula Ford Championship was held at the eleven-turn 1.5-mile temporary street circuit at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. During the weekend, drivers would compete in two twenty-five lap races.

Louis-Philippe Dumoulin entered Trois-Rivieres with three victories in four starts. The point’s leader qualified second for race one driving the No. 99 Aero II. He battled with the pole-sitter, Didier Schraenen. Dumoulin made the final pass for the lead and victory on lap-15. He started on the pole on Sunday and traded first place with Schraenen before moving out front and winning by a comfortable margin.

Canadian Formula Ford veteran Didier Schraenen was third in the standings when the championship arrived at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres. Driving the No. 94 Radio Energie CMV, Schraenen earned his first series pole at round five. He had a terrific battle with the points leader, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin, before finishing second. The next day, Schraenen started fourth but had to settle for another runner-up result.

The top rookie this weekend was Olivier Lambert piloting the No. 2 Van Diemen RF92. Lambert showcased his talent in round three at Autodrome St-Eustache, where he finished third. For Saturday’s contest at Trois-Rivieres, Lambert qualified tenth. He moved up the order quickly and battled with Chris Green before finishing third. In the finale, Lambert started seventh and earned another third-place finish.

Another rookie that performed well at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres was Chris Green. Green was driving the No. 69 Key Motorsports Van Diemen RF01. He was twelfth fastest in the qualifying session for round five, but like Olivier Lambert, Green wasted little time joining the leaders. He fought with Lambert and would finish fourth. On Sunday, Green had a better starting position and claimed another fourth-place.

Ashley Taws opened the Canadian Formula Ford Championship with a third-place finish at Mosport International Raceway. For the first race of the weekend at Trois-Rivieres, Taws qualified fifth fastest driving the No. 72 AIM Motorsports prepared Aero II. She was in the thick of the battle but hit a wall on lap-9 and retired. In the finale, Taws redeemed herself by starting and finishing in the fifth position.

Chris Guerrieri had a strong start to the season. The rookie finished second in the first race of the 2002 Canadian Formula Ford Championship and he was victorious at the prestigious Canadian Grand Prix event. Another runner-up finish at Toronto contributed to him being second in the title chase. The Trois-Rivieres doubleheader would not start well. Guerrieri failed to finish race one and he was eleventh in the finale.

POS	START	DRIVER	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	2	Louis-Philippe Dumoulin	AERO II	AIM Motorsports	25	-
2	1	Didier Schraenen	CMV	Dynatec	25	-
3	10	Olivier Lambert	Van Diemen RF92	Equipe Magistral-Lambert	25	-
4	12	Chris Green	Van Diemen RF01	Key Motorsports	25	-
5	11	Marcel Lafontaine	Van Diemen RF97	Max 1600	25	-
6	17	Steve Pickering	Van Diemen RF90	Transmission Unlimited	25	-
7	16	Michel Bonnet	Harfang 2000	Harfang Motorsports	25	-
8	8	Valerie Limoges	Van Diemen RF01	Key Motorsports	25	-
9	20	David Thilenius	Van Diemen RF98	Adams Racing	25	-
10	13	Jim Hallman	Van Diemen RF98	Hallman Racing	25	-
11	19	Jean Arseneau	Van Diemen RF98	Adrenaline Autosport	25	-
12	22	John Wagner	Van Diemen RF97	Adams Racing	25	-
13	14	Marc Arseneau	Van Diemen RF00	Adrenaline Autosport	25	-
14	21	Louis Morin	Reynard 87SF	Cafe Essentiel	24	-
15	23	Tim Hauraney	Van Diemen RF01	Britain West	24	-
16	3	Jean-Philippe Papineau	CMV	Equipe de Course Mahoney	23	Did Not Finish
17	9	Chris Guerrieri	Vector MG-93	Scuderia LM	21	Did Not Finish
18	24	Eric Paradis	Van Diemen RF97	Hydro-Jet	20	Did Not Finish
19	18	Brian Nielson	Van Diemen RF92	Nielson Racing	15	Did Not Finish
20	5	Ashley Taws	AERO II	AIM Motorsports	9	Did Not Finish
21	7	Frederick Lelievre	Vector MG-93	Scuderia LM	8	Did Not Finish
22	4	Kuno Wittmer	Van Diemen RF98	DeSigi Autosport	7	Did Not Finish
23	6	Francois Bellemare	Van Diemen RF93	Thomas Bellemare	0	Did Not Finish
-	15	Dan Denison	Van Diemen RF98	Denison Consulting	-	Did Not Start
-	25	Patrik Wittmer	Van Diemen RF98	DeSigi Autosport	-	Did Not Start

POS	START	DRIVER	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	Louis-Philippe Dumoulin	Aero II	AIM Motorsports	25	-
2	4	Didier Schraenen	CMV	Dynatec	25	-
3	7	Olivier Lambert	Van Diemen RF92	Equipe Magistral-Lambert	25	-
4	3	Chris Green	Van Diemen RF01	Key Motorsports	25	-
5	5	Ashley Taws	Aero II	AIM Motorsports	25	-
6	8	Jean-Philippe Papineau	CMV	Equipe de Course Mahoney	25	-
7	13	Chris Guerrieri	Vector MG-93	Scuderia LM	25	-
8	9	Marcel Lafontaine	Van Diemen RF97	Max 1600	25	-
9	6	Valerie Limoges	Van Diemen RF01	Key Motorsports	25	-
10	2	Frederick Lelievre	Vector MG-93	Scuderia LM	25	-
11	15	Steve Pickering	Van Diemen RF90	Transmission Unlimited	25	-
12	14	Michel Bonnet	Harfang 2000	Harfang Motorsports	25	-
13	21	Tim Hauraney	Van Diemen RF01	Britain West	24	-
14	17	Jim Hallman	Van Diemen RF98	Hallman Racing	25	-
15	24	John Wagner	Van Diemen RF97	Adams Racing	25	-
16	11	Eric Paradis	Van Diemen RF97	Hydro-Jet	18	Did Not Finish
17	12	Marc Arseneau	Van Diemen RF00	Adrenaline Autosport	17	Did Not Finish
18	22	Louis Morin	Reynard 87SF	Cafe Essentiel	16	Did Not Finish
19	10	Francois Bellemare	Van Diemen RF93	Thomas Bellemare	14	Did Not Finish
20	16	David Thilenius	Van Diemen RF98	Adams Racing	10	Did Not Finish
21	18	Brian Nielson	Van Diemen RF92	Nielson Racing	10	Did Not Finish
22	23	Jean Arseneau	Van Diemen RF98	Adrenaline Autosport	1	Did Not Finish
-	19	Kuno Wittmer	Van Diemen RF98	DeSigi Autosport	-	Did Not Start
-	20	Dan Denison	Van Diemen RF98	Denison Consulting	-	Did Not Start
-	25	Patrik Wittmer	Van Diemen RF98	DeSigi Autosport	-	Did Not Start

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