2002 Mosport International Raceway - 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 first race of the 2002 Canadian Formula Ford Championship was held at Mosport International Raceway on the Victoria Day weekend. Drivers would race around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course for fifteen-laps.

The start of round one for the 2002 Canadian Formula Ford Championship at Mosport International Raceway. Leading the field of sixteen entrants is the pole-sitter, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin, in the No. 99 AIM Motorsports Aero II. Behind Dumoulin is the third-fastest qualifier, Ashley Taws, in the No. 72 Aero II. In third place entering corner one is the other front row starter, Chris Guerrieri driving the No. 11 Vector MG-93.

After five-seasons of competing in the Canadian Formula Ford Championship, with his family’s outdated Van Diemen RF90, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin joined AIM Motorsports. AIM campaigned the successful Aero II, which Jonathan Macri used to win the 2000 title. Dumoulin qualified on the pole for round one. Despite pressure for the No. 11 Vector MG-93 of Chris Guerrieri, he held for his first series victory.

Every year the Canadian Formula Ford Championship welcomes a ‘bumper crop’ of talented rookies and this season was no exception. One of these newcomers was Chris Guerrieri. Guerrieri joined the Scuderia LM team driving the No. 11 Vector MG-93. He qualified second fastest and battled with Ashley Taws and Ryan Floer before finishing 0.77-seconds behind the winner, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin.

After proving her talent in the Ontario Region Formula 1200 series, Ashley Taws joined the 2002 Canadian Formula Ford Championship. Taws linked up with the AIM Motorsports team driving the No. 72 Aero II. In the qualifying session, she recorded the third-fastest time. Taws moved into second place on the first lap of the race, but could not hold-off Chris Guerrieri and captured the final spot on the podium.

The two-time Canadian Formula Ford championship, Didier Schraenen, was back for another season. Schraenen piloted the familiar No. 94 CMV with backing from Dynatec, Radio Energie and RDS. During the qualifying session, he was the fifth fastest. Schraenen was unable to maintain the pace of the leaders and found himself fighting with Jean-Philippe Papineau. He was able to defend his position and finished fourth.

Another very quick rookie making his debut at Mosport International Raceway was British Columbia’s Ryan Floer. Floer piloted the No. 5 Van Diemen RF01 prepared by Britain West. He was gridded in the fourth position for the start of the fifteen lap contest. Floer wasted no time moving into second before spinning. He charged back but had another off-course excursion and finished in the eighth position.

POS	START	DRIVER	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	Louis-Philippe Dumoulin	AERO II	AIM Motorsports	15	-
2	2	Chris Guerrieri	Vector MG-93	Scuderia LM	15	-
3	3	Ashley Taws	AERO II	AIM Motorsports	15	-
4	5	Didier Schraenen	CMV	Dynatec	15	-
5	7	Jean-Philippe Papineau	CMV	Equipe de Course Mahoney	15	-
6	6	Kuno Wittmer	Van Diemen RF98	DeSigi Autosport	15	-
7	10	Frederick Lelievre	Vector MG-93	Scuderia LM	15	-
8	4	Ryan Floer	Van Diemen RF01	Britain West	15	-
9	11	Jim Hallman	Van Diemen RF98	Aberdeen Homes	15	-
10	13	Tim Hauraney	Van Diemen RF01	Britain West	15	-
11	15	Francois Bellemare	Van Diemen RF93	Thomas Bellemare	15	-
12	18	John Wagner	Van Diemen RF97	Adams Racing	14	-
13	12	Dan Denison	Van Diemen RF98	Danison Consulting	14	-
14	16	Matthew Champagne	Van Diemen RF92	-	10	Did Not Finish
15	8	Brian Nielson	Van Diemen RF92	-	4	Did Not Finish
16	14	John Restemeyer	Vector MG-93	Knorr/Pennzoil	3	Did Not Finish

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