2007 Calabogie Motorsport Park - Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship

The 2007 Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Toyo Tires offered amateur Touring car racers an excellent opportunity to showcase their talents at some of Ontario’s most popular tracks. The series provided competitors with professionally organized events that would attract sponsors and fans.

This 2007 schedule consists of eight race weekends. With the exception of the Toronto event, all races take place during Ontario region amateur sports car club weekends. The format at each venue includes two races – either, thirty-minutes in length or a twenty-minute contest on Saturday and a forty-minute event the following day. The season kicks off mid-May at Mosport International Raceway. This is followed by the series premiere event at Toronto’s Exhibition Place. Drivers will compete in support races during the Champ Car World Series weekend. In late-July, the championship travels to Calabogie Motorsport Park. In August, teams return to Mosport, where the remainder of the season’s races will be conducted.

In 2007, there are three classes. To help fans distinguish between the groups, the cars are fitted with different coloured windshield banners.

Touring – (Red Window Banner) - This is intended to be an entry-level category. Vehicles competing in this class are allowed a minimal amount of performance enhancements. The engines in this group may not exceed 2.0-liters. Manufacturers represented in this group include the Mini Cooper S, Honda Civic, Mazda Protege, Nissan Sentra and Acura Integra.
Super Touring – (Yellow Window Banner)- Super Touring includes many of the same makes and models found in Touring. However, this category allows motor modifications and aerodynamic enhancements. Vehicles in this group are limited to an engine displacement of 2.8-liters. Additional manufacturers competing in the group include BMW, Subaru and Audi.
Grand Touring – (Blue Window Banner) – This is the series quickest category. This group is for six and eight-cylinder vehicles with an engine displacement in excess of 2.8-liters. Popular cars in this class include the Chevrolet Corvette, Dodge Viper, BMW M3 and Porsche 996.

The third weekend of racing for the 2007 Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Toyo Tires was held a Calabogie Motorsport Park. This was another Ontario Regional event and was hosted by the Motorsport Club of Ottawa. A lack of qualified Marshals forced the organizers to use the shorter 2.20-kilometer Supercar layout.

The first lap of round five for the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship at Calabogie Motorsport Park. Leading the field of forty-two starters through corner fourteen – the Hook - is the pole-sitter, Sasha Anis. Behind Anis is the fastest qualifier in the Super Touring category, Scott Nicol, in the Velocity Motorsport prepared Honda Civic. Trailing Nicol are the BMWs or Charles-Andre Bilodeau and Sorenson/Paczynski.

Consistent performances in the first four rounds gave the driver of the No. 14 sg-motorsport.com sponsored Nissan 240SX, Sasha Anis, the Grand Touring points lead. Anis started the first race at Calabogie Motorsport Park on the pole and led flag-to-flag. On Sunday, he traded first place with the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 of Marco Cirone twice before finishing in the runner-up position.

In the first four races of the 2007 Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship, Scott Nicol’s record included one victory but two disqualifications. His weekend at Calabogie Motorsport Park went much better. Nicol qualified second overall and first in Super Touring for Saturday’s contest. In the race, he led his class from start to finish. The following day, Nicol started fourth overall and finished in the runner-up position.

Andre Rapone didn’t make his series debut until round three at Toronto’s Exhibition Place. In the finale at Toronto, he finished second. At Calabogie Motorsport Park, Rapone went one better and captured the class victory in Saturday’s round five. In the last race of the weekend, the driver of the No. 239 Durabond Racing Honda Civic Si finished in the runner-up position but was later disqualified.

Another competitor delivering consistent results was Alain Lauziere. Lauziere’s record included three victories in four rounds, which put him at the top of the Touring standings. He drove the No. 47 Octane Promotions Mini Cooper S and continued his run of podium finishes with a runner-up result in the weekend’s first contest and a third-place in round six.

Quebec’s Charles-Andre Bilodeau was another driver finishing at the top of his category and was rewarded with the Super Touring championship lead. Bilodeau competed in the No. 26 GT Racing prepared BMW 325i. His season to date included four victories in four starts. At Calabogie Motorsport Park, Bilodeau was challenged by Scott Nicol and finished second in race one but returned to his winning ways in the finale.

James Foote was one of many drivers that had competed in the first four rounds. The highlight of his season so far, was capturing the final spot on the Touring class podium in race four at Toronto. Driving the No. 191 Honda Civic, Foote repeated that performance in the first race of the weekend at Calabogie Motorsport Park. On Sunday, he finished eighteenth overall and won the Touring category.

Marco Cirone and Roberto Sabato were splitting the driving duties between the No. 115 Chevrolet Corvette and the No. 55 Chevrolet Corvette. In the season opener at Mosport International Raceway, Cirone scored a victory in the No. 115 Corvette. Sabato drove the car in Toronto and won both days. At Calabogie Motorsport Park, Cirone finished second on Saturday, but the pair were declared the winners in round six.

The Durabond Racing team was made up of three drivers, Robert Calisi and the Rapone brothers, Andre and Anthony. Anthony drove the No. 139 Honda Civic and like his brother, he made his series debut in Toronto. However, his results were not a good as Andre’s. At Calabogie Motorsport Park, he redeemed himself with a fourth-place finish in race one and a runner-up result in the weekend’s final contest.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Grand Touring	Sasha Anis	Nissan 240SX	16	-
2	Grand Touring	Marco Cirone	Chevrolet Corvette Z06	16	-
3	Grand Touring	Kurt Langeveldt	Mazda RX-7	16	-
4	Super Touring	Scott Nicol	Honda Civic	16	-
5	Super Touring	Charles-Andre Bilodeau	BMW 325i	16	-
6	Grand Touring	Bob Munro	BMW M3	16	-
7	Grand Touring	David Diedrick	Mazda RX-7	16	-
8	Super Touring	Paczynski / Sorenson	BMW 328is	16	-
9	Super Touring	Etienne Borgeat	BMW 325	16	-
10	Super Touring	Eric Leblanc	Subaru WRX STI	16	-
11	Super Touring	Remy Audette	Acura RSX Type-S	16	-
12	Super Touring	Christian Raymond	Mazda Protege	16	-
13	Grand Touring	Paul Vieira	Mazda RX-7	16	-
14	Super Touring	Ian Madden	Volkswagen Golf 1.8T	15	-
15	Grand Touring	Roberto Sabato	Chevrolet Corvette	15	-
16	Super Touring	Mathieu Audette	Honda Civic Si-R	15	-
17	Super Touring	Chris Swinwood	BMW 325	15	-
18	Touring	Andre Rapone	Acura Integra Type R	15	-
19	Super Touring	John Lockhart / Jason Sharpe	Saab 93 2.0T	15	-
20	Touring	Alain Lauziere	Mini Cooper S	15	-
21	Touring	James Foote	Honda Civic	15	-
22	Super Touring	Arek Wojciechowski	BMW	15	-
23	Grand Touring	Ray Arlauskas	BMW 325is	15	-
24	Super Touring	Richard Boake	Nissan Sentra	15	-
25	Touring	Anthony Rapone	Honda Civic	15	-
26	Super Touring	David Bensadoun	BMW 325	15	-
27	Grand Touring	Gabriel Ursache	Subaru Impreza STi	15	-
28	Touring	Perry Iannuzzi	Nissan Sentra	15	-
29	Touring	Chris Capowski	Volkswagen Jetta	15	-
30	Super Touring	Steve Anderson	Dodge Neon SRT-4	15	-
31	Touring	Frank Blanchet	Nissan Sentra	15	-
32	Touring	Steve Greiner	Honda Civic	11	-
33	Touring	Vic Simone	Nissan 200SX	15	-
34	Grand Touring	Ted Rance / Michael Dolan	Mazda RX-7	14	-
35	Touring	Roger Bowes	Nissan Sentra	14	-
36	Touring	Jonathan Rashleigh	Toyota Corolla	14	-
37	Touring	Robert Calisi	Honda Civic	13	-
38	Touring	Chris Bradburn / Jesse Bradburn	Honda CRX	11	-
39	Touring	Brad Young	Honda Civic	4	Did Not Finish
40	Touring	Howard Chin	Volkswagen Scirocco	3	Did Not Finish
41	Touring	Andrew Danyliw	Honda Civic	3	Did Not Finish
42	Grand Touring	Antonio Buso	Eagle Talon	2	Did Not Finish
-	Grand Touring	Nick Majors / Tony McGrath	Dodge Viper	0	Did Not Start

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Grand Touring	Marco Cirone / Roberto Sabato	Chevrolet Corvette Z06	31	-
2	Grand Touring	Sasha Anis	Nissan 240SX	31	-
3	Super Touring	Charles-Andre Bilodeau	BMW 325i	31	-
4	Super Touring	Scott Nicol	Honda Civic	31	-
5	Grand Touring	Nick Majors / Tony McGrath	Dodge Viper	31	-
6	Grand Touring	Kurt Langeveldt	Mazda RX-7	31	-
7	Grand Touring	Bob Munro	BMW M3	31	-
8	Super Touring	Paczynski / Sorenson	BMW 328is	31	-
9	Super Touring	Eric Leblanc	Subaru WRX STI	30	-
10	Super Touring	Mathieu Audette	Honda Civic Si-R	30	-
11	Super Touring	Remy Audette	Acura RSX Type-S	30	-
12	Super Touring	Arek Wojciechowski	BMW	30	-
13	Grand Touring	Ray Arlauskas	BMW 325is	30	-
14	Super Touring	Christian Raymond	Mazda Protege	30	-
15	Super Touring	Ian Madden	Volkswagen Golf 1.8T	30	-
16	Super Touring	Steve Anderson	Dodge Neon SRT-4	30	-
17	Grand Touring	Roberto Sabato / Marco Cirone	Chevrolet Corvette	30	-
18	Touring	James Foote	Honda Civic	30	-
19	Super Touring	Chris Swinwood	BMW 325	29	-
20	Touring	Anthony Rapone	Honda Civic	29	-
21	Touring	Alain Lauziere	Mini Cooper S	29	-
22	Super Touring	David Bensadoun	BMW 325	29	-
23	Touring	Robert Calisi	Honda Civic	29	-
24	Touring	Andrew Danyliw	Honda Civic	29	-
25	Grand Touring	Gabriel Ursache	Subaru Impreza STi	29	-
26	Touring	Chris Capowski	Volkswagen Jetta	28	-
27	Touring	Frank Blanchet	Nissan Sentra	28	-
28	Touring	Brad Young	Honda Civic	28	-
29	Touring	Andrew Bearss	Mercedes C230 Kompresseur	28	-
30	Touring	Vic Simone	Nissan 200SX	28	-
31	Grand Touring	Ted Rance / Michael Dolan	Mazda RX-7	27	-
32	Touring	Roger Bowes	Nissan Sentra	27	-
33	Touring	Jonathan Rashleigh	Toyota Corolla	27	-
34	Touring	Steve Greiner	Honda Civic	26	-
35	Grand Touring	Antonio Buso	Eagle Talon	21	Did Not Finish
36	Grand Touring	Paul Vieira	Mazda RX-7	19	Did Not Finish
37	Grand Touring	David Diedrick	Mazda RX-7	9	Did Not Finish
38	Super Touring	Richard Boake	Nissan Sentra	2	Did Not Finish
39	Super Touring	Etienne Borgeat	BMW 325	0	Did Not Finish
-	Super Touring	John Lockhart / Jason Sharpe	Saab 93 2.0T	0	Did Not Start
-	Touring	Perry Iannuzzi	Nissan Sentra	0	Did Not Start
-	Touring	Chris Bradburn / Jesse Bradburn	Honda CRX	0	Did Not Start
-	Touring	Howard Chin	Volkswagen Scirocco	0	Did Not Start
-	Touring	Andre Rapone	Acura Integra Type R	29	Disqualified

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