2009 Mosport International Raceway - Canadian Touring Car Championship

The 2009 Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Toyo Tires offered racers an excellent opportunity to showcase their talents at some of eastern Canada’s most widely recognized and well-established race tracks. The series provided amateur competitors with professionally organized events that would attract sponsors and fans. The success of the championship was reflected in the number of drivers who participated in race weekends. The average car count per event was twenty-nine- entries.

This 2009 schedule consists of eight race weekends at six different facilities. The format at each venue includes two races – generally, thirty-minutes in length. The season kicks off on the Victoria Day long weekend at Mosport International Raceway. This is followed by the series only stop at Shannonville Motorsports Park. In mid-June, the championship returns to Mosport as a support event for the NASCAR Canadian Tire series. Two weeks later, teams travel Quebec and compete at the ICAR Mirabel Airport circuit. Then it is back to Ontario for the series premiere event – Exhibition Place, Toronto, with the IndyCar Championship. Then teams make their only stop at Calabogie Motorsports Park in July. The final events are conducted in Quebec. The penultimate rounds take place on the street circuit at Trois-Rivieres. The last weekend is the second visit to ICAR in September.

In 2009, there would be two classes. To help fans distinguish between the groups, the cars are fitted with different coloured windshield banners.

Touring - (Blue Window Banner) – This is intended to be an entry-level category. Vehicles competing in this class are allowed a minimal amount of performance enhancements. 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 engine modifications and aerodynamic enhancements. Additional manufacturers competing in the group include BMW, Subaru and Audi.

The first two rounds of the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Toyo Tires were held at Mosport International Raceway on the Victoria Day long weekend. There were two thirty-minute races conducted on Saturday and Sunday around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

The first lap through Moss Corner for race one of the 2009 Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship at Mosport International Raceway. Leading the way is Sports Car Club of America World Challenge competitor and the second-fastest qualifier, Kuno Wittmer, driving the No. 44 Lombardi Racing Honda Civic Si-R. Behind Wittmer is the No. 12 Acura RSX Type-S of the third-place starter, Mathieu Audette.

The opening round of the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship was conducted in wet conditions. One of a few drivers that demonstrated their prowess in the rain was David Ciekiewicz. Ciekiewicz qualified sixth fastest and lapped up to the seventh-place finisher en route to the victory. On Sunday, he started on the pole in the No. 56 Spin2Win Racing BMW 328i and finished fourth in the Super Touring category.

Perhaps, more impressive the Cieklewicz’s performance in race one was that of Alain Lauziere. The driver of the No. 47 Mini Canada Mini Cooper S finished fifth overall and won the Touring category. Lauziere was the only driver in his class that was not lapped by the leader. In round two, he was unable to hold off the Honda Civic Si of Anthony Rapone and finished second in Touring – fourteenth overall.

The reigning Super Touring champion, Nigel Krikorian, return to the 2009 season to defend his title. In round one, Krikorian qualified fourth fastest in the No. 1 Krikorian Motorsports Subaru WRX STi and was able to capture the final position on the class podium. The following day, he started third and before the checkered flag, Kirkorian moved into the top spot and won by a margin of almost four seconds.

Sunday’s Touring class winner was Anthony Rapone. Rapone drove the No. 72 Durabond Racing Honda Civic Si and was the fastest qualifier in his group for round one. However, in the rain, he was no match for Alain Lauziere and finished fifth in his category. In round two and with dry conditions, Rapone performed much better. He moved from eighteenth to thirteenth place and captured the class victory.

Sports Club of America World Challenge regular, Kuno Wittmer, joined his brother, Nick, for the opening weekend of the Canadian Touring Car Championship. Kuno raced the No. 44 Lombardi Racing Honda Civic Si-R in the Super Touring category. In Saturday’s contest, he started on the outside of the front row and survived the wet conditions to earn a runner-up finish. The next day, Kuno captured the final spot on the podium.

GT Racing’s, Etienne Borgeat, found Saturday’s wet conditions very challenging and it was reflected in his results – sixteenth overall and twelfth in the Super Touring category. In more favourable conditions on Sunday, the No. 2 BMW 330i was gridded sixteenth. Borgeat charged through the field and moved into the runner-up position before the conclusion of the thirty-minute contest.

Not quite ‘spin and win,’ but Steve Greiner’s mishap at Moss Corner during race one of the weekend didn’t impact him too severely. Greiner qualified twenty-second overall; however, he moved up the race order and finished second in Touring. The pilot of the No. 00 Team 00 Acura Integra Type R dropped down the race order on Sunday and was classified twenty-fifth overall – two laps behind the leaders.

Nigel Heron drove the No. 90 Heron Motorsports Acura Integra Type R. Unlike many of the other competitors, Heron did not appear to be challenged by the changing weather conditions that ‘Mother Nature’ delivered during the weekend. In round one, he qualified a distant fourth in the Touring category but finished third. On Sunday, in a repeat performance, Heron captured his second podium result of the event.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR / SPONSOR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Super Touring	David Ciekiewicz	BMW 328i / Spin2Win Racing	16	-
2	Super Touring	Kuno Wittmer	Honda Civic Si-R / Lombardi Racing	16	-
3	Super Touring	Nigel Krikorian	Subaru WRX STi / Krikorian Motorsports	16	-
4	Super Touring	Gary Kwok	Acura CSX / M&S Racing	16	-
5	Super Touring	Paul Dalla Lana	BMW 330i / GT Racing	16	-
6	Touring	Alain Lauzière	Mini Cooper S / Mini Canada	16	-
7	Super Touring	Nick Wittmer	Honda Civic Si-R / Lombardi Racing	15	-
8	Super Touring	Richard Boake	Subaru WRX STi / Can Jam Motorsport	15	-
9	Super Touring	David Bensadoun	BMW 328i / Aldo	15	-
10	Super Touring	Arek Wojciechowski	Mercury Cougar / 8Legs Racing	15	-
11	Super Touring	Glenn Chaplin	Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing	15	-
12	Touring	Steve Greiner	Acura Integra Type R / Team 00	15	-
13	Touring	Nigel Heron	Acura Integra Type R / Heron Motorsports	15	-
14	Super Touring	P.J. Groenke	Saab 93 Sport / JL Racing	15	-
15	Touring	Aldo Lombardi	Honda Civic / Team Azapa	15	-
16	Super Touring	Etienne Borgeat	BMW 330i / GT Racing	14	-
17	Super Touring	Gilbert Tomaro	Hyundai Tiburon / Team Vitesse	14	-
18	Touring	Anthony Rapone	Honda Civic Si / Durabond Products Ltd.	14	-
19	Super Touring	Nicholas Krikorian	Subaru WRX STi / Krikorian Motorsports	14	-
20	Touring	Pieter van Doorn	Honda Civic / PK Racing	14	-
21	Super Touring	Greg Pootmans	BMW 330i / GT Racing	14	-
22	Super Touring	Eric Hochgeschurz	BMW 328i / 8Legs Racing	14	-
23	Touring	Patrick Séguin	Honda Civic Si / Canadian Classic Cars	13	-
24	Super Touring	Mathieu Audette	Acura RSX Type-S / Audette Racing	12	-
25	Super Touring	Dean Fantin	BMW 330i / Amico Racing	11	-
26	Touring	Frank Blanchet	Acura Integra Type R / Blanchet Motorsports	10	Did Not Finish
27	Super Touring	Jonathan Rashleigh	Hyundai Genesis / Hyundai Racing Team	5	Did Not Finish
28	Super Touring	Jean-Guillaume Shooner	Acura RSX Type-S / Shooner Racing	5	Did Not Finish
29	Super Touring	Lee Chaplin	Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing	2	Did Not Finish
30	Super Touring	Bob Attrell	Hyundai Genesis / Hyundai Racing Team	1	Did Not Finish
31	Super Touring	Alex Healy	Acura RSX Type-S / Krikorian Motorsports	0	Did Not Finish
-	Super Touring	Andrew Wojteczko	Lexus IS300 / Auto Analyser Racing	0	Did Not Start
-	Touring	Ryan Blanchet	Nissan Sentra / Blanchet Motorsports	0	Did Not Start
-	Super Touring	Andy Wojteczko	Lexus IS300 / Auto Analyser Racing	0	Did Not Start
-	Touring	Jocelyn Fecteau	Toyota Corolla XRS / Media Racing Team	0	Did Not Start
-	Touring	Roger Bowes	Acura Integra Type R / Engineering Seismology	0	Did Not Start

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR / SPONSOR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Super Touring	Nigel Krikorian	Subaru WRX STi / Krikorian Motorsports	20	-
2	Super Touring	Etienne Borgeat	BMW 330i / GT Racing	20	-
3	Super Touring	Kuno Wittmer	Honda Civic Si-R / Lombardi Racing	20	-
4	Super Touring	David Ciekiewicz	BMW 328i / Spin2Win Racing	20	-
5	Super Touring	Greg Pootmans	BMW 330i / GT Racing	20	-
6	Super Touring	Mathieu Audette	Acura RSX Type-S / Audette Racing	20	-
7	Super Touring	Nick Wittmer	Honda Civic Si-R / Lombardi Racing	20	-
8	Super Touring	Paul Dalla Lana	BMW 330i / GT Racing	20	-
9	Super Touring	David Bensadoun	BMW 328i / GT Racing	20	-
10	Super Touring	Richard Boake	Subaru WRX STi / Can Jam Motorsport	20	-
11	Super Touring	Gary Kwok	Acura CSX / M&S Racing	20	-
12	Super Touring	Nicholas Krikorian	Subaru WRX STi / Krikorian Motorsports	20	-
13	Touring	Anthony Rapone	Honda Civic Si / Durabond Products Ltd.	19	-
14	Touring	Alain Lauzière	Mini Cooper S / Mini Canada	19	-
15	Super Touring	Alex Healy	Acura RSX Type-S / Krikorian Motorsports	19	-
16	Super Touring	Eric Hochgeschurz	BMW 328i / 8Legs Racing	19	-
17	Touring	Nigel Heron	Acura Integra Type R / Heron Motorsports	19	-
18	Super Touring	Arek Wojciechowski	Mercury Cougar / 8Legs Racing	15	-
19	Touring	Aldo Lombardi	Honda Civic / Team Azapa	19	-
20	Touring	Frank Blanchet	Acura Integra Type R / Blanchet Motorsports	19	-
21	Super Touring	Jean-Guillaume Shooner	Acura RSX Type-S / Shooner Racing	18	-
22	Touring	Ryan Blanchet	Nissan Sentra / Blanchet Motorsports	18	-
23	Touring	Patrick Séguin	Honda Civic Si / Canadian Classic Cars	18	-
24	Super Touring	P.J. Groenke	Saab 93 Sport / JL Racing	17	-
25	Touring	Steve Greiner	Acura Integra Type R / Team 00	17	-
26	Super Touring	Glenn Chaplin	Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing	12	Did Not Finish
27	Touring	Pieter van Doorn	Honda Civic / PK Racing	12	Did Not Finish
28	Super Touring	Lee Chaplin	Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing	9	Did Not Finish
29	Super Touring	Dean Fantin	BMW 330i / Amico Racing	7	Did Not Finish
-	Super Touring	Gilbert Tomaro	Hyundai Tiburon / Team Vitesse	0	Did Not Start
-	Super Touring	Jonathan Rashleigh	Hyundai Genesis / Hyundai Racing Team	0	Did Not Start
-	Super Touring	Bob Attrell	Hyundai Genesis / Hyundai Racing Team	0	Did Not Start
-	Super Touring	Andrew Wojteczko	Lexus IS300 / Auto Analyser Racing	0	Did Not Start
-	Super Touring	Andy Wojteczko	Lexus IS300 / Auto Analyser Racing	0	Did Not Start
-	Touring	Jocelyn Fecteau	Toyota Corolla XRS / Media Racing Team	0	Did Not Start
-	Touring	Roger Bowes	Acura Integra Type R / Engineering Seismology	0	Did Not Start

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