2013 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - Canadian Touring Car Championship

2013 was the seventh season for the Canadian Touring Car Championship. The series continued to offer racers an excellent opportunity to showcase their talents at some of eastern Canada’s most widely recognized and well-established race circuits. The series provided amateur competitors with professionally organized events that would attract fans and sponsors. The success of the championship was reflected in the number of drivers who participated during race weekends.

This 2013 schedule consists of seven race weekends at six different tracks. The format at each venue includes two races – generally, thirty-minutes in length. As has become tradition, the season kicks off on the Victoria Day long weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Next on the calendar is the series’ visit to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve during the Grand Prix of Canada weekend. Early in July, teams will be at ICAR for rounds five and six. This is followed by a trip to Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant. Next up is the series only stop on the street circuit at Trois-Rivieres. The second and final stop at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is conducted during the NASCAR Truck weekend. Series champions will be crowned when teams visit Calabogie Motorsports Park in early September.

In 2013, there were three classes. To help fans distinguish between the groups, the cars are fitted with different coloured windshield banners.

B-Spec – (White Window Banner) – B-Spec is the Canadian Touring Car Championship’s entry-level category. As a result, all adjustments made to a vehicle must be within the manufacturer’s specifications. Brake pads and rotors may be changed, but they have to retain the original dimensions. The maximum wheel size is 15X7 fitted with Continental 205/50R15 tires. There is an extensive list of cars that qualify for this class – Mazda 2, Mini Cooper, Honda Fit, Chevrolet Sonic, Fiat 500, Ford Fiesta, Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris.
Touring - (Blue Window Banner) – Vehicles competing in this class are allowed a minimal amount of performance enhancements. This group is limited to a maximum engine displacement of 2.0-liters. The suspension components are unrestricted, but vehicles have a minimum ride height of three inches. Brake pads and rotors may be changed, but they have to retain the original dimensions. The maximum wheel size is 17X8 fitted with Continental 225/45R17 tires. Manufacturers represented in this group include the Mini Cooper S, Honda Civic, Mazda 3, Volkswagen Golf and Scion.
Super Touring – (Orange Window Banner) - Super Touring is the series fastest class. This category allows engine modifications and aerodynamic enhancements. The maximum engine displacement for this group is 3.0-liters. The suspension components are unrestricted, but vehicles must have a minimum ride height of four inches. Unlike the other two classes, the brake components are not subject to any restrictions. The maximum wheel size is 17X9 fitted with Continental 225/45R17 tires. Manufacturers competing in the category include BMW, Subaru, Honda, Pontiac and Hyundai.

The first two rounds of the 2013 Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Continental Tires were conducted at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on the Victoria Day long weekend. There were two thirty-minute races held on Saturday and Sunday around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

The first lap through Moss corner for the opening round of the 2013 Canadian Touring Car Championship. Leading the field of twenty-nine starters is the pole-sitter, Scott Nicol, in the No. 41 Velocity Motorsport Honda Civic Si-R. The second fastest qualifier, Sergio Pasian, driving the No. 10 8Legs Racing BMW 330i, trails Nicol. Pasian is followed by Remy Audette and his 8Legs teammate, David Ciekiewicz.

The driver of the No. 41 Super Touring Honda Civic Si-R, Scott Nicol, had a spectacular opening weekend. For the race one, Nicol started on the overall pole and went flag-to-flag to score his first victory of the season. Round two was a little more interesting. He started second but was passed by Remy Audette. On lap-7, of the race, both Audette and the leader, Bob Attrell, retired letting Nicol cruise to the win.

Another driver sweeping the weekend was Michel Sallenbach. Sallenbach, who drove the No. 46 Octane Motorsport Mini Cooper S finished second in last year’s Touring standings. In round one, he qualified behind his main rival Damon Sharpe, but passed Sharpe on the first lap and went unchallenged for the win. In the finale, Sallenbach chased Sharpe and passed him for the lead and victory with three laps remaining.

B-Spec competitor, Karl Wittmer, is the brother of last year’s class champion, Nick. Based on his performance in the first two rounds of the Canadian Touring Car Championship, Wittmer’s intention is to keep the title in the family. He started on the category pole both days, driving the No. 82 Ste-Rose Honda Racing Honda Fit. Wittmer never gave up the top spot and left Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with two victories.

It was an unforgettable weekend for the G1 Racing team principal, Bob Attrell. It started out well with Attrell putting the No. 88 Hyundai Genesis fifth on the grid for round one. He moved to second place on the first lap and held the position for the remainder of the contest. On Sunday, Attrell started on the pole and led until the mid-point of the event when the right-rear wheel failed in corner two.

The 2011 Touring champion, Tom Kwok, was entered in the No. 9 M&S Racing Honda Civic Si. In the weekend’s first contest, Kwok qualified third in class – nineteenth overall, but inherited the second spot when the race leader, Damon Sharpe, encountered problems. He would go on to finish in the runner-up position. On Sunday, Kwok started and finished fourth.

Last season the Canadian Touring Car Championship debuted the B-Spec category. In 2013, touring car veteran, Normand Boyer, joined the series competing in the class. Boyer campaigned the No. 7 Boyer Motorsports Mazda 2. He qualified third in B-Spec for race one, but on lap-1 passed Nigel Heron for what would be a runner-up result. Boyer started and finished in third place in the finale.

Lombardi Racing’s, Benjamin DiStaulo drove the No. 6 Honda Civic Si-R. During the qualifying session for round one, DiStaulo was eighth fastest. In the race, he inherited a couple of positions through attrition and passed David Ciekiewicz and Jonathan Rashleigh to finish third in Super Touring. In a similar set of circumstances the following day, DiStaulo captured the runner-up position.

Despite starting at the rear of the grid for round one of the 2013 Canadian Touring Car Championship, Jocelyn Hebert was able to charge through the field and finish fourteen overall and capture the final spot on the Touring rostrum. On Sunday, the driver of No. 89 Equipe 89 Racing Team started mid-pack and secured another third-place finish in his category.

Quebec’s, Roger Ledoux, raced the only Subaru in the series. In previous years, the Subaru was a very popular make and was used to win the 2008 Super Touring title. Ledoux’s No. 4 Subaru WRX was prepared by Lachute Performance. He exited the weekend’s first contest early and was classified as fifteenth in class. In race two, Ledoux and the team redeemed themselves with a third-place finish in Super Touring.

The 2012 Touring titleholder, Damon Sharpe, was back to defend his championship. Sharpe returned to Blanchet Motorsports, driving the No. 84 Honda Civic Si. He started the weekend by qualifying on the class pole, but for whatever reason, Sharpe dropped down the race order and finished fourth. In the second race of the weekend, he rebounded and came back to finish in the runner-up spot.

Lombardi Racing entered four cars in the season opener at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Three of the Hondas were entered in the Super Touring category for Benjamin DiStaulo, Jerimy Daniel and Michel Dulong. The lone B-Spec Honda Fit was driven by Nigel Heron, who previously participated in the Super Touring and Touring classes. This was Heron’s first foray into B-Spec and he earned second and third-place finishes.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR / SPONSOR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Super Touring	Scott Nicol	Honda Civic Si-R / Velocity Motorsport	20	-
2	Super Touring	Bob Attrell	Hyundai Genesis / G1 Racing	20	-
3	Super Touring	Benjamin DiStaulo	Honda Civic Si-R / Lombardi Racing	20	-
4	Super Touring	David Ciekiewicz	BMW 330i / 8Legs Racing	20	-
5	Super Touring	Jérimy Daniel	Honda Civic Si-R / Lombardi Racing	20	-
6	Super Touring	Jonathan Rashleigh	Hyundai Genesis / G1 Racing	20	-
7	Super Touring	Scott Giannou	Pontiac Solstice GXP / GT Racing	20	-
8	Super Touring	Michel Dulong	Honda Civic Si-R / Lombardi Racing	20	-
9	Super Touring	Josh Fantin	BMW 330i / Amico Racing	20	-
10	Super Touring	Lee Chaplin	Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing	20	-
11	Super Touring	Alex Healy	Acura RSX Type-S / Alex Healy Racing	20	-
12	Touring	Michel Sallenbach	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	20	-
13	Touring	Tom Kwok	Honda Civic / M&S Racing	19	-
14	Touring	Jocelyn Hébert	Honda Civic Si / Équipe 89 Racing Team	19	-
15	Touring	Damon Sharpe	Honda Civic Si / Blanchet Motorsports	19	-
16	Touring	Eric Lacouture	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	19	-
17	Super Touring	Gary Kwok	Acura CSX / M&S Racing	19	-
18	Touring	Carlos Tesler-Mabe	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	18	-
19	Touring	Marc-André Bergeron	Mazda RX-8 / Masif 47 Racing	17	-
20	B-Spec	Karl Wittmer	Honda Fit / Ste-Rose Honda Racing	17	-
21	B-Spec	Normand Boyer	Mazda 2 / Boyer Motorsports	17	-
22	B-Spec	Nigel Heron	Honda Fit / Lombardi Honda Racing	17	-
23	Touring	Paul Dargis	Honda Civic Si-R / Dargis Motorsports	15	Did Not Finish
24	Super Touring	Sergio Pasian	BMW 330i / 8Legs Racing	13	Did Not Finish
25	Super Touring	Rémy Audette	Acura RSX Type-S / Audette Racing	11	Did Not Finish
26	Super Touring	Roger Ledoux	Subaru WRX / Lachute Performance	11	Did Not Finish
27	Super Touring	Nick Wittmer	Honda Accord / Ste-Rose Honda	4	Did Not Finish
28	Touring	Paul Gravel	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	4	Did Not Finish
29	Touring	Jocelyn Fecteau	Scion TC / Media Racing Team	2	Did Not Finish
-	Super Touring	Glenn Chaplin	Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing	0	Did Not Start
-	Touring	Vic Simone	Honda Civic Si / Blanchet Motorsports	0	Did Not Start

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR / SPONSOR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Super Touring	Scott Nicol	Honda Civic Si-R / Velocity Motorsport	15	-
2	Super Touring	Benjamin DiStaulo	Honda Civic Si-R / Lombardi Racing	15	-
3	Super Touring	Roger Ledoux	Subaru WRX / Lachute Performance	15	-
4	Super Touring	David Ciekiewicz	BMW 330i / 8Legs Racing	15	-
5	Super Touring	Jérimy Daniel	Honda Civic Si-R / Lombardi Racing	15	-
6	Super Touring	Alex Healy	Acura RSX Type-S / Alex Healy Racing	15	-
7	Super Touring	Michel Dulong	Honda Civic Si-R / Lombardi Racing	15	-
8	Super Touring	Josh Fantin	BMW 330i / Amico Racing	15	-
9	Super Touring	Scott Giannou	Pontiac Solstice GXP / GT Racing	15	-
10	Touring	Michel Sallenbach	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	15	-
11	Touring	Damon Sharpe	Honda Civic Si / Blanchet Motorsports	15	-
12	Touring	Jocelyn Hébert	Honda Civic Si / Équipe 89 Racing Team	15	-
13	Touring	Tom Kwok	Honda Civic / M&S Racing	15	-
14	Super Touring	Glenn Chaplin	Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing	15	-
15	Touring	Eric Lacouture	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	15	-
16	Touring	Paul Dargis	Honda Civic Si-R / Dargis Motorsports	15	-
17	Touring	Paul Gravel	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	15	-
18	Touring	Carlos Tesler-Mabe	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	15	-
19	Touring	Jocelyn Fecteau	Scion TC / Media Racing Team	15	-
20	B-Spec	Karl Wittmer	Honda Fit / Ste-Rose Honda Racing	15	-
21	B-Spec	Nigel Heron	Honda Fit / Lombardi Honda Racing	15	-
22	B-Spec	Normand Boyer	Mazda 2 / Boyer Motorsports	15	-
23	Super Touring	Gary Kwok	Acura CSX / M&S Racing	14	-
24	Super Touring	Rémy Audette	Acura RSX Type-S / Audette Racing	8	Did Not Finish
25	Super Touring	Bob Attrell	Hyundai Genesis / G1 Racing	7	Did Not Finish
26	Super Touring	Jonathan Rashleigh	Hyundai Genesis / G1 Racing	2	Did Not Finish
27	Super Touring	Sergio Pasian	BMW 330i / 8Legs Racing	1	Did Not Finish
-	Touring	Marc-André Bergeron	Mazda RX-8 / Masif 47 Racing	0	Did Not Start
-	Super Touring	Nick Wittmer	Honda Accord / Ste-Rose Honda	0	Did Not Start
-	Super Touring	Lee Chaplin	Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing	0	Did Not Start
-	Touring	Vic Simone	Honda Civic Si / Blanchet Motorsports	0	Did Not Start

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