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 penultimate rounds of the 2013 Canadian Touring Car Championship were held during the Chevrolet Silverado 250 for the NASCAR Truck series. Two thirty-minute races were conducted Saturday and Sunday around Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

The first lap through Moss corner for round eleven of the 2013 Canadian Touring Car Championship. Leading the field is the pole-sitter, Bob Attrell, driving the No. 88 G1 Racing Hyundai Genesis. Behind Attrell is his G1 Racing teammate and the second-fastest qualifier, Jonathan Rashleigh. Next in line are Scott Nicol, Sergio Pasian, Alex Healy and Roger Ledoux. There were twenty starters in Saturday’s race.

The Super Touring championship leader, Scott Nicol, had another productive points scoring weekend. In the weekend’s first contest, Nicol qualified and finished third – trailing G1 Racing’s, Jonathan Rashleigh and Bob Attrell. He started on the pole in the finale and led flag-to-flag to win by a margin of over ten seconds. This was Nicol’s third victory of the season – his first two were at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

It was clear at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park that the championship honours in the Touring category would be decided in the final round at Calabogie Motorsport Park. One of the title contenders was, Damon Sharpe. Sharpe, driving the No. 84 Blanchet Motorsport Honda Civic Si, trailed the class leader, Michel Sallenbach. In the first race of the weekend, he finished ahead of Sallenbach, but Sharpe lost ground on Sunday.

It was a memorable weekend for G1 Racing’s, Jonathan Rashleigh. Not only did the driver of the No. 86 Continental Tire sponsored Hyundai Genesis earn his first series podium, but he did it in style with a victory. In race one, Rashleigh qualified behind his teammate, Bob Attrell, but passed him for the win. On Sunday, his luck ran out, he started on the outside of the front row, but retired after four-laps.

The B-Spec podium for round twelve of the 2013 Canadian Touring Car Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. There were only two entrants in this class, Karl Wittmer and Normand Boyer. Both of them were title contenders. Wittmer driving the Ste-Rose Honda Racing Honda Civic swept the weekend and, as a result, claimed the championship with two races remaining on the calendar.

It was an up and down season for G1 Racing team leader, Bob Attrell. Attrell had two runner-up finishes - Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Trois-Rivieres. But, his season also included a couple of retirements. Attrell had a reason to be optimistic when he qualified on the pole for round eleven, but he finished second to Jonathan Rashleigh. On Sunday, he lost a lap to the leaders and finished seventh overall.

Former go-kart racer, Michael Di Meo, joined Blanchet Motorsports for rounds nine and ten at Trois-Rivieres, where he scored sixth and seventh place finishes. The driver of the No. 83 Honda Civic Si would deliver much better results at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. In the weekends, first contest, Di Meo started and finished behind his teammate, Damon Sharpe. On Sunday, he started on the pole and captured the class win.

Series veteran, Alex Healy, entered the penultimate weekend of racing with a pair of third-place podium finishes – round five at ICAR and at Trois-Rivieres in race nine. In the weekend’s first contest at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Healy was gridded fifth but inherited a position when Sergio Pasian retired. On Sunday, he started fifth and earned his third rostrum of the season, this time it was a runner-up finish.

The Canadian Touring Car Championship Touring podium for round twelve at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. In the center and capturing his first series victory is Michael Di Meo from Blanchet Motorsports. On the left side of the rostrum is the class points leader and runner-up finisher, Michel Sallenbach. The podium’s final position is occupied by Di Meo’s teammate and title contender, Damon Sharpe.

The Touring class points leader, Michel Sallenbach, drove the No. 46 Octane Motorsports prepared Mini Cooper S. Since he made his series debut in 2010, Sallenbach was the class championship runner-up in two of the last three years. In round eleven at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, he started and finished third in class – losing ground to Damon Sharpe. On Sunday, Sallenbach rebounded with a second-place result.

Sergio Pasian made his series debut in round one at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with the seasoned 8Legs Racing team driving the No. 10 BMW 330i. Unfortunately, he did not complete either of the weekend’s races. Pasian’s next event was at ICAR, where he managed to finish third in Super Touring. Rounds eleven and twelve were a ‘mixed bag.’ He was the first retiree on Saturday but finished third in the finale.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR / SPONSOR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Super Touring	Jonathan Rashleigh	Hyundai Genesis / G1 Racing	21	-
2	Super Touring	Bob Attrell	Hyundai Genesis / G1 Racing	21	-
3	Super Touring	Scott Nicol	Honda Civic Si-R / Velocity Motorsport	21	-
4	Super Touring	Alex Healy	Acura RSX Type-S / Alex Healy Racing	21	-
5	Super Touring	Roger Ledoux	Subaru WRX / Lachute Performance	21	-
6	Super Touring	Arek Wojciechowski	BMW 330i / 8Legs Racing	21	-
7	Super Touring	Gary Kwok	Acura CSX / M&S Racing	21	-
8	Super Touring	Nick Wittmer	Honda Accord / Ste-Rose Honda	21	-
9	Super Touring	Michael Delle Donne	BMW 330i / RMP Competizione	20	-
10	Touring	Damon Sharpe	Honda Civic Si / Blanchet Motorsports	20	-
11	Touring	Michael Di Meo	Honda Civic Si / Blanchet Motorsports	20	-
12	Touring	Michel Sallenbach	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	20	-
13	Touring	Tom Kwok	Honda Civic / M&S Racing	20	-
14	Touring	Eric Lacouture	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	20	-
15	Touring	Carlos Tesler-Mabe	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	20	-
16	Super Touring	Rocco Marciello	BMW 330i / RMP Competizione	19	-
17	Touring	Victor Simone	Honda Civic Si / Blanchet Motorsports	19	-
18	B-Spec	Karl Wittmer	Honda Fit / Ste-Rose Honda Racing	18	-
19	B-Spec	Normand Boyer	Mazda 2 / Boyer Motorsports	18	-
20	Super Touring	Sergio Pasian	BMW 330i / 8Legs Racing	8	Did Not Finish

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR / SPONSOR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Super Touring	Scott Nicol	Honda Civic Si-R / Velocity Motorsport	20	-
2	Super Touring	Alex Healy	Acura RSX Type-S / Alex Healy Racing	20	-
3	Super Touring	Sergio Pasian	BMW 330i / 8Legs Racing	20	-
4	Super Touring	Arek Wojciechowski	BMW 330i / 8Legs Racing	20	-
5	Super Touring	Roger Ledoux	Subaru WRX / Lachute Performance	20	-
6	Super Touring	Nick Wittmer	Honda Accord / Ste-Rose Honda	19	-
7	Super Touring	Bob Attrell	Hyundai Genesis / G1 Racing	19	-
8	Touring	Michael Di Meo	Honda Civic Si / Blanchet Motorsports	19	-
9	Touring	Michel Sallenbach	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	19	-
10	Touring	Damon Sharpe	Honda Civic Si / Blanchet Motorsports	19	-
11	Touring	Eric Lacouture	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	19	-
12	Touring	Victor Simone	Honda Civic Si / Blanchet Motorsports	18	-
13	B-Spec	Karl Wittmer	Honda Fit / Ste-Rose Honda Racing	17	-
14	B-Spec	Normand Boyer	Mazda 2 / Boyer Motorsports	17	-
15	Touring	Carlos Tesler-Mabe	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	17	-
16	Super Touring	Gary Kwok	Acura CSX / M&S Racing	11	Did Not Finish
17	Super Touring	Jonathan Rashleigh	Hyundai Genesis / G1 Racing	4	Did Not Finish
18	Super Touring	Michael Delle Donne	BMW 330i / RMP Competizione	3	Did Not Finish
19	Touring	Tom Kwok	Honda Civic / M&S Racing	3	Did Not Finish
-	Super Touring	Rocco Marciello	BMW 330i / RMP Competizione	-	Did Not Start

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