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The 2014 Toyo Tires F1600 Championship schedule consists of six weekends; for a total of twelve contests.
The status of the championship was raised when the series participates as a support event for some of
Ontario’s high-profile professional race weekends.
There was also an opportunity for teams to compete in the new F1600 Super Series. Ontario’s Jason Sharpe and Quebec’s Marcel Lafontaine developed a series that would see drivers race at the Castrol Victoria Day Speedfest, Honda Toronto Indy, Canadian Grand Prix and Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres. The season kicks off in May at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) during the BEMC Spring Trophy Races. The following two rounds are part of the Castrol Victoria Day Speedfest Weekend at CTMP. Then the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship makes its third of four stops to CTMP for the BARC Grand Prix of Ontario Races. In mid-July, competitors race on the temporary street circuit at Toronto’s Exhibition Place as a support event for Honda Toronto Indy. Then teams travel to Calabogie Motorsports Park for rounds nine and ten. The BEMC Indian Summer Races is the series’ final weekend of competition and determines class champions. The single-seater, open-wheel race cars in the championship are powered by one of two engine options - a four-cylinder, 1600-cc Ford engine or the 1.5-liter HPD Honda L15A7. Both motors produce approximately 120-horsepower. A mixture of European and North American chassis is used by competitors. Minimum vehicle weight is determined by the suspension design and ranges from 1050 to 1125-lbs. Teams are required to use a spec tire – the Toyo Proxes R888. Drivers collect championship points in one of two groups.
The manufacture date for the individual car and not the model is used to determine the year split and if a vehicle is categorized as FFA or FFB. Based on their past performances and historical records, the Swift DB-1 and AERO II are excluded from the FFB class. Rounds seven and eight of the 2014 Toyo Tires F1600 Championship were held at Toronto’s Exhibition Place as a support event for the Honda Toronto Indy. The weekend would also be races five and six of the F1600 Super Series. Drivers would compete in two eighteen-laps contests around the eleven-turn 1.786-mile temporary street circuit.
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The first lap of round seven for the 2014 Toyo Tires F1600 Championship through Exhibition Place’s corner eight. Leading the field of twenty-nine starters is the pole-sitter, Tristan DeGrand, in the No. 93 Exclusive Autosport Spectrum 014. Behind DeGrand is the other front-row qualifier, Brandon Newey, driving the No. 29 Chastain Motorsports Mygale SJ12. Trailing the leaders are Chase Pelletier and Jack Mitchell, Jr. |
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Tristan DeGrand entered the weekend at the Honda Toronto Indy with a perfect record in the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship and the F1600 Super Series – eight wins in eight starts. The driver of the No. 93 Spectrum 014 qualified on the pole for race one. He battled with Brandon Newey during the contest and won the event after contact between the two drivers. An error in the finale caused him to finish in eleventh-place. |
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Pro Mazda Championship competitor Brandon Newey made his Toyo Tires F1600 Championship series debut at Toronto. Newey was driving the No. 29 Mygale SJ12 and qualified second for race one. He exchanged the lead with Tristan DeGrand until contact late in the event resulted in a twenty-third-place finish. On Sunday, the battle continued until DeGrand made an error which allowed Newey to grab the victory. |
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Another driver with impressive results was the FFB points leader Connor Wagland, who had six podium results, of which three were class victories. Wagland qualified twentieth overall and third in class for the weekend’s first contest. During the race, he passed David Graham and Amy Castell for the victory. On lap-5 of race two, Wagland had an accident with the No. 10 Van Diemen in corner eleven and was unable to finish. |
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Amy Castell couldn’t have picked a better event to claim her first victory. Last year, Castell started the season in a Zink Z10 but acquired a newer Reynard SF90 and her results improved dramatically. She entered the Toronto weekend with three FFB podium results. Castell qualified second in class for race one but finished fourth. In the finale, a pass on David Graham and the retirement of Connor Wagland gave her the win. |
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The reigning Toyo Tires F1600 champion, Jack Mitchell, Jr., returned to the series for the Honda Toronto Indy weekend. Mitchell joined his old team, Exclusive Autosport, driving the No. 1 Spectrum 014. He was fifth fastest in the qualifying session for the weekend’s first race. Mitchell claimed a runner-up finish as the result of mistakes made by Brandon Newey and Chase Pelletier. On Sunday, he earned another second-place. |
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Chase Pelletier topped the timesheets in the opening practice session. The local driver started the season in a Van Diemen RF01 and began racing the No. 14 Mygale SJ14 in round five. During the qualifying session, Pelletier fell to fourth fastest. In race one, he managed to avoid any contact and finished third. The next day, Pelletier traded places with Zacharie Robichon and Jack Mitchell before finishing in the fourth position. |
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Another driver to switch brands was Zacharie Robichon. Robichon regularly campaigned a Piper DF5, but at the Honda Toronto Indy weekend, he was in the No. 3 Brian Graham Racing Van Diemen RF01. Robichon was gridded in the sixth position for the start of Saturday’s race, but contact on lap-1 forced him to retire. In the final contest of the weekend, he redeemed himself by capturing the last position on the rostrum. |
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| POS. | START | CLASS | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | A-1 | Tristan DeGrand | Spectrum 014 | 18 | - |
| 2 | 5 | A-2 | Jack Mitchell Jr. | Spectrum 014 | 18 | - |
| 3 | 4 | A-3 | Chase Pelletier | Mygale SJ14 | 18 | - |
| 4 | 17 | A-4 | Sam Chastain | Mygale SJ13 | 18 | - |
| 5 | 9 | A-5 | Olivier Bedard | Van Diemen RF01 | 18 | - |
| 6 | 13 | A-6 | Craig Willis | AERO II | 18 | - |
| 7 | 3 | A-7 | Michel Bonnet | Vector VF952 | 18 | - |
| 8 | 11 | A-8 | Maxwell Hanratty | Spectrum 014 | 18 | - |
| 9 | 7 | A-9 | Jayson Clunie | Spectrum 014 | 18 | - |
| 10 | 18 | A-10 | Reid Arnold | Piper Piper DF5 | 18 | - |
| 11 | 20 | B-1 | Connor Wagland | Van Diemen RF91 | 18 | - |
| 12 | 12 | A-11 | Bruno Chapinotti | Piper DF5 | 18 | - |
| 13 | 16 | A-12 | Caitlin Johnston | Van Diemen RF97 | 18 | - |
| 14 | 15 | B-2 | David Graham | Van Diemen RF92 | 18 | - |
| 15 | 21 | B-3 | Steve Bodrug | Van Diemen RF93 | 18 | - |
| 16 | 19 | B-4 | Amy Castell | Reynard 90SF | 18 | - |
| 17 | 24 | A-13 | Andre du Preez Jr. | Piper DF5 | 18 | - |
| 18 | 25 | B-5 | Mike Lee | Lola T-540E | 18 | - |
| 19 | 23 | A-14 | Yves Beaudoin | Van Diemen RF99 | 17 | - |
| 20 | 26 | B-6 | Bruce Kitchen | Van Diemen RF92 | 17 | - |
| 21 | 27 | B-7 | Ted Michalos | Crossle 40F | 17 | - |
| 22 | - | B-8 | Andrew Celovsky | Reynard 82SF | 17 | - |
| 23 | 2 | A-15 | Brandon Newey | Mygale SJ12 | 16 | - |
| 24 | 10 | A-16 | Jeffery Kingsley | Spectrum 014 | 13 | - |
| 25 | 10 | A-17 | Brian Fowler | Van Diemen RF01 | 12 | - |
| 26 | 6 | A-18 | Zacharie Robichon | Van Diemen RF01 | 1 | Did Not Finish |
| 27 | 8 | A-19 | Steve Bamford | Mygale SJ11 | 0 | Did Not Finish |
| 28 | 14 | A-20 | Marcel Lafontaine | Van Diemen RF98 | 0 | Did Not Finish |
| POS. | START | CLASS | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | A-1 | Brandon Newey | Mygale SJ12 | 18 | - |
| 2 | 1 | A-2 | Jack Mitchell Jr. | Spectrum 014 | 18 | - |
| 3 | 26 | A-3 | Zacharie Robichon | Van Diemen RF01 | 18 | - |
| 4 | 2 | A-4 | Chase Pelletier | Mygale SJ14 | 18 | - |
| 5 | 5 | A-5 | Olivier Bedard | Van Diemen RF01 | 18 | - |
| 6 | 6 | A-6 | Sam Chastain | Mygale SJ13 | 18 | - |
| 7 | 7 | A-7 | Michel Bonnet | Vector VF952 | 18 | - |
| 8 | 8 | A-8 | Craig Willis | AERO II | 18 | - |
| 9 | 27 | A-9 | Steve Bamford | Mygale SJ11 | 18 | - |
| 10 | 10 | A-10 | Jayson Clunie | Spectrum 014 | 18 | - |
| 11 | 1 | A-11 | Tristan DeGrand | Spectrum 014 | 18 | - |
| 12 | 16 | A-12 | Caitlin Johnston | Van Diemen RF97 | 18 | - |
| 13 | 13 | A-13 | Jeffery Kingsley | Spectrum 014 | 18 | - |
| 14 | 15 | B-1 | Amy Castell | Reynard 90SF | 18 | - |
| 15 | 20 | A-14 | Andre du Preez Jr. | Piper DF5 | 18 | - |
| 16 | 18 | B-2 | Steve Bodrug | Van Diemen RF93 | 18 | - |
| 17 | 22 | B-3 | Mike Lee | Lola T-540E | 18 | - |
| 18 | 21 | A-15 | Brian Fowler | Van Diemen RF01 | 18 | - |
| 19 | 12 | A-16 | Bruno Chapinotti | Piper DF5 | 18 | - |
| 20 | 23 | B-4 | Bruce Kitchen | Van Diemen RF92 | 18 | - |
| 21 | 25 | B-5 | Ted Michalos | Crossle 40F | 18 | - |
| 22 | 9 | A-17 | Maxwell Hanratty | Spectrum 014 | 17 | - |
| 23 | 19 | A-18 | Yves Beaudoin | Van Diemen RF99 | 17 | - |
| 24 | 17 | B-6 | David Graham | Van Diemen RF92 | 17 | - |
| 25 | 28 | A-19 | Marcel Lafontaine | Van Diemen RF98 | 17 | - |
| 26 | 24 | B-7 | Andrew Celovsky | Reynard 82SF | 17 | - |
| 27 | 14 | B-8 | Connor Wagland | Van Diemen RF91 | 5 | Did Not Finish |
| 28 | 11 | A-20 | Reid Arnold | Piper Piper DF5 | 4 | Did Not Finish |
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