2023 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - Super Production Challenge

The very popular Super Production Challenge for production vehicles debuted in 2011. It has attracted large fields as the result of affordable racing, which has, in turn, generated close competition and captured the imagination of fans.

The Super Production Challenge offers amateur drivers a semi-professional environment which Auto Sport Quebec sanctions. Most races range from thirty to forty-five minutes in length.

The 2023 season consists of five race weekends.

May 19-21 – Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
June 2-4 – Shannonville Motorsport Park
July 7-9 - Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
August 4-6 – Grand-Prix de Trois-Rivieres
August 25-26 - ICAR

The series controls costs by limiting performance and balancing the power of different vehicles using weight, rev limiters, intake manifold restrictions and adjustments to other components. Series rules allow modifications to the engine, brakes and suspensions. All cars in the series are required to compete on Nankang AR-1 tires.

Drivers score points in one of three classes – Super Production, Production or Compact.

Super Production – Introduced in 2019, the larger displacement vehicles with no more than 300-horsepower compete in the Super Production group. The performance of these two-wheel-drive vehicles is monitored by GPS. Models in the category must have been produced within the past fifteen years. Cars commonly found in this division include the Nissan 370Z, Scion FRS, Honda Civic Si, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and BMW M235i.
Production – Performance is also monitored using GPS for vehicles competing in the Production division. They are also limited to models fifteen years of age or newer. The maximum horsepower output for these four or six-cylinder vehicles is 220. Four-cylinder engines up to two-liters may be turbocharged or supercharged. Cars often found in this class include Mini Cooper S, BMW 330i and Honda Civic Si.
Compact - The Compact class, introduced in 2012, is for vehicles with less the 100-horsepower. They are also monitored by GPS and subject to the same product year range requirement as the Super Production and Production categories. Included in this group are the Mini Cooper, Toyota Echo, Nissan Micra and Mazda 2.

The 2023 Super Production Challenge season kicked off on the Victoria Day weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Drivers collected points in three races around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

The start of round three for the 2023 Super Production Challenge at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Leading the field of thirty-eight drivers are Todd Chiappino in the No. 14 Velocity Motorsports Club Honda Civic Si and the No. 03 Empire Motorsports Honda Civic Si driven by Gabrile Lacombe. Behind the leaders is the winner of the first two races, Kurt Wittmer, in the No. 66 Lombardi Racing Honda Civic Type R.

The No. 66 Lombardi Racing / Perry Performance Honda Civic Type R is driven by Kurt Wittmer. He comes from a family of racers who have enjoyed success throughout North America. Wittmer made his series debut in 2016 and along with his brother, Karl, he won the Super Production championship in 2018 and 2020. Wittmer’s 2023 quest for the title got off to a great start when he swept the weekend.

Connor Bell driving the No. 30 Digital Unity Toyota GT left the weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with the Production class points lead. His highlight last season was a victory in the July event at ICAR. Bell qualified ninth in class for race one but excelled in the wet conditions and grabbed the win. In the afternoon, he finished second to Sylvain Laporte and ended the weekend with a third-place result.

Capturing the first Compact victory of 2023 was Frederic Bernier driving the No. 28 Hi-Fi Racing Nissan Micra Cup. Before joining Super Production Challenge, Bernier was a regular in the Nissan Micra Cup series and had his best season in 2019, finishing eighth in the final standings. In the last two races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, he finished in the runner-up position, which was enough to earn the class points lead.

Finishing behind the Super Production winner, Kurt Wittmer, in two of the three rounds at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park was Gabrile Lacombe in the No. 03 Empire Motorsports Honda Civic Si. A series veteran, Lacombe debuted in 2014, finishing second in the Compact category. In Saturday’s contests, he chased Wittmer to a runner-up result. In the finale, on Sunday morning, Lacombe finished third.

Sylvain Laporte entered his first Super Production Challenge event in 2013 and became a series regular in 2015. In 2021, Laporte was the Production class champion. He has always competed in the No. 50 LAPSE Motorsports Mini Cooper Challenge. On Saturday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Laporte earned first and second-place finishes. Unfortunately, he had an accident and retired on the first lap of round three.

Rookie Blake Kelley piloted the No. 41 Velocity Motorsports Club Honda Civic Si in the Production category. Kelley made an inauspicious debut. He started Saturday’s contest fifth in class but had an accident on the opening lap. With the car ready for the afternoon race, Kelley collected the final spot on the podium. On Sunday, he redeemed himself by winning the Production division and finishing fifteenth overall.

Mario Berthiaume is another driver with Nissan Micra Cup experience; he competed in the series from 2015 to 2021. Berthiaume started his first Super Production Challenge last season in the No. 72 M & M Racing Team Nissan Micra Cup at Calabogie Motorsports Park. This season, he qualified fourth in Compact for race one and finished second. In the next contest, Berthiaume was third and ended the event by finishing seventh.

Another rookie making a significant impact was Compact class competitor Cameron Nabert. Nabert was driving the No. 69 Fawn Group Motorsports Nissan Micra Cup. He qualified and finished third in a very wet round one at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. In Saturday afternoon’s contest, Nabert scored his first series victory. On Sunday, he collected his second win and left the weekend second in the points chase by a single marker.

POS.	PIC	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	Super Production	Kurt Wittmer	Honda Civic Type R	14	-
2	2	Super Production	Gabriel Lacombe	Honda Civic Si	14	-
3	3	Super Production	Guillaume Labbe	Honda Civic Type R	14	-
4	4	Super Production	Todd Chiappino	Honda Civic Si	14	-
5	5	Super Production	Owen Clarke	Toyota GT86	14	-
6	6	Super Production	Eric Chaput	Nissan 370Z	14	-
7	7	Super Production	Mario Charrette	Nissan 370Z	14	-
8	8	Super Production	Nathan Blok	Nissan 370Z	14	-
9	9	Super Production	Arek Wojciechowski	BMW 325i	14	-
10	10	Super Production	Alex Habrich	Nissan 370Z	14	-
11	1	Production	Connor Bell	Toyota GT86	14	-
12	2	Production	Sylvain Laporte	Mini Cooper S Challenge	14	-
13	11	Super Production	Chris Bernier	BMW 323i	14	-
14	3	Production	Vincent Desautels	Honda Civic Si	14	-
15	12	Super Production	Nelson Chan	Nissan 370Z	14	-
16	13	Super Production	Shelby Mills	Volkswagen Jetta GLI	14	-
17	4	Production	Marc-Andre Bourdages	Honda Civic Si	14	-
18	1	Compact	Frederic Bernier	Nissan Micra Cup	14	-
19	14	Super Production	Dominic Dumais	Subaru BRZ Turbo	14	-
20	2	Compact	Mario Berthiaume	Nissan Micra Cup	14	-
21	3	Compact	Cameron Nabert	Nissan Micra Cup	14	-
22	4	Compact	Zack Lalonde	Honda Fit	13	-
23	5	Compact	Eric Coulombe	Chevrolet Sonic	13	-
24	5	Production	Ethan Bell	Toyota GT86	13	-
25	6	Compact	Steve Montminy	Nissan Micra	13	-
26	7	Compact	Alex Donnelly	Mini Cooper	13	-
27	6	Production	Perry Wener	Honda Civic Si	13	-
28	8	Compact	Richard Foegele	Honda Fit	13	-
29	15	Super Production	Marc Heroux	Chevrolet Camaro RS	13	-
30	9	Compact	Maika Chamberland	Honda Fit	13	-
31	10	Compact	Stephane Day	Nissan Micra Cup	13	-
32	7	Production	Crystel Charest	Mini Cooper Challenge	13	-
33	11	Compact	Cindy Picotte	Nissan Micra Cup	12	-
34	12	Compact	Nathan Mutch	Toyota Echo Cup	12	-
35	16	Super Production	Michael Habrich	Nissan 370Z	10	Accident
36	8	Production	Graydon Goodridge	Subaru BRZ	3	Accident
37	13	Compact	Etienne Samson Laflamme	Toyota Echo Cup	0	Accident
38	9	Production	Blake Kelley	Honda Civic Si	0	Accident
-	-	Super Production	Frederick Magny	Nissan 370Z	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Production	Vincent Berthiaume	Acura TSX Type S	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Production	Marie-France Gagné	Toyota GR86 SC	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Compact	Ben O'Hare	Nissan Micra Cup	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Super Production	Charles-André Bilodeau	Ford Mustang Ecoboost	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Super Production	Jacques Gravel	BMW 330i	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Production	Patrick Michaud	Volkswagen Golf GTI	-	Did Not Start

POS.	PIC	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	Super Production	Kurt Wittmer	Honda Civic Type R	18	-
2	2	Super Production	Gabriel Lacombe	Honda Civic Si	18	-
3	3	Super Production	Todd Chiappino	Honda Civic Si	18	-
4	4	Super Production	Owen Clarke	Toyota GT86	18	-
5	5	Super Production	Arek Wojciechowski	BMW 325i	18	-
6	6	Super Production	Guillaume Labbe	Honda Civic Type R	18	-
7	7	Super Production	Nathan Blok	Nissan 370Z	18	-
8	8	Super Production	Michael Habrich	Nissan 370Z	18	-
9	9	Super Production	Shawn Bernier	BMW 323i	18	-
10	10	Super Production	Marc Heroux	Chevrolet Camaro RS	18	-
11	11	Super Production	Sylvain Ouellet	Nissan 370Z	18	-
12	12	Super Production	Shelby Mills	Volkswagen Jetta GLI	18	-
13	13	Super Production	Charles-André Bilodeau	Ford Mustang Ecoboost	18	-
14	14	Super Production	Axel Habrich	Nissan 370Z	17	-
15	15	Super Production	Mario Charrette	Nissan 370Z	17	-
16	16	Super Production	Frederick Magny	Nissan 370Z	17	-
17	1	Production	Sylvain Laporte	Mini Cooper S Challenge	17	-
18	2	Production	Connor Bell	Toyota GT86	17	-
19	17	Super Production	Nelson Chan	Nissan 370Z	17	-
20	3	Production	Blake Kelley	Honda Civic Si	17	-
21	4	Production	Vincent Desautels	Honda Civic Si	16	-
22	5	Production	Marc-Andre Bourdages	Honda Civic Si	16	-
23	6	Production	Graydon Goodridge	Subaru BRZ	16	-
24	7	Production	Perry Wener	Honda Civic Si	16	-
25	8	Production	Crystel Charest	Mini Cooper Challenge	16	-
26	1	Compact	Cameron Nabert	Nissan Micra Cup	16	-
27	2	Compact	Frederic Bernier	Nissan Micra Cup	16	-
28	3	Compact	Mario Berthiaume	Nissan Micra Cup	16	-
29	4	Compact	Alyssa Voyzelle-Montminy	Nissan Micra	16	-
30	5	Compact	Zack Lalonde	Honda Fit	16	-
31	6	Compact	Alex Donnelly	Mini Cooper	16	-
32	7	Compact	Etienne Samson Laflamme	Toyota Echo Cup	16	-
33	8	Compact	Eric Coulombe	Chevrolet Sonic	16	-
34	9	Compact	Richard Foegele	Honda Fit	16	-
35	18	Super Production	Dominic Dumais	Subaru BRZ Turbo	15	-
36	10	Compact	Maika Chamberland	Honda Fit	15	-
37	11	Compact	Stephane Day	Nissan Micra Cup	15	-
38	12	Compact	Cindy Picotte	Nissan Micra Cup	14	-
39	13	Compact	Nathan Mutch	Toyota Echo Cup	11	Mechanical
40	9	Production	Ethan Bell	Toyota GT86	2	Clutch
-	-	Production	Vincent Berthiaume	Acura TSX Type S	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Production	Marie-France Gagné	Toyota GR86 SC	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Compact	Ben O'Hare	Nissan Micra Cup	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Super Production	Jacques Gravel	BMW 330i	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Production	Patrick Michaud	Volkswagen Golf GTI	-	Did Not Start

POS.	PIC	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	Super Production	Kurt Wittmer	Honda Civic Type R	184	-
2	2	Super Production	Charles-André Bilodeau	Ford Mustang Ecoboost	14	-
3	3	Super Production	Gabriel Lacombe	Honda Civic Si	14	-
4	4	Super Production	Eric Hochgeschurz	BMW 325i	14	-
5	5	Super Production	Chris Bernier	BMW 323i	14	-
6	6	Super Production	Marc Heroux	Chevrolet Camaro RS	14	-
7	7	Super Production	Todd Chiappino	Honda Civic Si	14	-
8	8	Super Production	Owen Clarke	Toyota GT86	14	-
9	9	Super Production	Guillaume Labbe	Honda Civic Type R	14	-
10	10	Super Production	Shelby Mills	Volkswagen Jetta GLI	14	-
11	11	Super Production	Mario Charrette	Nissan 370Z	14	-
12	12	Super Production	Eric Chaput	Nissan 370Z	14	-
13	13	Super Production	Nelson Chan	Nissan 370Z	14	-
14	14	Super Production	Axel Habrich	Nissan 370Z	14	-
15	1	Production	Blake Kelley	Honda Civic Si	14	-
16	2	Production	Vincent Desautels	Honda Civic Si	14	-
17	3	Production	Connor Bell	Toyota GT86	14	-
18	1	Compact	Cameron Nabert	Nissan Micra Cup	14	-
19	4	Production	Crystel Charest	Mini Cooper Challenge	14	-
20	2	Compact	Frederic Bernier	Nissan Micra Cup	14	-
21	3	Compact	Etienne Samson Laflamme	Toyota Echo Cup	14	-
22	5	Production	Marie-France Gagné	Toyota GR86 SC	14	-
23	4	Compact	Alyssa Voyzelle-Montminy	Nissan Micra	14	-
24	5	Compact	Zack Lalonde	Honda Fit	14	-
25	6	Compact	Alex Donnelly	Mini Cooper	14	-
26	7	Compact	Mario Berthiaume	Nissan Micra Cup	14	-
27	15	Super Production	Michael Habrich	Nissan 370Z	14	-
28	8	Compact	Stephane Day	Nissan Micra Cup	13	-
29	9	Compact	Maika Chamberland	Honda Fit	13	-
30	6	Production	Perry Wener	Honda Civic Si	13	-
31	10	Compact	Nathan Mutch	Toyota Echo Cup	13	-
32	11	Compact	Cindy Picotte	Nissan Micra Cup	13	-
33	7	Production	Marc-Andre Bourdages	Honda Civic Si	8	Clutch
34	16	Super Production	Frederick Magny	Nissan 370Z	7	Accident
35	12	Compact	Eric Coulombe	Chevrolet Sonic	7	Mechanical
36	17	Super Production	Nathan Blok	Nissan 370Z	5	Transmission
37	8	Production	Graydon Goodridge	Subaru BRZ	0	Mechanical
38	9	Production	Sylvain Laporte	Mini Cooper S Challenge	0	Accident
-	-	Compact	Richard Foegele	Honda Fit	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Production	Ethan Bell	Toyota GT86	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Super Production	Dominic Dumais	Subaru BRZ Turbo	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Production	Vincent Berthiaume	Acura TSX Type S	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Compact	Ben O'Hare	Nissan Micra Cup	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Super Production	Jacques Gravel	BMW 330i	-	Did Not Start
-	-	Production	Patrick Michaud	Volkswagen Golf GTI	-	Did Not Start

Copyright Notice:

All content (photographs and text) appearing on this website are the exclusive property of © www.zoompics.com and are protected under International copyright laws. The subject matter on this website may not be reproduced, copied, stored or manipulated.