FORMULA 1600 SUPER SERIES RACE 1 NEWS & NOTES
DeGrand Grabs Race 1 at Canadian Grand Prix
MONTREAL, QC (June 7, 2013) - Race 1 of the F1600 Super Series at the Canadian Grand Prix is in the books and it was an fierce battle involving one young superstar and a couple of respected veterans.
Tens of thousands of fans filled the grandstands adding to the excitement of competing on the legendary Grand Prix track for the 33 cars that took to the grid.
Pole sitter Michel Bonnet led the field to the green, holding off a hard charging Tristan DeGrand and Olivier Bedard. The top 8 would gap the rest of the field and wage an intense battle.
Max Hanratty showed great pace in qualifying but his race was ended early after contact with Chase Pelletier on the 2nd lap of the event, damage to the right rear suspension making it impossible to continue.
DeGrand made several attempts in the first few laps to get by Bonnet and when he did eventually prevail proved too much for anyone to stay with. He would gap the field slightly as they battled behind him.
There was quite a bit of attrition and the race was cut short by a few minutes after an accident involving Jeffrey Kingsley and J.P. Jodoin. It appeared that Jodoin got into the back of Kingsley on the front straightaway, lifting the rear of his car and sending him had into the outside wall and scattering debris all over the racetrack.
Also on the same lap an incident involving Bruno Chapinotti and Connor Wagland caused damage. Chapinotti was unable to lock his car down after spinning and he clipped Wagland as he went by, ending Wagland’s day with damage to the right rear suspension.
At the checkered flag it was Tristan DeGrand first followed by Michel Bonnet and Duncan Murdoch followed by Didier Schraenen and Olivier Bedard.
Day two at the Canadian Grand Prix will see the F1600’s take to the track at 9am for Race 2.
The Formula 1600 Super Series is the combined premiere events of the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Series from Ontario and the Toyo Tires Formula Tour 1600 Series from Quebec. The series is comprised of a four event, double-header format and competes at CTMP’s Victoria Day SpeedFest, Formula One Grand Prix of Montreal, the Honda Indy Toronto and the Grand Prix of Trois Rivieres.
Photo by Kimberly Duncalfe
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