From press release
Race 2 of the BARC Grand Prix of Ontario was undoubtedly the most intense race of the season so far. Eureka, MO’s Tristan DeGrand did keep his perfect win streak alive but had to fight tooth and nail right up until the line, narrowly beating Brampton, ON’s Chase Pelletier.
DeGrand started from pole and fought off a challenge from Pelletier right from the drop of the green flag. The two exchanged the lead a couple of times over the first couple of laps and the lead train was 12 cars deep with lots of jostling for position.
The safety car was dispatched on lap 3 for an incident involving Shane Jantzi and Reid Arnold. The two were side by side a couple of times on the previous lap, eventually coming together in corner 9, Jantzi making contact with the outside wall ending his day and Arnold spinning and losing several positions.
The race went back to green on lap 6 and it was an incredible display all throughout the field. Craig Willis made some impressive passes to get himself in contention and Max Hanratty and teammate Jeffrey Kingsley also looked like they had to be considered for the victory. The lead pack of 9 cars stayed together the entire race.
Pelletier eventually wrestled the lead from DeGrand and that set the stage for a dramatic last lap that would jumble the top 10 finishing positions. DeGrand made a daring pass to get back in front with 2 corners to go and fought off an attempted “pass through the grass” by Pelletier, just beating him to the line. Just behind them Hanratty and Willis made contact, both spinning and causing the next 5 cars to all take evasive action to narrowly avoid them.
The biggest winner in all of this was 3rd place finisher Bruno Chapinotti who stayed with the lead pack all race and when the drama started to unfold managed to get past 3 cars and beat Jeffrey Kingsley by a nose at the line to grab his first podium finish.
Kingsley had a solid day and came home 4th followed by another good finish for Caitlin Johnston. Serge Lacroix was 6th and Craig Willis scrambled back to the line in 7th. Reid Arnold recovered from his early race trouble for an 8th place finish and the top 10 was rounded out by newcomer Danby Crowder and Max Hanratty.
Its should be noted that Andre du Preez and his crew did a masterful job of repairing his car after a bad crash in qualifying and although they did start the race 1 lap down they grabbed an 11th place finish.
The race for “B” Class honours was equally intense. Graham Lobban would prevail at the line and picked up another win over points leader Connor Wagland in 2nd. Graham’s brother Keith was involved in a great fight with Amy Castell and would get the final step on the podium, followed by Castell in 4th.
David Graham overcame some oiling and a clutch issue from the race previous and brought his car home in 5th followed by the always solid Mike Lee and Kieran Murphy who was impressive and benefitting from a new crew chief in Stephen Adams.
Ted Michalos also set some personal bests on the weekend and finished 9th.
Next up on the Super Series calendar is the Honda Indy Toronto, races 7 & 8 on the Toyo Tires Championship calendar and rounds 5 and 6 on the Super Series calendar. Over 30 cars are expected to take to the popular street circuit on July 18, 19 and 20th.
Race 2 of the BARC Grand Prix of Ontario was undoubtedly the most intense race of the season so far. Eureka, MO’s Tristan DeGrand did keep his perfect win streak alive but had to fight tooth and nail right up until the line, narrowly beating Brampton, ON’s Chase Pelletier.
DeGrand started from pole and fought off a challenge from Pelletier right from the drop of the green flag. The two exchanged the lead a couple of times over the first couple of laps and the lead train was 12 cars deep with lots of jostling for position.
The safety car was dispatched on lap 3 for an incident involving Shane Jantzi and Reid Arnold. The two were side by side a couple of times on the previous lap, eventually coming together in corner 9, Jantzi making contact with the outside wall ending his day and Arnold spinning and losing several positions.
The race went back to green on lap 6 and it was an incredible display all throughout the field. Craig Willis made some impressive passes to get himself in contention and Max Hanratty and teammate Jeffrey Kingsley also looked like they had to be considered for the victory. The lead pack of 9 cars stayed together the entire race.
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| Tristan DeGrand. (Photo: Formula 1600) |
Pelletier eventually wrestled the lead from DeGrand and that set the stage for a dramatic last lap that would jumble the top 10 finishing positions. DeGrand made a daring pass to get back in front with 2 corners to go and fought off an attempted “pass through the grass” by Pelletier, just beating him to the line. Just behind them Hanratty and Willis made contact, both spinning and causing the next 5 cars to all take evasive action to narrowly avoid them.
The biggest winner in all of this was 3rd place finisher Bruno Chapinotti who stayed with the lead pack all race and when the drama started to unfold managed to get past 3 cars and beat Jeffrey Kingsley by a nose at the line to grab his first podium finish.
Kingsley had a solid day and came home 4th followed by another good finish for Caitlin Johnston. Serge Lacroix was 6th and Craig Willis scrambled back to the line in 7th. Reid Arnold recovered from his early race trouble for an 8th place finish and the top 10 was rounded out by newcomer Danby Crowder and Max Hanratty.
Its should be noted that Andre du Preez and his crew did a masterful job of repairing his car after a bad crash in qualifying and although they did start the race 1 lap down they grabbed an 11th place finish.
The race for “B” Class honours was equally intense. Graham Lobban would prevail at the line and picked up another win over points leader Connor Wagland in 2nd. Graham’s brother Keith was involved in a great fight with Amy Castell and would get the final step on the podium, followed by Castell in 4th.
David Graham overcame some oiling and a clutch issue from the race previous and brought his car home in 5th followed by the always solid Mike Lee and Kieran Murphy who was impressive and benefitting from a new crew chief in Stephen Adams.
Ted Michalos also set some personal bests on the weekend and finished 9th.
Next up on the Super Series calendar is the Honda Indy Toronto, races 7 & 8 on the Toyo Tires Championship calendar and rounds 5 and 6 on the Super Series calendar. Over 30 cars are expected to take to the popular street circuit on July 18, 19 and 20th.