Touring Cars: Nigel Krikorian takes two wins in Trois-Rivieres (+photos)

Source: CCTCC

The Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship Presented by Toyo Tires was showcased at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres this past weekend. Over thirty-five race cars and drivers put on an incredible show that featured close racing and lots of passing in front of a huge crowd.

Saturday's qualifying was run on a clear track and sunny skies. Nigel Krikorian put his Subaru on pole in Super Touring Class by two tenths of a second over Kuno Wittmer followed by Mathieu Audette a further half second behind. Christian Raymond in his Mazda lead in Touring Class by three tenths over Alain Lauziere in his Mini followed by Daniel Blanchette a further two tenths back.

There was a high attrition rate in Saturday's first race of the weekend as eight race cars did not cross the finish line and over half the field received some body damage. Nigel Krikorian won Super Touring Class followed by Gregory Pootmans and Peter Lejbjuk. Daniel Blanchette was first in Touring Class followed by Kenneth Lau and Andre Rapone. After race one, Nicholas Krikorian, Gary Kwok and Andrew Danyliw were excluded from the event for improper conduct on the racetrack.

A large crowd had gathered for Sunday morning's feature race and the cars took to the track under sunny skies. A clean start was followed by a number of intense battles throughout the field. The top four cars in each Class were separated by only a few seconds lap after lap.

Nigel Krikorian dominated Super Touring Class and led from start to finish. Gregory Pootmans, Peter Lebjbuk, David Bensadoun and Etienne Borgeat battled and traded places throughout the race. Etienne Borgeat finished second in Super Touring Class in his BMW followed by Peter Lebjbuk in his Honda.

There were some close battles in the mid-pack of Touring Class between competitors Eric Leblanc, Nigel Heron and Réjean Vincent as they matched their times lap after lap. Touring Class was lead from start to finish by Kenneth Lau in his Honda. His teammates Andre and Anthony Rapone followed him to the finish for a Durabond Racing podium sweep.

Mathieu Audette started at the back in the feature race and drove to sixth in Super Touring Class. His drive has won him the Hard Charger Award sponsored by CSC Racing Products Inc.