From grand-am.com
A trio of Canadian drivers will be looking to win in their home country Friday when the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series visits Montreal and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the Montreal NAPA Auto Parts 200.
Mark Wilkins of Toronto, Michael Valiante of Vancouver and Marc-Antoine Camirand of Quebec will be competing in the series' premier Daytona Prototype class, while Montreal native Sylvain Tremblay, Jean-Francois Dumoulin of Trois-Rivieres and veteran Toronto driver Ron Fellows lead a group of Canadians racing in the GT division.
The Canadians have joined the remainder of the Daytona Prototype field with a common goal - trying to stop the TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley of Pruett and Memo Rojas. The pair, which finished fifth here last year, won six of the opening nine races - including the Rolex 24 of Daytona (joined by Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti) and the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen, where Pruett drove the final three hours in 90-degree heat.
Canadians Tremblay, Dumoulin and Fellows lead GT teams
Tremblay and co-driver Nick Ham look to continue their upswing at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the No. 70 SpeedSource Mazdaspeed/Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8. With two poles and two victories in as many races, the duo is inching closer to GT point leaders Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards in the No. 07 Banner Racing Banner Engineering Pontiac GXP.R, with only 14 points separating the teams (292-278).
After winning three races early in the season, Collins and Edwards have been off the podium in three straight events. They look for better results at Montreal, where they placed eighth last year despite running third on the final lap. The sister Banner car, the No. 06 Pontiac GXP.R that finished fifth here last year, is slated to be driven by team owner Leighton Reese and Canadian native Ron Fellows, who will also drive Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Nationwide Series car in the Saturday race.
Blackforest Motorsports have two cars entered for this weekend's competition with a lineup dominated by Canadians. The No. 15 Blackforest Motorsports Ford Mustang GT will be driven by Jean-Francois Dumoulin of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, and Tom Nastasi of Stamford, Conn. The No. 50 Mustang will seat drivers David Empringham and John Farano - both of Toronto.
A trio of Canadian drivers will be looking to win in their home country Friday when the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series visits Montreal and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the Montreal NAPA Auto Parts 200.
Mark Wilkins of Toronto, Michael Valiante of Vancouver and Marc-Antoine Camirand of Quebec will be competing in the series' premier Daytona Prototype class, while Montreal native Sylvain Tremblay, Jean-Francois Dumoulin of Trois-Rivieres and veteran Toronto driver Ron Fellows lead a group of Canadians racing in the GT division.
The Canadians have joined the remainder of the Daytona Prototype field with a common goal - trying to stop the TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley of Pruett and Memo Rojas. The pair, which finished fifth here last year, won six of the opening nine races - including the Rolex 24 of Daytona (joined by Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti) and the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen, where Pruett drove the final three hours in 90-degree heat.
Canadians Tremblay, Dumoulin and Fellows lead GT teams
Tremblay and co-driver Nick Ham look to continue their upswing at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the No. 70 SpeedSource Mazdaspeed/Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8. With two poles and two victories in as many races, the duo is inching closer to GT point leaders Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards in the No. 07 Banner Racing Banner Engineering Pontiac GXP.R, with only 14 points separating the teams (292-278).
After winning three races early in the season, Collins and Edwards have been off the podium in three straight events. They look for better results at Montreal, where they placed eighth last year despite running third on the final lap. The sister Banner car, the No. 06 Pontiac GXP.R that finished fifth here last year, is slated to be driven by team owner Leighton Reese and Canadian native Ron Fellows, who will also drive Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Nationwide Series car in the Saturday race.
Blackforest Motorsports have two cars entered for this weekend's competition with a lineup dominated by Canadians. The No. 15 Blackforest Motorsports Ford Mustang GT will be driven by Jean-Francois Dumoulin of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, and Tom Nastasi of Stamford, Conn. The No. 50 Mustang will seat drivers David Empringham and John Farano - both of Toronto.