2001 Trois-Rivieres - Grand-Am Cup

The 2001 edition of the Grand-Am Cup consisted of 10-events (Daytona (season opener and finale), Homestead-Miami, Phoenix International Raceway, Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, Mosport, Virginia International Raceway, Road America and Trois-Rivieres) for showroom stock cars. With a few exceptions the races were primarily 3-hours in length. The cars were relatively unchanged from their road going versions – modifications were mandated mainly for safety – roll cages, window nets, etc. They also used spec DOT-approved tires produced by Hoosier. Based on performance potential the cars were divided into four groups:

SGS - Super Grand Sport: The quickest of all groups, this class was introduced in 2000 for the fastest mass produced vehicles. Cars competing in this group included the Chevrolet Corvette C5, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper, Saleen Mustang SR, Porsche 911 Turbo, Porsche 996, etc.
GS - Grand Sport: This class included cars such as Pontiac Firebird, BMW M3, Acura NSX, Ford Mustang Cobra R, Porsche 993, etc.
ST - Sports Touring: Another new class for the 2000 season was Sports Touring. Popular vehicles found in this group were the BMW Z3 Coupe, Acura Integra Type R, BMW 328, Lexus GS 400, Lexus IS 300, Porsche Boxster, etc.
C2K – Compact 2000: It included the Honda Civic Si, Acura Integra GSR, Hyundai Tiburon, Mazda Miata, Mazda Protégé, Mazda 6, etc.

Close competitive racing with cars that fans could relate to contributed to the popularity of the series. It also provided an environment for automotive manufacturers to test and showcase their products.

Round nine of the 2001 Grand-Am Cup Championship was a 2.5-hour race held on 1.5-mile Trois-Rivieres street circuit. At Trois-Rivieres, it was decided that the SGS class would race, for the first time, with the Grand-Am GT cars. This decision was made after only eleven GT class cars were entered.

Although they only qualified eighth the No. 66 Speedsource Porsche 911 was able to take the overall and Grand Sport victory at Trois Rivieres. Sylvain Tremblay and Paul Mears Jr. shared the car. This win was particularly rewarding for the Speedsource team as the company principal, Tremblay, hailed from nearby Amqui, Quebec.

Two of the top C2K qualifiers from the Planet Earth Motorsports team (Acura Integra GSRs) lead the remainder of the field through Trois-Rivieres’ very quick first corner. Behind them are the Spirit of Miami Acura Integra Type Rs which started eighth and ninth in the Sports Touring class.

The No. 77 Power Team Racing Acura Integra Type R was not as bad as it looked. An incident early in the race rearranged the body work but the team was still able to continue and managed a second place finish in Sports Touring. The car was shared by Bob Endicott, Peter Schwartzott and Mike Keravich III.

The blue paint on the right front of the TF Racing Ford Mustang Cobra R is an indication that there was contact with the tire wall. The incident occurred early in the race and the damage to the car was only superficial. The drivers, John Kohler and Tom Houk, were able to finish sixth in Grand Sport.

Sylvain Tremblay started on the pole in the No. 70 Speedsource Porsche. He opened up a comfortable 45-second lead before pitting at the midway point. David Shep took over the driving duties and when the No. 66 Speedsource car stopped for refueling he replaced Paul Mears Jr. A caution period bunched the field and he passed the No. 70 Porsche – which gave Tremblay a first and second in Grand Sport.

The No. 42 Planet Earth Motorsports Acura Integra GSR qualified seventh in the C2K class - well behind the other two Planet Earth cars. After several of their competitors experienced accidents or mechanical failures the drivers of No. 42 – Wayne Nonnamaker and Frank Del Vecchio – found themselves second in C2K and seventeenth overall when the checkered flag fell.

The winner in the Sports Touring class was the Villaconn International BMW Z3 Coupe of Jeff Trask and Jonathan Bomarito. This was the team's second-straight class victory. The previous round at Road America was the site of Villaconn International's first win. And, for the nineteen-year-old Bomarito, it was only his third Grand-Am Cup race.

The Canadian Hyundai Motorsport team were the fastest qualifiers in C2K. Putting the No. 8 Hyundai Tiburon on the pole was Paolo Dal Cin - he shared the driving with Nigel Gleeson. The pair dominated the event until brake problems late in the race forced them to pit. Trouble changing the brake pads dropped them out of contention – sixth in C2K and twenty-fifth overall.

The Hebert/Theetge Motorsport team from Quebec had their best results of the season. During practice, the Acura NSX which was driven by Jocelyn Hebert and Benoit Theetge had their fifth engine failure of the season. A local Acura dealer loaned them a used NSX with 50,000 km. The team swapped engines the duo started and finished third in Grand Sport.

The Planet Earth Motorsports team finished first and second in the C2K class. The No. 43 Acura Integra GSR was driven by Will Nonnamaker and team founder Bill Pate - scored the victory. Frank Del Vecchio and Wayne Nonnamaker shared the second place car.

There were two of the new Lexus IS 300s entered at Trois-Rivieres. The No. 0 was driven by local resident Jean-Francois Dumoulin. He and team owner Chuck Goldsborough would start third in the Sports Touring class. Dumoulin drove the first stint and was second when Goldsborough took over the driving. Nearing the end of the race a rear wheel bearing failed which dropped the car to third in class.

Another team having their best finish of the season was the Baglieracing Mazda Protégé of Dennis Baglier and Marty Luffy. Like the third Planet Earth Motorsports entry, they were able to capitalize on the misfortunes of their competitors and finish third in C2K.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS
1	GS	Paul Mears Jr/David Shep/Sylvain Tremblay	Porsche 911	SpeedSource	110
2	GS	Sylvain Tremblay/David Shep/Paul Mears Jr	Porsche 911	SpeedSource	110
3	ST	Jeff Trask/Jonathan Bomarito	BMW Z3 Coupe	Villaconn International	110
4	GS	Jocelyn Hebert/Benoit Theetge	Acura NSX	Hebert/Theetge Motorsport	110
5	GS	Johannes Steiner/Dave Russell	BMW M3	Motorsport Technologies	109
6	GS	Ed Paez/Armando Trentini	Porsche 993	G&W Motorsports	109
7	ST	Mike Keravich III/Peter Schwartzott/Bob Endicott	Acura Integra R	Power Racing Team	109
8	ST	Dumoulin / Goldsborough / Law	Lexus IS300	Team Lexus	109
9	ST	Gabel/ Law/ Goldsborough	Lexus IS300	Team Lexus	108
10	GS	Tom Houk/John Kohler	Ford Mustang	TF Racing	107
11	ST	Tony Zelones/Rick Ellinger/Cindi Ellinger	Mercedes-Benz	RC Imports	107
12	C2K	Bill Pate/Wayne Nonnamaker/Will Nonnamaker	Acura Integra GSR	Planet Earth Motorsport	107
13	ST	Aurelio Lopez Rocha/Aurelio Lopez Jr./Al Rocca	Acura Integra R	The Spirit of Miami	106
14	ST	Bransen Patch/Matthew Connolly	BMW Z3 Coupe	Villaconn International	106
15	ST	Jason Piscelli/Marc Bunting/Henry Bradley	Acura Integra R	The Spirit of Miami	105
16	ST	BJ Zacharias/Mike Keravich III/Peter Schwartzott	Acura Integra R	Power Racing Team	103
17	C2K	Will Nonnamaker/Frank DelVecchio/Bill Pate	Acura Integra GSR	Planet Earth Motorsport	102
18	C2K	Dennis Baglier/Marty Luffy	Mazda Protégé	Baglieracing	102
19	C2K	Larry Funk/James Lucas II	Honda Civic Si	Lucas Motorsports	102
20	ST	Scott Schlesinger/Ray Genao	Porsche Boxster	SpeedSource	101
21	C2K	Bill Roediger/Pat Kane	Honda Del Sol	Lucas Motorsports	101
22	ST	Mike Van Sicklen/Bob Endicott	Acura Integra R	King Motorsports	101
23	ST	Jeff Lorriman/Pierre Mandeville	Nissan Maxima	Nissan Competition	101
24	GS	Timothy Pappas/Mark MacLean	BMW M3	Franz Blam Racing	100
25	C2K	Paolo Dal Cin/Nigel Gleeson/Gord Cullen	Hyundai Tiburon	Hyundai Motorsport	95
26	C2K	Bryan Johnson/John Schmitt/Pete Halsmer	Acura Integra GSR	HART	93
27	C2K	John Schmitt/Bob Beede/Bryan Johnson	Honda Civic Si	HART	91
28	C2K	Michael Mazziotti/Larry Funk/Bill Roediger	Acura Integra GSR	Lucas Motorsports	89
29	C2K	Troy Flis/Toto Lassally	Acura Integra GSR	Motorsport Technologies	85
30	GS	Emil Assentato/Nick Longhi	Ford Mustang	D.M.A. Racing	57
31	C2K	Wayne Nonnamaker/Will Nonnamaker/Bill Pate	Acura Integra GSR	Planet Earth Motorsport	50
32	C2K	Gord Cullen/Mark Craig/Nigel Gleeson	Hyundai Tiburon	Hyundai Motorsport	42
33	ST	David Tuaty/Mark Underwood	Porsche Boxster	SpeedSource	33
34	C2K	Bill Fenton/Bob Beede/Pete Halsmer	Honda Civic Si	Bill Fenton Motorsports	12
35	ST	Gregory White/Alfredo Villamil	BMW Z3 Coupe	Villaconn International	3

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