2008 Mosport International Raceway - Canadian Touring Car Championship

The 2008 Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Toyo Tires offered racers an excellent opportunity to showcase their talents at some of eastern Canada’s most widely recognized and well-established race tracks. The series provided amateur competitors with professionally organized events that would attract sponsors and fans.

This 2008 schedule consists of eight race weekends. The format at each venue includes two races – generally, thirty-minutes in length. The season kicks off on the Victoria Day long weekend at Mosport International Raceway. This is followed by the series only stop at Shannonville Motorsports Park. In mid-June, the championship returns to Mosport as a support event for the NASCAR Canadian Tire series. In July, teams travel Quebec and compete at the new ICAR Mirabel Airport circuit. Then it is back to Ontario for a weekend at Calabogie Motorsports Park. The final visit to Quebec takes place on the street circuit at Trois-Rivieres. The final two weekends of the championship will be conducted at Mosport. The penultimate rounds with be held on the Labour Day weekend with the finale in mid-September.

Perhaps the most significant change in the off-season was the elimination of the Grand Touring category. In 2008, there would be two classes.

Touring – This is intended to be an entry-level category. Vehicles competing in this class are allowed a minimal amount of performance enhancements. Manufacturers represented in this group include the Mini Cooper S, Honda Civic, Mazda Protege, Nissan Sentra and Acura Integra.
Super Touring – Super Touring includes many of the same makes and models found in Touring. However, this category allows engine modifications and aerodynamic enhancements. Additional manufacturers competing in the group include BMW, Subaru and Audi.

The first two rounds of the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Toyo Tires were held at Mosport International Raceway on the Victoria Day long weekend. There were two thirty-minute races conducted Saturday and Sunday around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

The opening lap for round two of the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship at Mosport International Raceway. The pole-sitter, Andrew Wojteczko in the No. 64 Auto Analyser Racing Lexus IS300 has already put some distance between himself and the rest of the field. Running second is the other front row starter Etienne Borgeat in a BMW 325i. Behind Borgeat is his teammate, Charles-Andre Bilodeau and Gary Kwok.

Auto Analyser Racing entered two Lexus IS300 for the father and son duo of Andrew and Andy Wojteczko. The younger Wojteczko was, the faster of the two, driving the No. 64 entry. Andrew qualified on the pole for Saturday’s contest and took the victory. The starting order for the following day was determined by the finishing position in race one. Andrew started first but could not hold off Nigel Krikorian.

Touring competitor, Nigel Heron delivered a great performance in the first two rounds of the season at Mosport International Raceway. In race one, the rookie driver qualified twelfth overall in the Heron Motorsports Acura Integra Type-R, but moved up two positions in the contest and finished third in class. On Sunday, in the rain, Heron was spectacular, capturing the Touring category victory and finishing fourth overall.

Last year the brothers, Nigel and Nicholas Krikorian, shared the family`s Acura RSX Type-S. In the opening rounds, Nicholas returned to the series competing in the Acura, but Nigel debuted a new Subaru WRX STi. Nigel qualified third overall for round one, but an issue resulted in a fifteenth place finish. In the final race of the weekend, he used the Subaru four-wheel-drive advantage to move to the front and capture the win.

Last year`s Touring champion, Andre Rapone, drove the No. 73 Durabond Products sponsored Acura Integra Type R. Rapone qualified sixth overall and first in class for the season opener. Despite being challenged by the Mazda Protege of Christian Raymond, he earned the category victory. The following day in the rain, he lost positions to Nigel Heron and Raymond but managed to secure the final spot on the podium.

Etienne Borgeat appeared to be a title contender for last season’s Super Touring championship, but some poor results took him out of contention. Borgeat could only manage the tenth fastest time during the qualifying session for Saturday`s contest but redeemed himself with a second-place result. In round two, he started on the outside of the front row but dropped down the race order and finished sixth in Super Touring.

Arek Wojciechowski wasn`t the best-funded driver on the grid but made the most with what he had. During the qualifying session for the season`s first race, Wojciechowski set the eighth fastest time in the No. 10 BMW 328i. A consistent performance in the round one was rewarded with a sixth overall and in Super Touring. On Sunday, he started sixth and earned the final position on the class podium.

Christian Raymond returned to the 2008 Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship for another shot at the Touring title. Raymond campaigned the No. 04 TwoFast Mazda Protege. In qualifying, he could only manage the eighteenth fastest time, but in the race, Raymond caught the class leader, Andre Rapone, and finished second. After a three-way battle on Sunday, Raymond earned another runner-up finish.

Returning to defend his Super Touring title was Charles-Andre Bilodeau. Bilodeau drove the No. 1 GT Racing prepared BMW 325i and was the teammate of another series front-runner, Etienne Borgeat. He opened the season by qualifying on the outside of the front row but finished in third place behind, Borgeat. On Sunday, Bilodeau only completed eight-laps and was classified as a non-finisher.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR / SPONSOR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Super Touring	Andrew Wojteczko	Lexus IS300 / Auto Analyser Racing	20	-
2	Super Touring	Etienne Borgeat	BMW 325i / GT Racing	20	-
3	Super Touring	Charles-Andre Bilodeau	BMW 325i / GT Racing	20	-
4	Super Touring	Gary Kwok	Honda Civic / M&S Racing	20	-
5	Super Touring	Gunter Schmidt	Chevrolet Cobalt SS / Schmidt Racing	20	-
6	Super Touring	Arek Wojciechowski	BMW 328i / Wojciechowski	20	-
7	Touring	Andre Rapone	Acura Integra Type R / Durabond Products Ltd.	19	-
8	Touring	Christian Raymond	Mazda Protege / Twofast Racing	19	-
9	Super Touring	Andy Wojteczko	Lexus IS300 / Auto Analyser Racing	19	-
10	Touring	Nigel Heron	Acura Integra Type R / Heron Motorsports	19	-
11	Super Touring	David Bensadoun	BMW 328i / Aldo	19	-
12	Super Touring	Lee Chaplin	Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing	19	-
13	Touring	Anthony Rapone	Acura Integra Type R / Durabond Products Ltd.	19	-
14	Touring	Brad Young	Honda Civic / Dow Racing	19	-
15	Super Touring	Nigel Krikorian	Subaru WRX STi / Krikorian & Co.	18	-
16	Touring	Perry Iannuzzi	Nissan Sentra / MAD MACS Racing	18	-
17	Touring	Thomas Bork	Mazda Protege / Doc B Racing	18	-
18	Touring	Roger Bowes	Nissan Sentra / Bowes	18	-
19	Touring	Steve Greiner	Honda Civic / Dow Racing	18	-
20	Super Touring	Glenn Chaplin	Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing	18	-
21	Touring	P.J. Groenke	Honda Civic / Groenke	17	-
22	Super Touring	Nicholas Krikorian	Acura RSX Type S / Krikorian & Co.	17	-
23	Touring	Andrew Bearss	Mercedes C230 Kompresseur / Star Motor	9	-
24	Super Touring	Eric Hochgeschurz	BMW 328i / Hochgeschurz	6	Did Not Finish
25	Touring	Eric Leblanc	Mazda Protege / Twofast Racing	6	Did Not Finish
26	Touring	Frank Blanchet	Nissan Sentra / Blanchet	5	Did Not Finish
27	Super Touring	Mathieu Audette	Acura RSX Type-S / Audette Racing	1	Did Not Finish
28	Super Touring	Scott Nicol	Honda Civic Si-R / Velocity Motorsport	0	Did Not Start

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR / SPONSOR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Super Touring	Nigel Krikorian	Subaru WRX STi / Krikorian & Co.	15	-
2	Super Touring	Andrew Wojteczko	Lexus IS300 / Auto Analyser Racing	15	-
3	Super Touring	Arek Wojciechowski	BMW 328i / Wojciechowski	15	-
4	Touring	Nigel Heron	Acura Integra Type R / Heron Motorsports	15	-
5	Touring	Christian Raymond	Mazda Protege / Twofast Racing	15	-
6	Touring	Andre Rapone	Acura Integra Type R / Durabond Products Ltd.	15	-
7	Touring	P.J. Groenke	Honda Civic / Groenke	15	-
8	Touring	Steve Greiner	Honda Civic / Dow Racing	15	-
9	Super Touring	David Bensadoun	BMW 328i / Aldo	14	-
10	Super Touring	Scott Nicol	Honda Civic Si-R / Velocity Motorsport	14	-
11	Touring	Eric Leblanc	Mazda Protege / Twofast Racing	14	-
12	Super Touring	Etienne Borgeat	BMW 325i / GT Racing	14	-
13	Touring	Roger Bowes	Nissan Sentra / Bowes	14	-
14	Super Touring	Eric Hochgeschurz	BMW 328i / Hochgeschurz	14	-
15	Super Touring	Glenn Chaplin	Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing	13	-
16	Super Touring	Gary Kwok	Honda Civic / M&S Racing	13	Penalty
17	Touring	Thomas Bork	Mazda Protege / Doc B Racing	13	-
18	Super Touring	Lee Chaplin	Hyundai Tiburon / Fast Wheels Racing	13	-
19	Super Touring	Nicholas Krikorian	Acura RSX Type S / Krikorian & Co.	12	-
20	Touring	Anthony Rapone	Acura Integra Type R / Durabond Products Ltd.	11	Did Not Finish
21	Super Touring	Andrew Danyliw	Chevrolet Cobalt SS / Schmidt Racing	11	Did Not Finish
22	Super Touring	Andy Wojteczko	Lexus IS300 / Auto Analyser Racing	1	-
23	Touring	Andrew Bearss	Mercedes C230 Kompresseur / Star Motor	11	-
24	Touring	Perry Iannuzzi	Nissan Sentra / MAD MACS Racing	9	Did Not Finish
25	Super Touring	Charles-Andre Bilodeau	BMW 325i / GT Racing	8	Did Not Finish
26	Touring	Frank Blanchet	Nissan Sentra / Blanchet	8	Did Not Finish
27	Touring	Brad Young	Honda Civic / Dow Racing	0	Did Not Finish
28	Super Touring	Mathieu Audette	Acura RSX Type-S / Audette Racing	0	Did Not Start

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