The 2014 Toyo Tires F1600 Championship schedule consists of six weekends; for a total of twelve contests. The status of the championship was raised when the series participates as a support event for some of Ontario’s high-profile professional race weekends.

There was also an opportunity for teams to compete in the new F1600 Super Series. Ontario’s Jason Sharpe and Quebec’s Marcel Lafontaine developed a series that would see drivers race at the Castrol Victoria Day Speedfest, Honda Toronto Indy, Canadian Grand Prix and Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres.

The season kicks off in May at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) during the BEMC Spring Trophy Races. The following two rounds are part of the Castrol Victoria Day Speedfest Weekend at CTMP. Then the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship makes its third of four stops to CTMP for the BARC Grand Prix of Ontario Races. In mid-July, competitors race on the temporary street circuit at Toronto’s Exhibition Place as a support event for Honda Toronto Indy. Then teams travel to Calabogie Motorsports Park for rounds nine and ten. The BEMC Indian Summer Races is the series’ final weekend of competition and determines class champions.

The single-seater, open-wheel race cars in the championship are powered by one of two engine options - a four-cylinder, 1600-cc Ford engine or the 1.5-liter HPD Honda L15A7. Both motors produce approximately 120-horsepower. A mixture of European and North American chassis is used by competitors. Minimum vehicle weight is determined by the suspension design and ranges from 1050 to 1125-lbs. Teams are required to use a spec tire – the Toyo Proxes R888.

Drivers collect championship points in one of two groups.

  • FFA – This category is for newer chassis’ built between 1995 and 2014.
  • FFB – This group is for cars constructed between 1994 and older.

The manufacture date for the individual car and not the model is used to determine the year split and if a vehicle is categorized as FFA or FFB. Based on their past performances and historical records, the Swift DB-1 and AERO II are excluded from the FFB class.

The 2014 Toyo Tires F1600 Championship’s opening rounds were held during the British Empire Motor Club’s 64th Spring Trophy Races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Drivers would compete in two heat races around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

Tristan DeGrand competed in the final weekend of the 2013 Toyo Tires Formula F1600 Championship and ended the season with a victory. DeGrand would continue his winning ways at the BEMC Spring Trophy Races. He put the No. 93 Exclusive Autosport Spectrum 014 on the pole for the weekend’s first contest and led flag-to-flag. In a repeat performance on Sunday, DeGrand went unchallenged.
Chase Pelletier was another competitor who ‘tested the waters’ last season. This year, Pelletier was campaigning full-time with Britain West Motorsports. He qualified on the outside of the front row for Saturday’s race in the No. 14 Van Diemen RF01. Pelletier would finish second by a margin of 4.578-seconds. In the finale, he started third but could not maintain the pace of the leaders and finished sixth.
Rookie Jeffery Kingsley entered the final two races of 2013 and drove a Piper DF5 prepared by Brian Graham Racing. This season Kingsley joined Exclusive Autosport, piloting the No. 92 Spectrum 014. He qualified fifth for the first race of the year and passes on Reid Arnold and Caitlin Johnston resulted in a third-place finish. On Sunday, Kingsley started second but lost two positions during the race and finished fourth.
FFB competitor Graham Lobban participated in a limited number of events last season but managed to score a class victory at the BARC Grand Prix of Ontario weekend. Lobban started 2014 with his second Toyo Tires F1600 Championship win. He qualified eleventh overall, driving the No. 12 Van Diemen RF94 and finished ninth, which was good for the victory. The next day, he qualified on the class pole but was unable to start.
Exclusive Autosport fielded four entries in the opening round of the 2014 Toyo Tires F1600 Championship. Driving the No. 91 Spectrum 014 was Max Hanratty. This was Hanratty’s second season in the series; last year, he captured two podium results and was fourth in the final standings. He was seventh fastest in qualifying for Saturday’s race and finished eighth. In the finale, Hanratty finished in third place.
In his rookie season, Connor Wagland finished second to Craig Willis in the final FFB category standings. Willis was driving an AERO II, which was moved to the FFA division for the 2014 Toyo Tires F1600 Championship. Wagland, in the No. 10 Burloak Cycle sponsored Van Diemen RF91, qualified on the class pole for race one and finished second. On Sunday, he led the FFB group from start to finish.

POS.STARTCLASSDRIVERCARLAPSRETIREMENTS
11A-1Tristan DeGrandSpectrum 01411-
22A-2Chase PelletierVan Diemen RF0111-
35A-3Jeffery KingsleySpectrum 01411-
44A-4Reid ArnoldPiper Piper DF511-
53A-5Caitlin JohnstonVan Diemen RF9711-
66A-6Shane JantziVan Diemen RF0211-
77A-7Jayson ClunieSpectrum 01411-
819A-8Maxwell HanrattySpectrum 01411-
910B-1Graham LobbanVan Diemen RF9411-
108A-9Jean-Philippe JodoinVan Diemen RF0111-
119B-2Connor WaglandVan Diemen RF9111-
1212B-3Mike LeeLola T-540E11-
1311B-4Amy CastellReynard 90SF11-
14-B-5David GrahamVan Diemen RF9211-
1514B-6Keith LobbanVan Diemen RF9411-
1616B-7Bruce KitchenVan Diemen RF9211-
1720B-8Ted MichalosCrossle 40F11-
1818A-10Andre du Preez Jr.Piper DF511-
1917B-9Sean GocherReynard 82SF11-
2013A-11Marc BisharaVan Diemen RF992Did Not Finish
-15BKieran MurphyVan Diemen RF91-Did Not Start
--BCraig WillisAERO II-Did Not Start

POS.STARTCLASSDRIVERCARLAPSRETIREMENTS
11A-1Tristan DeGrandSpectrum 01415-
26A-2Maxwell HanrattySpectrum 01415-
37A-3Craig WillisAERO II15-
42A-4Jeffery KingsleySpectrum 01415-
54A-5Caitlin JohnstonVan Diemen RF9715-
63A-6Chase PelletierVan Diemen RF0115-
79A-7Reid ArnoldPiper Piper DF515-
811A-8Jayson ClunieSpectrum 01415-
95A-9Shane JantziVan Diemen RF0215-
1010A-10Jean-Philippe JodoinVan Diemen RF0115-
1112B-1Connor WaglandVan Diemen RF9115-
1214B-2Keith LobbanVan Diemen RF9415-
1315A-11Marc BisharaVan Diemen RF9915-
1413B-3Mike LeeLola T-540E15-
1516B-4Amy CastellReynard 90SF14-
1619B-5Bruce KitchenVan Diemen RF9214-
1716A-12Andre du Preez Jr.Piper DF514-
1821B-6Ted MichalosCrossle 40F13-
1920B-7Sean GocherReynard 82SF13-
2018B-8David GrahamVan Diemen RF9212Did Not Finish
-8BGraham LobbanVan Diemen RF94-Did Not Start
-17BKieran MurphyVan Diemen RF91-Did Not Start


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