2016 Canadian Tire Motorsport Part - Canadian Touring Car Championship

In 2016, the Canadian Touring Car Championship reached a milestone as the series was celebrating its tenth anniversary. With sponsorship from Continental Tires, the championship consisted of seven race weekends at five different tracks in Ontario and Quebec – Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Calabogie Motorsport Park, Circuit ICAR, Shannonville Motorsport Park and Trois-Rivieres.

The series has three different classes which competed in the same race. To help fans distinguish between the groups, the cars are fitted with different coloured windshield banners.

Touring: (Blue Window Banner) This is intended to be an entry-level category. Vehicles competing in this class are allowed minimal performance enhancements. Manufacturers represented in this group include the – Mini Cooper S, Honda Civic Si, Acura RSX and Hyundai Tiburon.
Super Touring: (Orange Window Banner) Super Touring includes many of the same makes and models found in Touring. However, this category allows engine modifications and aerodynamic body enhancements. Additional manufacturers competing in this group include BMW and Porsche.
Grand Touring: (Red Window Banner) The Hyundai Genesis Coupe and Ford Mustang are two of the most popular cars racing in this category. Of the three classes, these cars produce the most horsepower.

Another year of the Canadian Touring Car Championship and the season kicked off during the Victoria Day long weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Drivers would compete in two forty-minute heat races around the ten turn 2.459-mile road course.

The first lap of round two for the 2016 Canadian Touring Car Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The pole-sitter, Philippe Gelinas, retired on the opening lap, which opened the door for the second-fastest qualifier, Bob Attrell, to lead the field of twenty-three starters. Behind Attrell’s No. 88 Blanchet Motorsports Hyundai Genesis is his teammate, Damon Sharpe. Sharpe is followed by Karl Wittmer.

Racing the only Mitsubishi in the series is Gary Kowk, who started the season with a victory in the Grand Touring category. Kwok qualified second overall and first in class, driving the No. 66 M&S Racing Lancer Evo X. By lap-2, he had passed the pole-sitter, Scott Nicol, and won by a margin of 1.404-seconds. Kwok’s fortunes changed on Sunday, he failed to qualify and start round two.

The 2013 Super Touring champion, Scott Nicol, returned for another season in the No. 41 Velocity Motorsport Honda Civic Si-R. Nicol was third fastest in the opening practice session, but in qualifying captured the overall pole. In race one, Nicol was passed early by Gary Kwok; however, he would win his class. Nicol failed to qualify for round two and started at the rear of the grid. He managed a fifth-place finish in Super Touring.

Another former titleholder returning to the 2016 Canadian Touring Car Championship was Michel Sallenbach. Sallenbach captured the Touring crown in 2014, driving a Mini Cooper S. Last season, he traded in the S model for a new Mini Cooper Coupe. In round one, Sallenbach started second in class, but was out front by the third lap and claimed his first victory of the year. The next day, he retired on lap-14.

The Grand Touring category was re-introduced year last year – the class was part of the inaugural season. In the off-season, changes in the rules allowed some cars formally competing in the Super Touring group to be classified as Grand Touring. One such vehicle was Bob Attrell’s Hyundai Genesis. Attrell had an excellent opening weekend, he finished second in Saturday’s contest and the next day scored the overall win.

Series veteran, Eric Hochgeschurz, drove the No. 11 8Legs Racing prepared BMW 330i. Hochgeschurz qualified fifth fastest for race one of the weekend, but he fell to eleventh-place on the opening lap. He spent the remainder of the forty-minute contest moving up the race order and finished third in Super Touring. On Sunday, in an equally exciting battle, Hochgeschurz moved from the seventh starting position to win the class.

Despite this obvious understeer problem, John Young driving the No. 8 M&S Racing Honda Civic Si had an excellent weekend. In qualifying for round one, Young was second fastest in the Touring category. Early in the race, he lost a position to Andre Kisel and finished third. In the finale, Young inherited the lead and victory when Michel Sallenbach and Kisel retired. After two rounds, he was the class points leader.

The No. 48 Mini Cooper S was piloted by Paul Gravel. For the opening race of the weekend, Gravel started twenty-fourth overall and seventh in the Touring category. Attrition during the contest resulted in him finishing twenty-second overall. On Sunday, Gravel’s performance improved. He qualified fifth in class, but the retirements of Michel Sallenbach, Andre Kisel and Marlin Langeveldt meant a second-place result.

In the qualifying session for round one of the Canadian Touring Car Championship, the 2011 Touring class title holder, Tom Kwok, was third fastest. Driving the No. 55 M&S Racing Acura CSX Type S, he lost positions during the race and finished sixth overall and fifth in Super Touring. On Sunday, Kwok redeemed himself as he moved from the sixth starting position to a runner-up result in his category.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER		LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Grand Touring	Gary Kwok	Mitsubishi EVO X / M&S Racing	20	-
2	Super Touring	Scott Nicol	Honda Civic Si / Velocity Motorsports	20	-
3	Super Touring	Mathieu Audette	Acura RSX Type S / Audette Racing	20	-
4	Super Touring	Eric Hochgeschurz	BMW 330i / 8Legs Racing	20	-
5	Super Touring	Philippe Gélinas	Hyundai Genesis / Atelier d'usinage Gélinas	20	-
6	Super Touring	Tom Kwok	Acura CSX Type S / M&S Racing	20	-
7	Super Touring	Michael Delle Donne	BMW 325i / RMP Competizione	20	-
8	Super Touring	Jerimy Daniel	Porsche Cayman S / The Racing Company	20	-
9	Grand Touring	Bob Attrell	Hyundai Genesis Coupe / Blanchet Motorsports	20	-
10	Grand Touring	Damon Sharpe	Hyundai Genesis Coupe / Blanchet Motorsports	20	-
11	Grand Touring	Chris Sahakian	Ford Mustang / United Auto Racing	20	-
12	Grand Touring	Scott Giannou	Honda Civic Si-R / Lombardi Honda Racing	20	-
13	Grand Touring	Ian Crerar	Porsche 996 / Clear Water Design Racing	20	-
14	Grand Touring	Glenn Chaplin	Ford Mustang Boss 302 / Fastco Motorsports	20	-
15	Touring	Michel Sallenbach	Mini Cooper Coupe / Team Octane	20	-
16	Touring	Andre Kisel	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	20	-
17	Touring	Jon Young	Honda Civic Si / M&S Racing	19	-
18	Touring	Marlin Langeveldt	Mazda RX-8 / Can-Saf Motorsports	19	-
19	Super Touring	Karl Wittmer	Honda Civic Si-R / Lombardi Honda Racing	19	-
20	Touring	Mac Korince	Honda Civic Si / Mac Korince Racing	19	-
21	Touring	Nelson Chan	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	19	-
22	Touring	Paul Gravel	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	19	-
23	Touring	Jordan Redlin	Honda Civic Si / Ste-Rose Honda Racing	19	-
24	Touring	Kyle Tasker	Hyundai Tiburon / JDS Autosports	19	-
25	Touring	Christian Raymond	Honda Civic Si / Imprimetout.ca	15	Did Not Finish
26	Grand Touring	Ernie Jakubowski	Porsche Cayman S / Mantis Racing	6	Did Not Finish
27	Super Touring	Rocco Marciello	BMW 325i / RMP Competizione	5	Did Not Finish
-	Grand Touring	Francois Audette	Porsche Cayman S / Audette Racing	0	Did Not Start

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	CAR / SPONSOR / CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Grand Touring	Bob Attrell	Hyundai Genesis Coupe / Blanchet Motorsports	25	-
2	Super Touring	Eric Hochgeschurz	BMW 330i / 8Legs Racing	25	-
3	Super Touring	Tom Kwok	Acura CSX Type S / M&S Racing	25	-
4	Grand Touring	Damon Sharpe	Hyundai Genesis Coupe / Blanchet Motorsports	25	-
5	Super Touring	Michael Delle Donne	BMW 325i / RMP Competizione	25	-
6	Super Touring	Mathieu Audette	Acura RSX Type S / Audette Racing	25	-
7	Super Touring	Scott Nicol	Honda Civic Si / Velocity Motorsports	25	-
8	Grand Touring	Scott Giannou	Honda Civic Si-R / Lombardi Honda Racing	25	-
9	Super Touring	Jerimy Daniel	Porsche Cayman S / The Racing Company	25	-
10	Grand Touring	Chris Sahakian	Ford Mustang / United Auto Racing	25	-
11	Super Touring	Rocco Marciello	BMW 325i / RMP Competizione	25	-
12	Grand Touring	Ian Crerar	Porsche 996 / Clear Water Design Racing	24	-
13	Touring	Jon Young	Honda Civic Si / M&S Racing	24	-
14	Touring	Paul Gravel	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	24	-
15	Touring	Nelson Chan	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	24	-
16	Touring	Kyle Tasker	Hyundai Tiburon / JDS Autosports	24	-
17	Touring	Mac Korince	Honda Civic Si / Mac Korince Racing	23	-
18	Super Touring	Karl Wittmer	Honda Civic Si-R / Lombardi Honda Racing	22	-
19	Touring	Jordan Redlin	Honda Civic Si / Ste-Rose Honda Racing	22	-
20	Touring	Andre Kisel	Mini Cooper S / Octane Motorsport	20	Did Not Finish
21	Touring	Marlin Langeveldt	Mazda RX-8 / Can-Saf Motorsports	18	Did Not Finish
22	Touring	Michel Sallenbach	Mini Cooper Coupe / Team Octane	14	Did Not Finish
23	Super Touring	Philippe Gélinas	Hyundai Genesis / Atelier d'usinage Gélinas	1	Did Not Finish
-	Grand Touring	Gary Kwok	Mitsubishi EVO X / M&S Racing	0	Did Not Start
-	Grand Touring	Glenn Chaplin	Ford Mustang Boss 302 / Fastco Motorsports	0	Did Not Start
-	Touring	Christian Raymond	Honda Civic Si / Imprimetout.ca	0	Did Not Start
-	Grand Touring	Ernie Jakubowski	Porsche Cayman S / Mantis Racing	0	Did Not Start
-	Grand Touring	Francois Audette	Porsche Cayman S / Audette Racing	0	Did Not Start

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