2017 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

The Nissan Micra Cup series made its debut in 2015. The championship was designed to provide racers with the most affordable new race vehicle in Canada. To keep costs down and to ensure all the Micras were equal the cars prepared by a single performance shop – Motorsports in Action.

The Micra is powered by a 1.6-liter DOHC 4-cylinder engine which produces 109-horsepower. For safety purposes, much of the interior (seats, door panels, etc.) is removed and a safety cage, five-point harness, window net and FIA-approved racing seat are installed. To improve the performance of the cars they are fitted with a racing suspension kit, high-performance brake pads, Pirelli racing tires and modified exhaust system.

In the first season, there was six race weekends - all being held in Quebec. The popularity of the series grew and in 2016, there were three events held in Ontario and five in Quebec. The third season started in May on the Victoria Day Weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. This event was followed by races at Circuit Mont-Tremblant in May and July. The championship then competes at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres. The penultimate round is at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and the season finale will be at Circuit Mont-Tremblant.

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) would host the first two rounds of the 2017 Nissan Micra Cup series. The races were 30-minutes in length around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

Race one of the 2017 season and the pace car leads the field of twenty-two starters through Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s Moss Corner. On the pole is Stefan Gauthier in the Sorel-Tracy Nissan Micra. Behind Gauthier are Kevin King, Keishi Ayukai and eventual winner Jean-Michel Isabelle.

Jean-Michel Isabelle drove the No. 86 Perry Performance / Hull Nissan Micra. Isabelle dominated the weekend – winning rounds one and two. The Gatineau, Quebec driver’s victories did not come easy as he started from the fourth and fifth grid positions. Isabelle left Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with a comfortable points lead.

On the second lap of the weekend’s first race, six place qualifier, Brian Makse and the pole-sitter, Stefan Gauthier made contact entering Moss Corner. The incident caused Gauthier to spin but the consequences were more serious for Makse as his car rolled. Neither driver was injured as the result of the crash.

Sunday’s event was contested in very tough conditions. Rain started earlier in the day and got progressively worse. The Nissan Micra race preceded the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX event which was canceled. Competitors, Luc Richard (26) and Peter Dyck (73) survived the thirty-minute run.

Defending champion, Xavier Coupal two wheels it through Moss Corner during qualifying. Coupal driving Équipe Albi Total sponsored Micra started the season’s first race in fifth place and finished fourth. On Sunday, the champ, qualified second and was in the runner-up position at the conclusion of the contest.

2017 was the third season, for former Canadian Karting champion, Kevin King. King finished eleventh in the series the first year and was third in the Driver’s standings in 2016. He was in fine form at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and recorded two podium finishes – second on Saturday and third on Sunday.

The series inaugural champion was Olivier Bedard and in 2016, he was the runner-up. Bedard kicked off the season by starting and finishing seventh. On Sunday, he was gridded third and was in fifth place at the checkered flag.

Qualifying on the pole for the season’s opening event was Stefan Gauthier. However, Gauthier collided with Brian Maske on the second lap and was excluded from the results. For his part in Saturday’s incident, he was required to start from pit lane the following day. On Sunday, Gauthier passed ten cars on the way to a ninth finish.

The series has also attracted international competitors. One such driver is, Keishi Ayukai from Queensland, Australia. The Queenslander had a good outing capturing the final spot on the podium on Saturday and finishing fourth the following day.

FINISH	START	DRIVER	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS
1	4	Jean-Michel Isabelle	Nissan Micra	Perry Performance / Hull Nissan	11
2	2	Kevin King	Nissan Micra	Sorel-Tracy Nissan	11
3	3	Keishi Ayukai	Nissan Micra	Unicorn Motors Ltd.	11
4	5	Xavier Coupal	Nissan Micra	Équipe Albi Total	11
5	8	Normand Boyer	Nissan Micra	Bevédère Nissan	11
6	9	Valérie Limoges	Nissan Micra	Total Racing Team	11
7	7	Olivier Bédard	Nissan Micra	Équipe Albi Total	11
8	13	Marc-Antoine Cardin	Nissan Micra	Speed & Sport	11
9	11	Edward Wong	Nissan Micra	Alta Group Nissan	11
10	12	Peter Dyck	Nissan Micra	NRW Rennsport	11
11	18	Nicolas Barrette	Nissan Micra	Barrette Racing	11
12	21	Martin Barrette	Nissan Micra	Barrette Racing	11
13	15	Alex P Habrich	Nissan Micra	Unicorn Motors Ltd.	11
14	16	Victor Simone	Nissan Micra	Alta Group Nissan	11
15	22	Vincent Doyle	Nissan Micra	Motorsport Agency	11
16	19	Austin Riley	Nissan Micra	Azure Racing	11
17	22	Michael Habrich	Nissan Micra	Unicorn Motors Ltd.	11
18	17	Luc Richard	Nissan Micra	Richard Motorsport	11
19	10	Frédéric Bernier	Nissan Micra	Hi-Fi Racing	7
20	6	Brian Makse	Nissan Micra	Velocity BHP	1
21	14	Samuel Rowe	Nissan Micra	Nissan Gabriel Racing	Excluded
22	1	Stefan Gauthier	Nissan Micra	Sorel-Tracy Nissan	Excluded

FINISH	START	DRIVER	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS
1	5	Jean-Michel Isabelle	Nissan Micra	Perry Performance / Hull Nissan	16
2	4	Xavier Coupal	Nissan Micra	Équipe Albi Total	16
3	2	Kevin King	Nissan Micra	Sorel-Tracy Nissan	16
4	7	Keishi Ayukai	Nissan Micra	Unicorn Motors Ltd.	16
5	3	Olivier Bédard	Nissan Micra	Équipe Albi Total	16
6	8	Normand Boyer	Nissan Micra	Bevédère Nissan	16
7	6	Valérie Limoges	Nissan Micra	Total Racing Team	16
8	10	Marc-Antoine Cardin	Nissan Micra	Speed & Sport	16
9	1	Stefan Gauthier	Nissan Micra	Sorel-Tracy Nissan	16
10	15	Luc Richard	Nissan Micra	Richard Motorsport	16
11	14	Nicolas Barrette	Nissan Micra	Barrette Racing	16
12	22	Vincent Doyle	Nissan Micra	Motorsport Agency	16
13	17	Peter Dyck	Nissan Micra	NRW Rennsport	16
14	19	Victor Simone	Nissan Micra	Alta Group Nissan	16
15	18	Austin Riley	Nissan Micra	Azure Racing	16
16	16	Martin Barrette	Nissan Micra	Barrette Racing	16
17	20	Alex P Habrich	Nissan Micra	Unicorn Motors Ltd.	15
18	21	Michael Habrich	Nissan Micra	Unicorn Motors Ltd.	15
19	9	Edward Wong	Nissan Micra	Alta Group Nissan	13
20	11	Brian Makse	Nissan Micra	Velocity BHP	Did Not Start
21	12	Samuel Rowe	Nissan Micra	Nissan Gabriel Racing	Did Not Start
22	13	Frédéric Bernier	Nissan Micra	Hi-Fi Racing	Did Not Start

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