3rd week-end of racing for Octane MINI in Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship
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5th Gear
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3rd week-end of racing for Octane MINI in Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship
The #47 Octane Motorsports MINI will contest round # 5 and #6 of the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship this week-end, part of the Steelback Toronto Grand Prix where the main event will the the CART/Champ car race.
Coming out of 4 consecutive victories, driver Alain Lauziere is atop the standings in the driver championship points for the Touring class. As a result of these victories, the MINI Cooper will require to carry an extra 100 lbs. in reward weights. "We are confident ahead of the week-end" expressed Lauziere; "It's a track that has rythm and we expect it will suit the MINI. It's a tough track on brakes and we have had good success with our GranSport race pads so we think we should do well here. Very few of our competitors have competed here. I was here twice before and we're hoping this will be a benefit to our performance".
The Octane MINI will carry additional sponsorship for the week-end from Burger King.
Octane Motorsport would like to thank their sponsors and partners:
-Burger King
-MINI Original Parts
-M7 Tuning (M7tuning.com)
-Simone Performance Imports
-Castrol Canada (Wakefield)
-GranSport brake pads (Satisfied Brakes)
-Birchmount Collision
-Graphic Mart
-DuPont Automotive Finishes
-MINI Original Accessories
-Vibrant Performance
-MINI Financial Services
-Pneus Touchette
-Coopersport.ca
Octane Motorsport is a privately owned and funded racing team based in Montreal, Québec.
Coming out of 4 consecutive victories, driver Alain Lauziere is atop the standings in the driver championship points for the Touring class. As a result of these victories, the MINI Cooper will require to carry an extra 100 lbs. in reward weights. "We are confident ahead of the week-end" expressed Lauziere; "It's a track that has rythm and we expect it will suit the MINI. It's a tough track on brakes and we have had good success with our GranSport race pads so we think we should do well here. Very few of our competitors have competed here. I was here twice before and we're hoping this will be a benefit to our performance".
The Octane MINI will carry additional sponsorship for the week-end from Burger King.
Octane Motorsport would like to thank their sponsors and partners:
-Burger King
-MINI Original Parts
-M7 Tuning (M7tuning.com)
-Simone Performance Imports
-Castrol Canada (Wakefield)
-GranSport brake pads (Satisfied Brakes)
-Birchmount Collision
-Graphic Mart
-DuPont Automotive Finishes
-MINI Original Accessories
-Vibrant Performance
-MINI Financial Services
-Pneus Touchette
-Coopersport.ca
Octane Motorsport is a privately owned and funded racing team based in Montreal, Québec.
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5th Gear
Joined: Mar 2005
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Nice article about the series from a National newspaper:
http://www.globeauto.com/servlet/sto...cialGlobeAuto/
(although some inaccuracies with the weight...)
http://www.globeauto.com/servlet/sto...cialGlobeAuto/
(although some inaccuracies with the weight...)
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5th Gear
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Do I get another queen?
Good practice today. We ended up 12th in a field of 50. A bit of fine-tuning to do for tomorrow. We will try something different on the set-up. There's more to come (if we don't go too far....)
Qualifying in the morning, 1st race late in the day.
Good practice today. We ended up 12th in a field of 50. A bit of fine-tuning to do for tomorrow. We will try something different on the set-up. There's more to come (if we don't go too far....)
Qualifying in the morning, 1st race late in the day.
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5th Gear
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3 races in September. Don't sell the vin for an Elise. I still need to use it....
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5th Gear
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Trending Topics
6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,957
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From: a canyon, south Bay Area
Alain, congratulations on the Burger King sponsorship! Successs on the track is making for this level of support, and well-deserved...
I'm glad that the CTCC is really taking roots, and that you are on the ground floor. Really cool. I'm on their website now, and here are the competitors, by class, and the standings:
http://www.touringcar.ca/Public/TorontoEntryList.07.pdf
Alain, can you, and would you consider moving-up to ST? I ask because I see a Honda Civic in ST, as well as plenty in your group, Touring. I bet you can lose that 100 pounds, and be very competitive there. Just curious...
Speaking of weight, I saw this calculator:
http://www.touringcar.ca/Public/CTCCWeightCalc07.htm
From the schedule, it looks like you are qualifying now. It would be neat for us at home to follow along with some kind of live updates, or even radio. I know, a new series, and this stuff takes time...
Best to you!
I'm glad that the CTCC is really taking roots, and that you are on the ground floor. Really cool. I'm on their website now, and here are the competitors, by class, and the standings:
http://www.touringcar.ca/Public/TorontoEntryList.07.pdf
Alain, can you, and would you consider moving-up to ST? I ask because I see a Honda Civic in ST, as well as plenty in your group, Touring. I bet you can lose that 100 pounds, and be very competitive there. Just curious...
Speaking of weight, I saw this calculator:
http://www.touringcar.ca/Public/CTCCWeightCalc07.htm
From the schedule, it looks like you are qualifying now. It would be neat for us at home to follow along with some kind of live updates, or even radio. I know, a new series, and this stuff takes time...
Best to you!
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5th Gear
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Short update. Sorry Tony, no live feed available...
Qualified 3rd as we had tons of session interruptions and we couldn't get a clear lap.
Passed the class leader on the last lap when he blew-up his engine while I was full throttle coming under his rear bumper. He did a nice loop!
One down, one to go tomorrow. More details shortly.....
Qualified 3rd as we had tons of session interruptions and we couldn't get a clear lap.
Passed the class leader on the last lap when he blew-up his engine while I was full throttle coming under his rear bumper. He did a nice loop!
One down, one to go tomorrow. More details shortly.....
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5th Gear
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Ups and Downs for Octane MINI during Toronto Steelback Grand Prix
The Steelback Toronto Grand Prix was the stage for rounds 5 and 6 of the Castrol Canadian Touring car Championship. The races would take place in front large crowds that gathered to watch the Champ Cars from the CART series.
Strong of 4 consecutive victories obtained in the first 2 week-ends of the season, the MINI would have to carry an extra 100 lbs in reward weights to equalize the field. Driver Alain Lauzière started the weekend with a lead of 90 points over his closest competitor, a Honda Civic driver. The team would also like to welcome Burger King as an additional sponsor for the Toronto weekend.
Strong of 2 prior participations at the Toronto Grand Prix, Lauzière was confident of a good showing as most competitors had little or no experience at this track. This prior experience was put to good use during the first practice session, as the flame-broiled orange MINI was able to set the 12th fastest lap overall (in a field of 50 cars) for first in class. “We were happy with the result, but the car had too much under-steer; we knew there was more to come to perfect the usual go-kart handling of our MINI Cooper” commented Lauzière.
The Saturday qualifying session was like a Russian roulette with 50 cars on-track trying to put together a fast lap with huge speed differentials between fastest and slowest. After running 3 laps, Lauzière knew that the changes that were performed would not be enough to get us where the team wanted to be. So he came into the pits for a drastic sway bar adjustment. The #47 MINI ORIGINAL PARTS Cooper S would go out again in the hopes of improving the starting position but twice the session was red-flagged due to on-track incidents. They would have to settle for third best (22nd overall).
With 50 cars on-track and a bottleneck as a first corner, the worse could be expected. But the field ran clear and the Octane MINI with livery by Graphicmart was able to get to second place during the first lap. Within 5 laps, the Octane MINI was able to get up to 11th overall, two positions behind the class leading Honda, when a full-course yellow was called-in for four laps.
At the re-start, it took another 5 laps to get close to be in a position to challenge for the lead. As the two cars crossed the finish line with about a car distance between them the last lap sign was given to competitors. It was going to be for this lap or the #47 MINI would have to finish second. As the two cars started to re-accelerate at the exit of turn #3 leading to the Gardiner expressway, the MINI Cooper S, within a fraction of a second appeared to be closing-in too fast on the Honda. The MINI ran into the back of the Honda and spun him hard to the left side “ I thought for sure he missed a shift, there was nowhere to go; we felt bad but we continued on to cross the finish line in first place” commented Lauzière. The driver of the Honda later advised the team that his engine had just expired at this very moment. The Dupont finish applied by Birchmount Collision was merely damaged on the MINI; the front bumper cover showing a few cut marks, a testimony to the strength of the MINI Cooper chassis.
The closest championship competitor managed to finish second, a couple of cars behind the MINI, setting the stage for an exciting Sunday race as the finishing order of race #1 would be the starting order of race #2.
The big question on Sunday would be what weather to expect. The previous race started on a damp condition but was dry for the start of the Castrol Touring race, but the skies were still uncertain. Most competitors chose the dry tires as we did.
At the start of race #2, a big pile-up started to occur right in front of the MINI as cars were veering from side to side, trying to escape damage from the spun cars into the wall. The Octane MINI escaped relatively unscathed with a few minor scrapes on the Burger King logo. The competitor’s Honda Civic managed to squeeze by just in front of the Original parts MINI. The next 10 laps would be filled with bumper to bumper action, the two cars being separated by less than half a second and turning similar lap times. As the last lap sign was shown, the MINI was setting-up to draft the Honda, but exiting corner #3, the engine of the MINI shut down, later to be found from a broken supercharger belt that shredded while driving on debris. Lauzière was able to coast to the pits, to be classified as a finisher, an important factor in order to be able to remove reward weights for the next race.
The next two races will be on July 27 and 28, at the brand new Calabogie Motorsports Park, located west of Ottawa, the National capital.
Octane Motorsport would like to thank their sponsors and partners:
-MINI Original Parts
-Burger King
-M7 Tuning (M7tuning.com)
-Simone Performance Imports
-Castrol Canada (Wakefield)
-GranSport brake pads (Satisfied Brakes)
-Birchmount Collision
-Graphic Mart
-DuPont Automotive Finishes
-MINI Original Accessories
-Vibrant Performance
-MINI Financial Services
-Pneus Touchette
-Wheel & Tire Zone
Octane Motorsport is a privately owned and funded racing team based in Montreal, Québec.
The Steelback Toronto Grand Prix was the stage for rounds 5 and 6 of the Castrol Canadian Touring car Championship. The races would take place in front large crowds that gathered to watch the Champ Cars from the CART series.
Strong of 4 consecutive victories obtained in the first 2 week-ends of the season, the MINI would have to carry an extra 100 lbs in reward weights to equalize the field. Driver Alain Lauzière started the weekend with a lead of 90 points over his closest competitor, a Honda Civic driver. The team would also like to welcome Burger King as an additional sponsor for the Toronto weekend.
Strong of 2 prior participations at the Toronto Grand Prix, Lauzière was confident of a good showing as most competitors had little or no experience at this track. This prior experience was put to good use during the first practice session, as the flame-broiled orange MINI was able to set the 12th fastest lap overall (in a field of 50 cars) for first in class. “We were happy with the result, but the car had too much under-steer; we knew there was more to come to perfect the usual go-kart handling of our MINI Cooper” commented Lauzière.
The Saturday qualifying session was like a Russian roulette with 50 cars on-track trying to put together a fast lap with huge speed differentials between fastest and slowest. After running 3 laps, Lauzière knew that the changes that were performed would not be enough to get us where the team wanted to be. So he came into the pits for a drastic sway bar adjustment. The #47 MINI ORIGINAL PARTS Cooper S would go out again in the hopes of improving the starting position but twice the session was red-flagged due to on-track incidents. They would have to settle for third best (22nd overall).
With 50 cars on-track and a bottleneck as a first corner, the worse could be expected. But the field ran clear and the Octane MINI with livery by Graphicmart was able to get to second place during the first lap. Within 5 laps, the Octane MINI was able to get up to 11th overall, two positions behind the class leading Honda, when a full-course yellow was called-in for four laps.
At the re-start, it took another 5 laps to get close to be in a position to challenge for the lead. As the two cars crossed the finish line with about a car distance between them the last lap sign was given to competitors. It was going to be for this lap or the #47 MINI would have to finish second. As the two cars started to re-accelerate at the exit of turn #3 leading to the Gardiner expressway, the MINI Cooper S, within a fraction of a second appeared to be closing-in too fast on the Honda. The MINI ran into the back of the Honda and spun him hard to the left side “ I thought for sure he missed a shift, there was nowhere to go; we felt bad but we continued on to cross the finish line in first place” commented Lauzière. The driver of the Honda later advised the team that his engine had just expired at this very moment. The Dupont finish applied by Birchmount Collision was merely damaged on the MINI; the front bumper cover showing a few cut marks, a testimony to the strength of the MINI Cooper chassis.
The closest championship competitor managed to finish second, a couple of cars behind the MINI, setting the stage for an exciting Sunday race as the finishing order of race #1 would be the starting order of race #2.
The big question on Sunday would be what weather to expect. The previous race started on a damp condition but was dry for the start of the Castrol Touring race, but the skies were still uncertain. Most competitors chose the dry tires as we did.
At the start of race #2, a big pile-up started to occur right in front of the MINI as cars were veering from side to side, trying to escape damage from the spun cars into the wall. The Octane MINI escaped relatively unscathed with a few minor scrapes on the Burger King logo. The competitor’s Honda Civic managed to squeeze by just in front of the Original parts MINI. The next 10 laps would be filled with bumper to bumper action, the two cars being separated by less than half a second and turning similar lap times. As the last lap sign was shown, the MINI was setting-up to draft the Honda, but exiting corner #3, the engine of the MINI shut down, later to be found from a broken supercharger belt that shredded while driving on debris. Lauzière was able to coast to the pits, to be classified as a finisher, an important factor in order to be able to remove reward weights for the next race.
The next two races will be on July 27 and 28, at the brand new Calabogie Motorsports Park, located west of Ottawa, the National capital.
Octane Motorsport would like to thank their sponsors and partners:
-MINI Original Parts
-Burger King
-M7 Tuning (M7tuning.com)
-Simone Performance Imports
-Castrol Canada (Wakefield)
-GranSport brake pads (Satisfied Brakes)
-Birchmount Collision
-Graphic Mart
-DuPont Automotive Finishes
-MINI Original Accessories
-Vibrant Performance
-MINI Financial Services
-Pneus Touchette
-Wheel & Tire Zone
Octane Motorsport is a privately owned and funded racing team based in Montreal, Québec.
Thread Starter
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5th Gear
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6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,957
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From: a canyon, south Bay Area
Alain, the descriptions of the races makes me wish I that I would have been there! Was the need for major suspension changes due to the additional 100 lbs of reward weight? I'm assuming so... It seems as though you will not have this weight in your next race...
I've heard of a few SC belts shreading due to debris. Do you still have the front wheel well liners installed? If not, putting them in, or at least the one of the SC side might be prudent...
Kudos to you and your team, Alain!
I've heard of a few SC belts shreading due to debris. Do you still have the front wheel well liners installed? If not, putting them in, or at least the one of the SC side might be prudent...
Kudos to you and your team, Alain!
6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,957
Likes: 2
From: a canyon, south Bay Area
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5th Gear
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The belt was more of an annoyance than anything else...I guess we'll now ramp-up the intro. of our electric water pump. At least that should get us faster to the pits next time...
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