Comeback from the back for Octane MINI at Trois-Rivieres

High hopes were the order of the day on a sunny but frisky day on Sunday August 19 at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. The entire Octane Motorsport team was ecstatic with a 4th place starting position for the Original MINI Parts Cooper S driven by Alain Lauziere.

On Saturday, taking advantage of a damp but fast drying track, Lauziere decided to sit the first 10 minutes of the qualifying session in order for competitors to dry the track as the strong sun could only reduce the dampness. “The conditions were tricky and we weren’t sure which tires to use,” admitted Lauziere. “So we decided to wait for as long as we could, but the conditions were still wet, especially where the track was in the shade”. “Our tires were brand new and we never had a chance to scrub them before this session”, commented crew-chief Louis-Philippe Allard. After a few hectic laps where the car pointed in all directions, the #47 MINI Cooper S managed to cross the finish line in fourth place, behind the three Lombardi cars and their super-team.

At the race start, the high hopes of the qualifying session would vanish pretty quickly as Lauziere’s MINI Cooper went into dramatic oversteer in the first corner. “What can I say, we goofed-up. Our set-up proved to be a bit too aggressive for the cold track.” Fortunately, all 15 drivers that were behind managed to go through without touching the spinning MINI”.

So from dead last, Lauziere managed to re-pass 10 competitors to finish in 9th place. “I’d just like to thank all my fellow competitors for avoiding contact with me in the first corner incident, when I was spinning – they are truly great drivers!”

Lauziere was also scheduled to drive the RSR Motorsport MINI Cooper in Koni Challenge – ST Class, but unfortunately, the track took a toll on a lot of cars, including the #197 that ran out of brakes before Lauziere was able to take command of the beautifully-prepared car sponsored by Cruiseamerica.com.

The next event for the team will be on September 1-2 at Mosport International raceway where the Octane MINI will re-join the Castrol Canadian Touring car Championship to contest the CRDA’s President’s Trophy.

Octane Motorsport would like to thank their sponsors and partners:

-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
-Wheel & Tire Zone
-Cruiseamerica.com

Octane Motorsport is a privately owned and funded racing team based in Montreal, Québec.

 

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Photos of the action you missed:

 

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Hey Alain
I see you changed your hood scoop. M7???
Do you have a schedule for Mosport yet. I may try to make it up there again.
Do you still lead the points race?
Larry

 

Larry,

The hood scoop is a custom one made by some of our good friends here at NAM. The last one is still on the damaged hood we replaced after Calabogie. Ran out of time....

We are still leading by 91 points.

Let me know if you come, we'll get you (or anybody else that wants some, BTW) tickets.

Schedule:

September 1, 2 Mosport International Raceway

September 15, 16Mosport International Raceway

September 29, 30Mosport International Raceway

 

Looks like the 1 & 2. I'm @ Nelson Ledges 15/16 and Watkins Glen the 29/30 dates. I'll PM you later. Thanks Alain.

 

Was your car running with the Touring cars? I saw the MINI on the trailer on Thursday, but after that I never saw it again. If you're running the touring car series, that'd make sense considering I never really got to check out the touring paddock or on track.

 

Yes we were. But this is last year's thread. We'll post later tonight here:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=150655