May 14, 2006

Starting from the back of the 19-car field, the Octane Motorsport Cooper S MINI crossed the finish line first in the T2 class, the first event of the year for the Ontario Touring Car Championship.

It was a good ending to a tough week-end. The team missed Saturday’s qualifying due to a clutch issue.

The 56th Annual BEMC Spring Trophy was packed with action as the last half of the 40 minutes long race, saw the MINI Cooper S battling nose to tail with a Volkswagen GTI for first place. The Volkswagen lost its engine with 2 corners to go, so in a sense the team was lucky today, but to finish first you must first finish. During the course of the battle, The John Cooper Works equipped MINI managed to set the fastest lap of the day by 6/1000th of a second.

The battle will resume next on June 3-4 at Shannonville, Ontario for the Canadian Driver Association’s running of the annual CRDA shootout.


Octane Motorsport's list of sponsors and supporters includes:

-MINI Original Parts
-Simone Performance Imports
-Castrol Canada (Wakefield)
-GranSport brake pads (Satisfied Brakes)
-Birchmount Collision
-Graphic Mart
-DuPont Automotive Finishes
-MINI Original Accessories
-H-Sport
-Vibrant Performance
-MINI Financial Services
-Wheel & Tire Zone
-Pneus Touchette
-CHR Racing products


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

CASC ONTARIO REGION(CASC-OR) Ontario's governing body of automobile sport, and is comprised of over 30 automobile and sport enthusiast clubs within Ontario. The organization defines and administers the province's regional championships in several disciplines, with club-organized events in Road Racing, Road Rally, Ice Race, Solo I time trials, Solo II autoslaloms and Drifting.


The British Empire Motor Club, founded in 1928, is affiliated with ASN Canada FIA and CASC-OR.

 

Now just go win the rest of the series!

Matt

 

Alain,
What a great way to start the season! I'm very happy for you and your team. Please try and get us some pictures.

Keep it up my friend. Hope to see you race sometime.

 

Here are a few more from the week-end.

It would be easier if I had a web-site. Roll call: Do we have members with amazing skills willing to volunteer their time?

 

Congrats!!! Way to go!
Jim

 

I just found a few more. Please just follow the links:

http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...hyRaces077.jpg

http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...hyRaces098.jpg

http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...hyRaces074.jpg

http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...hyRaces073.jpg

http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...hyRaces028.jpg

 

Alain, wow!!!

I'm so happy for you, really. I was wondering why you started in the back... Care to share the particulars of the clutch issue you had?

You have a couple of weeks of prep for Shannonville... Great way to start the season!

 

That's a very sweet lookin track and some very nice lookin cars out there. Lot's of prime vintage racers.

 

I second that, good looking track. Wouldn't mind heading up there for a few races.

 

Great looking car congrats on what sounds like a great run. Mosport is a beautiful track, I bet the temps were nice and cool.

Great job guys!!

 

Thanks all for the kind words!

Tony, we had a custom clutch built-up and it appears the center core was riveted on the wrong side of the plate. The very slight offset made the center of the clutch (where the splines are) put pressure on the guide tube. We didn't even have a chance to get the car going but the clutch litterally welded on the center against the guide tube. In fact it was so solid in there that we couldn't even turn the crank manually. The whole assembly was seized solid.

Have you ever tried to split a transmission when it won't pry open against the engine block? That was our Saturday.

 

Dang, given that, you did a heck of a job to just get on the track! The only time I had to separate a block from a tranny was on an old VW bug dune buggy. It wasn't "welded" though! Best of luck to you Alain.