Mississauga, Ont. – The Nissan Micra Cup will be back in action next weekend at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant, for the third of six race weekends that make up the 2017 season. Two races will take place as part of the Summer Classic, marking the end of the first half of the season. The race weekend will feature a battle for the mid-season champion title between six drivers as well as an intense competition in the novice and senior classes. This outing will also see the return of popular actor and comedian Michel Barrette, who will be competing with his two sons as teammates and rivals on the track. Spectators can also expect a number of exciting on-track activities put on by Nissan for Micra owners and fans.
The Summer Classic at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant is a major event in Canadian motorsport. The Nissan Micra Cup drivers love returning to this beloved track nestled in the heart of the Laurentian Mountains, and the spectators love taking advantage of the time to vacation. This year, the third race weekend is taking place on July 22 and 23.
On the track, the 24 drivers entered in the 2017 edition of the Summer Classic are expected to put on an action-packed show. This time, Michel Barrette will appear among the drivers at the wheels of their practically stock Nissan Micras. After an excellent series debut last May, Barette and his sons decided to buy a third car so that going forward, their team will consist of Michel, Nicolas and Martin, each at the wheel of a Nissan Micra race car this weekend at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant.
Current overall championship leader Kevin King will attempt to strengthen his lead with his first victory of the season. With 132 points, the Sorel-Tracy Nissan Team driver is ahead of Total Canada teammates Olivier Bédard (118 points) and Xavier Coupal (113). Jean-Michel Isabelle, the driver from the Perry Performance/Hull Nissan team who won the first two races of the season at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Ontario), is fourth with 106 points, just ahead of Valérie Limoges (Total Canada) with 102. Australian Keishi Ayukai, with 99 points, is also still in the battle for the title.
Absent for the first two race weekends after he was invited to race GT cars in South Korea in the spring, Albertan Stefan Rzadzinski will return to the Nissan Micra Cup next weekend. In light of his numerous victories during the past two seasons, he is also an obvious candidate to win the Summer Classic.
In the senior category, Quebeckers Normand Boyer and Metod Topolnik, as well as Ontarian Peter Dyck, will battle for the win. In the novice class, only one point currently separates each of the top three drivers, including Nicolas Barrette, Vincent Doyle and Austin Riley, the young karting driver with autism who is excelling in his debut season with the Nissan Micra Cup.
Canadian Nissan Micra owners are once again invited to take part, free of charge, in the race weekend at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant. Two entry tickets, one parking pass and a meal voucher are being offered to owners, but the most captivating highlight of the weekend will be the parade laps around the track during Saturday and Sunday’s lunch break.
Drivers of the Nissan Micra Cup family will be on the track six times this weekend at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant. Two 25-minute practice sessions will take place on Friday, followed by a 20-minute qualifying session at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, ahead of the first race at 1:30 p.m. On Sunday, the day will start with a qualifying session between 9:00 a.m. and 9:15 a.m., with the start of the second race at 1:40 p.m. Each race will last a duration of 30-minutes.
Twitter users can obtain real time information live from the track by following the series @MicraCup.
Overall championship standings after four races:
http://www.micracup.com/2017-Results_ClassGen.
For more information on the Nissan Micra Cup, please visit: www.nissan.ca/micracup.
2017 Nissan Micra Cup Season Calendar
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