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Nissan Sentra Cup back in action this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

Mississauga, Ont. – For the second time this year, the Nissan Sentra Cup will pay visit to Ontario at the famed Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), formerly known as Mosport Park. This 3.96 km, challenging road course has hosted eight Formula One Grand Prix events and was the scene for several world endurance events in the past.

This fast and undulating track located east of Toronto staged this year’s opening race of the Nissan Sentra Cup in May. The competitors will return to this circuit for the penultimate event on Labour Day Weekend, September 2-4. As usual, the event will be a double-header, and it should provide some insight into the title chances of the main favourites.

Valérie Limoges is currently leading the overall drivers’ point standings – a first in the history of this Canadian national motorsport series. Valérie will be looking to capture her first victory of the season, but more importantly, she will be aiming at extending her nine-point lead over Simon Charbonneau. Less consistent than Limoges however, Charbonneau has won three of the first eight races this season, including Race 2 at CTMP in May.

After this weekend’s event, Valérie Limoges and Simon Charbonneau mathematically could be the only two drivers still in contention for the title. But this is unlikely to happen as the performances of Alexandre Fortin, Justin Arseneau and Sylvain Ouellet, who ranked respectively third, fourth and fifth in the championship, may lead to some surprises at CTMP. A few days after he celebrated his 17th birthday, Arseneau snatched victory in one of the two races at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières earlier this month. The teenager also made his debut last weekend in the Canadian NASCAR series.

As far as Alexandre Fortin is concerned, he scored two wins so far this season, including one at the opening race at CTMP. The vastly experienced Sylvain Ouellet will be the one to watch at CTMP. There’s a difference of 60 points between Ouellet in fifth place and the leading Limoges. Since a victory is worth 50 points, anything can happen between now and the final race of the season to be held at Circuit Mont-Tremblant at the end of September.

Other front runners include regular Top 10 finishers Éric Chaput and his son Frédéric, as well as veterans Normand Boyer and André Lapointe.

Points leader in the Micra class François Angers-Routhier should be a no-show this weekend, which opens the door to his rivals to try to get closer to him in the standings. For the young Marie-Soleil Labelle, the opportunity seems good, knowing that she is currently second in the standings, just 30 points behind Angers-Routhier.

The Nissan Sentra Cup could once again make Canadian motorsport history if two female drivers, Valérie Limoges in the overall championship and Marie-Soleil Labelle in the Micra class, appear on top of the standings after these two races!

In addition to the races, the event will feature the Nissan Z and Sentra owner parades around the circuit on Saturday and Sunday at noon. In the Nissan Sentra Cup paddock, fans will be given the chance to drive the all-new Nissan Z on a simulator. This model is also used by the series as the Official Safety Car of the Cup.

The Nissan Sentra Cup drivers will take to the track five times this weekend. Action will begin on Friday with two free practice session. Saturday will see the competitors qualify in the morning and race in the afternoon. The second race, also 40 minutes long, will take place late on Sunday morning.

Both races will be presented live on the Nissan Sentra Cup Facebook page. Later in the year, these two races will be broadcasted on a Series’ special show on RDS network. Fans of the series are also invited to follow all the news on the social medias of the Nissan Sentra Cup.

Nissan Sentra Cup on-track activities

  • Practice sessions: Friday September 2, 10:00 am to 10:30 am, 1:45 pm to 2:15 pm
  • Qualifying session: Saturday September 3, 8:15 am to 8:35 am
  • Race 1: Saturday September 3, 11:15 am to 11:55 am
  • Race 2: Sunday September 4, 11:15 am to 11:55 am