MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – The Nissan Micra Cup presented the seventh and eighth races of the 2019 season this weekend, which was held as part of the 50th edition of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières. This was not only a milestone anniversary for the event, but also for the Nissan Micra Cup which held its 60th race of the series on Sunday won by Kevin King. Valérie Limoges also earned her second career victory in the Nissan Micra Cup on Saturday.
The event faced challenging weather conditions throughout the weekend, with intermittent rain on Friday during the free practice and qualifying sessions, which continued into Saturday's race. However, the races kept the thousands of spectators in attendance in suspense, which were held on the oldest urban track in North America.
Delayed by rain showers, the qualifying session on Friday saw Valérie Limoges and championship leader Kevin King put on quite a show, exchanging the fastest times for the lead position. Ultimately, Limoges claimed the pole position for Saturday's race and King for Sunday's race.
Nicolas Barrette set the fastest qualifying results in his career, ranking in third and second position, while Éric Chaput was the highest rookie qualifier, earning fifth and fourth place.
On Saturday, between rain showers and brief sunny moments, the race was an action filled event interspersed by various incidents that resulted in neutralization periods, mainly due to loss of control on the wet circuit. At the start of the race, King passed Limoges in hopes of earning his highly anticipated first win at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières in front of his fans. Despite rainy conditions, Nicolas Barrette proved to be a strong contender after passing Valérie Limoges, setting his sights on the leader position. Unfortunately, a contact between Barette and King followed causing King to rotate and lose three positions.
Once in the lead, Barrette was able to hold off all of Limoges' advances to keep command and cross the finish line in first place. It would have been a great victory for Nicolas following a magnificent race, however, before stepping onto the podium he admitted fault in the contact incident and was penalized by officials, reclassifying him behind King in the final standings.
As a result, Valérie Limoges was awarded the victory, followed by novice driver Marco Signoretti, Kevin King, Nicolas Barrette, and Senior Class winner Sylvain Ouellet. In a spectacular battle for the third position between five and sometimes six drivers, Signoretti eventually succeeded, tightening the gap between him and King in the overall championship standings.
Taylor Near, Signoretti's teammate at the helm of the PayPal/Motorsports In Action team, rounded out the top six ahead of Martin Barrette, Nicolas' older brother, and Frédéric Bernier. The Barrette family was particularly pleased at the end of Saturday's event as popular actor and comedian Michel Barrette, father of Martin and Nicolas, earned his highest career finish in the series, completing the race in 12th position.
On Sunday, the sunny weather finally returned for the 60th race of the Nissan Micra Cup series. The series launched in 2015 and now represents one of the greatest successes in the history of Canadian motorsport.
Right from the beginning of the race, Kevin King took the lead position while Valérie Limoges overtook Nicolas Barrette taking the second position. King and Limoges battled with each other throughout the entire duration of the 40 minutes race. Even under pressure, King didn't falter and crossed the finish line of the series' 60th race with a lead of just four tenths of a second. It is a triumphant victory for the Trifluvien who has been waiting for his first place I front of his crowd since his debut in the Nissan Micra Cup.
Ranking in third, Nicolas Barrette earned the highest result of his career. He finished ahead of top Novice driver Marco Signoretti, followed by Senior Class leader Sylvain Ouellet, and Frédéric Bernier. After an impressive climb from 22nd position, Jean-Michel Isabelle finished in 7th, one place ahead of Austin Riley.
In the drivers' championship, Kevin King remains the leader ahead of Marco Signoretti. Valérie Limoges jumped ahead of Frédéric Bernier taking third place, while Taylor Near rounds out the top 5 in front of Sylvain Ouellet.
For those who are unable to attend the Nissan Micra Cup in person or want to re-watch the weekend's races, fans can visit the Micra Cup TV YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/MicraCupTVOpens in a new tab.), as well as the series' Facebook page. In addition, the series posts videos and provides updates on the official Nissan Micra Cup Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages in both English and French throughout the weekend.
For more information on the Nissan Micra Cup, please visit the official site www.micracup.comOpens in a new tab.
To follow the series on social media :
Facebook : Coupe Nissan Micra Cup
Instagram : @nissanmicracup
Twitter : @MicraCup
Youtube : MicraCupTVOpens in a new tab.
COMPLETE WEEKEND RACE RESULTS AND CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: https://www.micracup.com/2019-Resultats_ClassGenOpens in a new tab.
2019 Nissan Micra Cup Calendar:
May 17- 19 Victoria Day Weekend SpeedFest, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Ontario
June 1 - 2 Kyle Nash Race Weekend, Calabogie Motorsports Park, Ontario
July 26 - 28 Summer Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Québec
Aug 9 - 11 Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, Québec
Aug 23 - 25 NASCAR Weekend, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Ontario
Sept 27 - 29. Fall Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Québec
-30-
