Nissan: Coupal and King win two spectacular Micra Cup races at Mont-Tremblant, Canada

MONT-TREMBLANT, Quebec, Canada – The Nissan Micra Cup held its third and fourth races of the 2016 season as part of the Spring Classic at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant this past weekend.  It was an action-packed two days in summer-like temperatures which resulted in another win for Xavier Coupal on Saturday, and one for Kevin King on Sunday.

For full race results, visit:
http://www.micracup.com/Results_2016_Race?RID=3(race 3)
http://www.micracup.com/Results_2016_Race?RID= (race 4)

To see the overall championship standings after four races, please visit: 
http://www.micracup.com/Results_2016_ClassGen

Second in the championship after the first event, Albertan Stefan Rzadzinski (Pneus Touchette) showed his determination right away as he earned pole position heading into Saturday’s race. Rzadzinkski was just ahead of series leader, Xavier Coupal (Albi Nissan) – who was no less than eight-tenths of a second ahead of third place – 2015 champion Olivier Bédard (Albi Nissan). Rzadzinski and Coupal’s intense performances in the series’ identical and practically stock Micra S’s were a highlight for all spectators.

The start of the first race took place under extreme heat on Saturday afternoon and a battle for the victory quickly took shape between four drivers.  The lead changed hands many times between Rzadzinski, Bédard, Coupal and Kevin King who is the winner of the first round of the season.  In the end, King won with a slim two-tenths of a second lead over Coupal and half a second over Rzadzinski.

However, after reviewing on-board footage, series officials stated that both King and Rzadzinski were guilty of making avoidable contact during the last lap.  King received a 35-second penalty and Rzadzinski a 30-second penalty on their overall race times, dropping them far down the final standings.  Xavier Coupal was eventually declared victor ahead of Valérie Limoges, giving the Quebecker his second consecutive win.

Valérie Limoges was never able to take the lead during the 30 minutes of competition, but she nevertheless remained just behind the leaders throughout the entire duration.  Finishing less than a second behind Coupal, her first podium of the season was well-deserved.  Along the way, she passed Marc-Antoine Demers, Normand Boyer and Olivier Bédard, who lost several places in the last lap as the victim of a collision. Chris Sahakian completed the Top 6 ahead of Yves Aubé, Pierre Clavet, Frédéric Bernier and Brian Makse.

The following day, Olivier Bédard had pole position ahead of Stefan Rzadzinski, but it was Kevin King, starting in third, who quickly challenged Bédard for the victory. The two former karting teammates provided a tight and respectable battle right until the end, which saw King earn his second win of the season.  Bédard finished seventh-tenths of a second behind him, followed by Rzadzinski and Coupal, who has been penalized by series officials after the race and dropped to seventh place which now slightly closes the gap in the drivers’ championship. Another good battle occurred between Metod Topolnik and Valérie Limoges, as both took advantage of the Micra’s agility at every turn in hopes of passing one another. Topolnik eventually finished fourth ahead of Limoges, Marc-Antoine Demers, Xavier Coupal, Pierre Clavet, Chris Sahakian and Normand Boyer.

In the drivers’ championship, Xavier Coupal remains in the lead with 136 points ahead of Stefan Rzadzinski (105), Valérie Limoges (104), Kevin King (90), Marc-Antoine Demers (78) and Olivier Bédard (65 points, tie with Jacques Bélanger and Metod Topolnik). For the rookies, Ashley Sahakian was the only driver competing this weekend and therefore earned both wins, further increasing her lead at the top of championship standings for this category. 

Following this weekend at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant, the next outing for the Nissan Micra Cup will be on Sunday, June 19th for the fifth and sixth rounds of the season at the Autodrome St-Eustache.  This marks the only time on the calendar that the two races will take place on the same day. 

For more information on the Nissan Micra Cup, visit: Nissan.ca/MicraCup.

Nissan Micra Cup 2016 Season Calendar:

 

About the Nissan Micra Cup
Sanctioned by Auto Sport Québec (ASQ) and presented by JD Promotion Compétition with the support of Nissan Canada, the 2016 Nissan Micra Cup exclusively features the stock Micra 1.6 S M/T model with minor modifications, including NISMO suspension – to render it race-ready.

Unlike most motorsport events, each competing Nissan Micra race vehicle has the exact same specifications, resulting in a competition that truly reveals the most skilled drivers. The Nissan Micra Cup race vehicles were equipped with the Nissan Micra’s stock 1.6-litre DOHC 4-cylinder engine with dual fuel injection and Twin CVTC (Continuously Variable Timing Control) and stock 5-speed manual transmission. In its inaugural season last year, more than 25 Nissan Micras competed on each race weekend which included two hours of track time consisting of: a 30-minute trial, a 30-minute qualifying session and two 30-minute races.

Young karting drivers, the average Canadian looking for an entry point into motorsport competition, or anyone who wants to experience the rush of adrenaline inherent with racing cars are all well-suited to this series. In summary, the Nissan Micra Cup is for people who are passionate about motorsports, want to experience all the fun and thrills of racing, but without spending staggering amounts of money.

For more information on the Nissan Micra Cup, visit: Nissan.ca/MicraCup.

 

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