Pole position, a qualifying track record and a top-5 finish in the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières

Trois-Rivieres, Quebec – Louis-Philippe Dumoulin and the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare team showed their potential right from the start of their weekend with the best time in practice, the pole position by one second, establishing a new track record at the same time. Louis-Philippe Dumoulin led the race until his mandatory pit stop on lap 12. He then fought hard for a top-3 finish as one of the front calipers seized and slowed him down on the straight. He crossed the finish line in fifth place, after a weekend of mixed successes.

“We had a good race pace, but one of the front calipers was seizing. We had to fight very hard to stay in the top-3, end then in the top-5. I was pushing hard on the brakes in the corners because I couldn't keep up on the straights. The brakes were cooling down during the caution periods, but the problem came back after three or four laps at speed after the restarts. On the last restart, I was in third place as a competitor pushed me. I got sideways, barely making the subsequent corner, relegating me to fifth place. We had a car good enough for a podium finish, but the great result got away from us. It's not easy to live through this because we want to do well for our partners, friends and family, but it's important to focus on the championship, where every point counts. We will work even harder for the next races,” shares Louis-Philippe Dumoulin.

Weekend Summary

On Saturday morning practice, Louis-Philippe was quickest right from the start and remained on top throughout the one-hour session. “It's nice to be first in the practice, but the important thing was the pole position. I'm proud of my team because we made several set-up changes to make the car better towards the end of the 60-lap race. In that time on track, we made adjustments to the car's behaviour,” explained the driver of the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare car.

We saw the same scenario in Saturday qualifying as Louis-Philippe Dumoulin set a new lap record that put him firmly in the lead (1:06.721), almost a second ahead of second place. “After my first lap, already good enough for the pole, I went back on track with the idea of delaying the braking even more and that's certainly what ensured my pole position and set the track record. This great result is a testimony to the hard work the team has put in over the last few weeks. I am also very proud of my brother Jean-Francois who qualified fifth.

Upcoming races

The #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare team will return to the track on Saturday, August 28, at ICAR for the Lafleur 75 on the road course and will move on Sunday to the Autodrome Chaudière oval for a doubleheader, the Canadian Tire 300.