Bowmanville, Ontario – F1200 driver Matt Garwood of Elmvale, ON headed to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Mosport) this past weekend for round one of the Canadian Millers Oils F1200 Championship Series. Garwood had his sights set on his first win in Canada as he stood on the top step of the podium last August at PIRC (Pittsburgh International Race Complex).

Last Friday Garwood along with his Matt Garwood Racing team travelled to the famed Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for a day of testing in preparation of the weekends on track activities. Garwood and Crew Chief (fellow F1200 driver) Sid Nye used the day to set up and prepare the #31 FELdrives.com F1200 car for the weekend’s races.

It didn’t take him long to get up to speed during Fridays open practice session. It was also very beneficial as the morning's weather was filled with rain, this allowed the team to get some valuable laps on the wet track as the weekends weather looked storm filled.

During Saturday’s qualifying session Garwood and the team knew a starting position up front would benefit the team for Race 1 and set the mood for the weekend. Garwood’s efforts resulted in earning the third spot on the grid for the first race of the tripleheader weekend.

Garwood started from row two in Race 1 and had a difficult start in the wet conditions but fought his way back up to the third step of the podium for a majority of the race having a spirited battle with his fellow competitors. Garwood gave it his all and after a hard fought battle wound up with a top five finish.

“I was somewhat disappointed at the result but I knew if I pushed harder during Race 2 we could achieve our goal of winning early on in the season.” said Garwood.

Race 2 was scheduled for Saturday afternoon. With the weather and rain clearing Garwood knew with a dry track he could get win one of the 2016 season.

During Race 2 Garwood quickly made his way through the top 5 passing cars any chance he had. After lap one Garwood had his sights set on the lead but knew being patient was key to getting the job done. Throughout the race Garwood and fellow competitor Phil Wang had a close and intense battle for the top spot on the podium. Garwood and Wang were side by side which resulted in Wang taking victory with Garwood a close second.

Garwood also had the quickest lap of the race and was awarded with the hard charger of the race award.

Race 3 saw Garwood starting from row one. With a good start Garwood got in line behind the leader in the five car pack. Garwood quickly noticed severe handling issues with his F1200 vehicle and struggled to keep the car on track. Even with an ill handling vehicle Garwood managed to score a 3rd place podium finish to end the weekend.

Garwood wishes to thank Crew Chief Sid Nye for his expertise and Bill Vallis (Vallis Motorsport) for his incredible support throughout the entire weekend. Also, special thanks to Danielle Davies, for the ongoing assistance throughout the weekend.

MGR is proud to represent: FEL (Franczak Enterprises Ltd.) Vallis Motor Sport, Driverseat Barrie, The Automotive Business School of Canada, KarmaComa Studio, Core Evolution Fitness, Athletes Brand, Autoglym Canada, Leaf Racewear, Driven Steering Wheels, VOODOOAIR™, Millers Oils and the Township of Springwater.

Garwood is also proud to be "Laps for Muscular Dystrophy" (Laps4MD) driver where he has pledged to donate $1 for every lap he leads to go to Muscular Dystrophy Canada.

To learn more about Matt Garwood and his racing program please visit www.mattgarwoodracing.com, www.facebook.com/MattGarwoodRacing and follow him on Twitter at @mattgarwood31.

About Matt Garwood

Matt is a 20 year-old race car driver from Elmvale, Ontario and a recent graduate from the Automotive Business School of Canada. Matt competes in the Formula 1200 open wheel racing series and in the near future looks to jump from regional racing to a national level series such as the Canadian Touring Car championship. He is a 4-time Canadian Karting League Champion and the 2012 Formula 1200 Rookie of the Year and 2015 Formula 1200 Challenge Cup Series Champion.