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Toronto, Ontario – “We are super excited to have racing legend Al Unser Jr. as our VIP guest at this year’s Honda Indy Toronto,” said Chris Bye, president of FEL Motorsports, the promoter of the Sports Car Championship Canada (SCCC) presented by Michelin race series which will be the featured support race that weekend.

“Little Al” or “Al Junior,” as he is affectionately called, will be among the guests at the FEL Motorsports Hospitality Suite throughout the race weekend July 15-17. Al Unser Jr. competed in Toronto’s very first Indy race known as the Molson Indy as part of the Champ Car World Series in 1986 and he won the Toronto race two years later in 1988 and again in 1990.

“It’s my pleasure to be with my friends at FEL Motorsports and to be back in Toronto, one of my favorite cities on the IndyCar circuit,” said Unser. “Toronto race fans are fortunate to have such a world-class racing event in their backyard.”

Chris Bye said, “It will be great to have Al Unser Jr. in town to see the Honda Indy Toronto festivities and to watch racing excitement on the streets of Toronto – the ‘roar by the shore.’ We’re pleased that Al Junior will be the honorary starter for our SCCC race at the Honda Indy Toronto, as he is definitely well acquainted with the green flag, having competed in a total of 427 races during his illustrious career.”

Al Unser Jr. followed in the footsteps of his father (Al Unser Sr.) and his uncle (Bobby Unser) to become a repeat champion at Indianapolis, winning the Indy 500 in 1992 and 1994. A rookie in 1983, he was the first person to compete against his own father in the same Indianapolis 500-mile race.

Little Al was the Can-Am Champion in 1982 at only 20 years of age. He ranked sixth or higher in Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) points in 12 different seasons. Winner of the CART series in 1990 and 1994, he won 34 races from 1984 through 1995. Only Michael Andretti (his boyhood friend), who had 42, won more. Among his more remarkable achievements was winning the challenging Long Beach, California, road race no less than six times, including four years in succession, 1988 through 1991. He also won two times at the famed 24 Hours of Daytona. He retired from racing in 2007.

The Unsers are the most successful family in the history of the Indianapolis 500 with a total of nine victories. Father Al Unser Sr. won the Indy 500 four times, uncle Bobby Unser won three times and the most recent two Indy 500 victories were won by Al Unser Jr. The Unsers are the only family to have multiple generations of Indy 500 winners.

Al Unser Jr’s first Indianapolis win was the closest finish in Indy 500 history. The 1992 race was among the coldest ever at Indianapolis and many of the favored drivers crashed out in the slippery conditions. Unser’s longtime rival Michael Andretti dominated the race until his car coasted to a stop with 10 laps to go.

That left Unser in the lead, but he was being caught by Toronto native Scott Goodyear who had started the race at the very back of the 33 cars. Although Goodyear had a faster car, he fell short in his run to the finish line, with Unser crossing the finish line by just 0.043 second.

“We are honoured to have the legendary Al Unser Jr. join us as our special guest at the Honda Indy Toronto, a premier racing event that was unfortunately cancelled the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Bye.

Sports Car Championship Canada (SCCC) is a series of races open to GT4 and TCR sports cars. The series, now in its second year, is a Canadian national championship. SCCC is organized by FEL Motorsports which is involved in revitalizing and reinvesting in motorsports in Canada.

Launched last year, the SCCC race series saw some of the best sports car teams and drivers in Canada competing for prizes and money.

For further information on FEL Motorsports, visit www.felmotorsports.com

About FEL Motorsports

FEL Motorsports grew out of a strong base of automotive roots from FEL Automotive Learning and Promotion. FEL Motorsports is focused on growth and sustainability in the Canadian Motorsports landscape by giving back to its teams through prizing and prize money.

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Category: Road Racing

Bowmanville, Ontario – Tonis Kasemets showed he had the measure of the IMSA Prototype Challenge field at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday. Twice.

The Estonian dominated the first hour at CTMP, then fended off a late challenge following the only full-course caution of the 90-minute race for Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) cars. He won for the second straight time this season and extended his championship lead.

Starting from the pole position, Kasemets steadily pulled away from the pack in the No. 60 Wulver Racing Ligier JS P320, building a cushion of more than 50 seconds as the race ran under green-flag conditions. Until, that is, Danny Formal slid off track in Turn 5 in the No. 46 CT Motorsports Duqueine D08 with just under 25 minutes remaining to bring out the only yellow of the race on the 2.459-mile, 10-turn road course.

Racing restarted with 13 minutes to go, and soon after, Parker Thompson (No. 14 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier) and Patrick Kujala (No. 77 O’Gara Motorsport/Change Racing/US RaceTronics Ligier) maneuvered through lapped traffic and were hot on Kasemets’ tail. Both contenders closed within a half-second of the leader until Kasemets responded.

He stretched the gap to more than two seconds before easing off on the final lap and crossing the finish line 0.512 seconds up on Thompson, who shared the No. 14 with Lance Willsey.

“The young guns, the future stars, it’s hard to keep them behind but I used everything I had in my book and did what I could,” Kasemets said. “It was tough.”

The 48-year-old race winner was one of only three solo driver entries in the race. Knowing the demands of CTMP, Kasemets worked on his endurance by going cross-country skiing in the interim between the last Prototype Challenge race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in May and this weekend’s event.

“We were slightly behind because we did not test here,” Kasemets said, “so it took us quite a lot of work to get the ride height right because it’s very demanding. Almost every corner is over 100 miles an hour. You’ve got to hold your breath and then you’ve got to learn how to breathe again. It takes everything you know.”

It was a remarkable recovery to second place for the No. 14 Sean Creech entry, considering the team was assessed a stop-and-go penalty for its pit stop falling 0.5 seconds shy of the minimum time. Thompson, the 24-year-old native from Red Deer, Alberta, charged back to reach the second step of the podium to the delight of the Canadian crowd.

“We were quick on track and we were a little (too) quick in the pits – under one second,” Thompson said. “We took that drive-through penalty, which was too bad, but kept my head down and picked them off one by one.

“Once I got back up on the podium after a drive-through penalty, I was fairly content,” added Thompson, racing in his homeland for the first time in three years. “Every Canadian’s dream is to stand on this podium. This is the most legendary track that we have to offer. Big shout-out to (IMSA) for getting us back to Canada; it’s awesome to be back. You see the Canadian fans; they’ve been dying to have a race.”

With the win, Kasemets expanded his points lead to 120. Memo Gidley and Alexander Koreiba, who finished fifth Sunday in the No. 23 AL Autosport with JDC MotorSports Duqueine, are second in points. The No. 77 of Kujala and Brian Thienes crossed the finish line in third place, but was moved to the rear of the field when post-race technical inspection revealed that the plank on the bottom of the car exceeded maximum permitted wear.

A recap of Sunday’s race airs at noon ET Sunday, July 10 on USA Network.

Two races remain on the Prototype Challenge schedule. Next up is VIRginia International Raceway from Aug. 26-28.

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Category: Road Racing

Bowmanville, Ontario – Coming off their first IMSA victory of 2022 just one week ago, Robert Wickens and Mark Wilkins raced from last to first Saturday, and led the Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) podium sweep at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP), round six of the 2022 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. BHA teammates Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis finished second and Parker Chase and Harry Gottsacker finished third, a dominating performance by the squad of Hyundai Elantra N TCR teams.

Mark Wilkins, Engineer John Ward and the #33 team developed the race winning set-up and completed both practice sessions short one significant team member on Friday, co-driver Robert Wickens. Wickens missed both practice sessions and qualifying on Friday, and as a result, the #33 would start from the 15th and final position on the grid. Wickens missed the sessions, with good reason.

On Thursday, just prior to arriving at CTMP, for the race weekend, Wickens receieved a call from his wife Karli, to let him know the delivery of their baby would be imminent. He turned around and drove 555 miles to return to their home in Indianapolis for the birth of their child. His journey was successful, Robert and Karli welcomed their first child, Wesley Joseph Wickens Friday afternoon.

By Saturday morning, Wickens was back in race-mode as he flew back to his native Canada in time to greet his enthusiastic race fans at the pre-race festivities and take the green flag, and his first laps of the weekend. Although Wickens spent his formative years on the legendary CTMP (formally MoSport), Saturday's race laps were entirely different. It marked his first time returning to his childhood track using hand controls to drive the race car.

Wickens had a formidable start, passing three cars on the opening lap. Running inside the top three through the first hour, it was a strong opening half for Wickens. With the driver change and pitstop complete, it was all up to Mark Wilkins to chase the lead for the second and final hour.

Exactly as it was one week before at Watkins Glen International, Wilkins masterfully executed the final 57-minutes. He took the lead on lap 63 and despite the pursuit of his fellow BHA teammates, Michael Lewis, and Parker Chase pressuring hard for the win, and to the enthusiastic ovation of race fans surrounding the track, Wilkins prevailed, securing the win for he and Wickens. A momentous victory on their home soil in Canada and the grand finale to a remarkable week for Robert Wickens.

Michael Lewis brought the #1 Elantra N TCR home in second place, re-claiming the championship lead for he and co-driver Taylor Hagler, the 2021 series champions. The performance by Hagler and Lewis was highlighted by speed and consistency and led to their fourth second place finish of the season. They hold a 40-point lead in the standings with four races remaining.

Texans Parker Chase and Harry Gottsacker finished third, it was their second podium of the season, and another pivotal performance in their championship chase. Chase qualified and started third in the #98 Elantra N TCR and had an eventful stint defending his turf inside the top three. Gottsacker took over on lap 42 and raced hard against Michael Lewis for a podium in the final hour. Gottsacker and Chase are tied with Robert Wickens for third position in the series standings.

Winning their fourth pole position in six races this season, it looked like Tyler Maxson and Mason Filippi might drive the #77 Elantra N TCR to victory late at CTMP. Maxson had an outstanding start and chose tire preservation over degradation, holding steady with race length goals. With less than an hour remaining, Filippi had a dominant lead which he held for twenty laps before a hiccup on lap 62, in a late race restart sent Filippi back to the eighth position. The #2 and the #54 Elantras of AJ Muss and Ryan Norman and Michael Johnson and Stephen Simpson ran strong throughout the weekend. Off-course excursions for both cars changed the handling of their race cars enough to diminish podium chances.

Next up, the Lime Rock Park 120, Saturday, July 16th at 11:05am ET. The race will be televised live from LRP in Lakeville, Connecticut on NBC's Peacock.

Canadian Tire Motorsports Park 120 - Bryan Herta Autosport Race Results
P.1 Robert Wickens and Mark Wilkins #33 Elantra N TCR
P.2 Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis #1 Elantra N TCR
P.3 Parker Chase and Harry Gottsacker #98 Elantra N TCR
P.7 AJ Muss and Ryan Norman #2 Elantra N TCR
P.8 Tyler Maxson and Mason Filippi, #77 Elantra N TCR
P.10 Michael Johnson and Stephen Simpson, #54 Universal Coating Elantra N TCR

#33 Elantra N TCR

Started: 15th Finished: 1st Standings: 3rd (Wickens) 9th (Wilkins)

Robert Wickens: "I'm not sure what's more special, winning here in Canada, or the circumstances this weekend. A big thanks to everyone at BHA for allowing me to be home for the birth of my son and to return to the win. They have a clear "family first" message on this team, and I am glad we could reward them with a win. Mark (Wilkins) made it easy for me developing a race winning car with John (Ward, engineer) on Friday. I've never jumped right into a race with no practice, but at the same time, I've never felt more prepared than I did today."

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Mark Wilkins: "The story for today has to be the journey of the week and then Rob jumping in the car with no practice and passing three cars on the first lap. Just incredible. It's been an amazing week with our first win, coming to Canada and working closely here with Hyundai Canada and then to win all over again. It doesn't get any better than this. I'm having so much fun racing alongside Robbie (Wickens), he certainly inspires me to get 110% out of every opportunity, and a big thanks to our Engineer John Ward and everyone at BHA and Hyundai."

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#1 Elantra N TCR

Started: 6th Finished: 2nd Standings: 1st

Taylor Hagler: "I've had a really good first visit to CTMP and have found a new place that I'm going to look forward to coming back to in future seasons After the disappointment at Watkins Glen, we got right back at it and captured a podium and regained the championship lead. Michael and I did great at Lime Rock last season, scoring our win there, so we will continue to push really hard."

Michael Lewis: "The team did such a great job today. We worked hard on track and in the pitlane to get to the front! It was so much fun out there picking our way to the front. Thanks to BHA and Hyundai for giving Taylor and I the best tools out there. Congratulations to Mark and Robert on their hometown win, which is just so cool and well-deserved!"

#98 Elantra N TCR

Started: 3rd Finished: 3rd Standings: 3rd (tied with Wickens)

Parker Chase: "I am pretty happy with our result and how the weekend went at CTMP. I think a third-place finish is relatively good for the car that I felt I had underneath me. CTMP is an interesting place with TCR cars being as fast if not faster than many of the GS cars and it introduced a lot into the mix-up within the TCR field and made for and exciting race for the fans. We're out at Lime Rock in a couple of weeks and I can't wait to get after it again."

Harry Gottsacker IV: "It's pretty cool to go north of the border and have a podium sweep for our BHA squad. We had a great Elantra N TCR all weekend that made it easy to fight at the top end of the field this weekend. It was a little more of a fight than normal, but we ended up coming out okay in p.3."

Canadians In BOLD

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Bowmanville, Ontario – Renger van der Zande’s opportunistic run through late-race traffic produced an unexpected victory for himself and Sebastien Bourdais Sunday in the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

Van der Zande guided the No. 01 Cadillac V Performance Academy Cadillac past Oliver Jarvis in the leading No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura DPi with 10 minutes remaining in the 2-hour, 40-minute event when Jarvis was inadvertently blocked in Turn 3 by a GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) competitor. Once in front, van der Zande pulled away to win by 3.509 seconds to claim the third victory of the season for the No. 01 Cadillac.

The victory, which was the 10th in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition for Bourdais and the 17th for van der Zande, came as a surprise to both veteran drivers.

Bourdais qualified the No. 01 Cadillac fifth fastest, and the experienced Frenchman admitted that he struggled to come to grips with the fast and tricky CTMP circuit on his first visit. Then both drivers grappled with what they described as an intermittent and unpredictable problem with the Cadillac’s power steering.

“This race wasn’t going to be ours,” said van der Zande, who completed 123 laps of the 11-turn, 2.459-mile road course located 60 miles northeast of Toronto. “We changed the car around completely after the warm-up practice this morning and didn’t know what to expect. The changes worked, but the power steering failed, and that was the toughest part of today.

“I knew I needed traffic to get by, so it was maximum attack, full risk,” he added. “I thought, ‘This is the time to go,’ and it worked.”

Bourdais deferred to van der Zande when he was asked to place the decal signifying a WeatherTech Championship race win onto the victorious Cadillac after the race.

“That was all him,” Bourdais remarked. “With the massive power steering issues, I was barely hanging on and I have no idea how he put that thing up there to fight those guys. He obviously reads traffic super-well, and when he gets all wound up with emotions, he uses that anger in a positive way. He really made it work today, and it was very impressive.”

Blomqvist and Jarvis finished second for the fifth consecutive IMSA race, a streak dating to the event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in mid-May. Consolation came in the form of regaining the WeatherTech Championship DPi points lead over the No. 10 Konica Minolta Racing Acura shared by Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor, which finished sixth at CTMP.

The No 60 Acura duo now lead the No. 10 pairing by 56 points after arriving in Canada trailing by 17. Bourdais and van der Zande moved up to third in the standings, 148 points off the lead.

“Our race car was very difficult to drive and we really struggled a lot in traffic,” Blomqvist said. “We learned some lessons and know we can achieve performance over a single lap. But this hurts a lot, and everyone is heartbroken because we believe we should have won that one.”

Pipo Derani and Olivier Pla completed the podium by finishing third in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac.

Braun and Bennett Win Again in Canada

Jon Bennett and Colin Braun seem unbeatable at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

“I just really enjoy this place,” Braun said. “It’s one of my favorite tracks, and things just kind of seem to flow our way when we come here.”

That proved to be the case again this year, as the duo combined to claim the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class victory in the No. 54 CORE autosport Ligier. It was their fifth IMSA win at the Canadian facility.

The No. 36 Andretti Autosport Ligier JS P320 shared by Jarett Andretti and Gabby Chaves was fastest in qualifying, and the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier manned by Gar Robinson and Scott Andrews led for the first 90 minutes of the 2-hour, 40-minute race.

But the Andretti car was delayed in the pits, and the No. 74 suffered a crash, leaving Bennett and Braun an uncontested run to the finish. They won by 2.753 seconds over Andretti and Chaves, with Ari Balogh and Garrett Grist taking third in the No. 30 Jr III Motorsports Ligier.

“Jeff Braun, our race engineer, really set up a fast car, and I ran a clean stint,” said Bennett. “Then Colin was just a rocket.”

“A great day,” Braun added. “I’m really proud of those CORE autosport guys. We had great pit stops and a fast car, obviously. Jon did a great job in that opening stint.”

The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for prototype classes (DPi, LMP2, LMP3) is the IMSA Sports Car Weekend at Road America, August 4-7. The GT classes are in action at Lime Rock Park July 15-16 for the FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix.