Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
After a pair of exciting races out east, the series makes another trip to Quebec this weekend, set for the Can-Am Le 50 Tours at Trois-Riveries.
Each year, the event sees an in-flux of Quebec natives hoping to perform in front of the hometown crowd. Just ask Martin Cote, whom will make his first career series start this weekend behind the wheel of the No. 11 GO-VR Dodge. There’s also Raymond Guay, whose making his second career series start following a 16th place finish at Circuit ICAR.
Though the Quebec native everyone will have their eye on is Andrew Ranger, who enters this weekend leading the points by a single point ahead of Cayden Lapcevich. Ranger is the master of the streets of Quebec, posting a finish of first or second in each of his nine starts.
Speaking of Lapcevich, this weekend marks the Grimsby, Ontario native’s second start at Trois-Rivieres following a 15th place finish last year. The driver of the No. 76 Fastline Motorsports Dodge has impressed thus far in his rookie campaign, highlighted by capturing his career victory a couple weeks ago in Saskatoon.
Simon Dion-Viens hopes to build on his success thus far this year, following an eighth at Canadian Tire Motorsports and 12th at Circuit ICAR. In three previous Trois-Rivieres starts, he has posted a single top-10 finish.
Rookie Patrick Dussault hopes to have a smoother run than Toronto as he fell out of the race there with a crash. He was stronger at Circuit ICAR, posting a 10th place finish. Notably, this year will mark his first trip to Trois-Rivieres in a Pinty’s Series car.
While the Quebec contingent will be strong, there are a slew of Ontario natives whom will be looking for glory this weekend. Two-time series champion D.J. Kennington enters this weekend looking for his third straight top-10 finish following a sixth at Saskatoon. The driver of the No. 17 Castrol Edge Dodge has ran well at Trois-Rivieres previously, boosting an average finish of seventh in nine starts with a win in 2013.
Halton Hills, Ontario native Gary Klutt hopes to run stronger than his first trip to Trois-Rivieres after posting a 28th place finish. He enters this weekend with momentum following four straight top-10 finishes. Meanwhile, Jason Hathaway could use a good run as he hasn’t had the best of luck lately, with four straight races outside of the top-10 after finishing second in points last year. The driver of the No. 3 Raybestos/Fast Eddie/Choko/HGC/DSI Chevrolet has six top 10s, an average finish of 10th and a best result of third (2008) in the nine previous Trois-Rivieres events.
Marc-Antoine Camirand makes his return to the series this weekend with his first start of the year. Notably, he made his series debut at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres in 2013, and earned his first pole there in 2014. He was strong last season, finishing sixth for his best finish in three starts.
Anthony Simone could use a good run as he has yet to post a top-10 finish in five starts this year. Notably while his most recent Trois-Rivieres start didn’t go smoothly, he posted a runner-up finish in 2009. Meanwhile, Carlos De Qesada would be happy with a top-10 as well as he’s posted a best finish of 18th in three series starts.
Jocelyn Fecteau is hoping for a top-10 following a 22nd earlier this year at Circuit ICAR. In two previous Trois-Rivieres starts, he’s posted a best finish of 13th.
Kerry Micks enters this weekend with momentum following a top-five finish in his most recent start on the streets of Toronto. Micks has a win and five top-10 finishes in nine Trois-Rivieres starts.
David Michaud hopes to keep his early season momentum after posting a top-12 finish in his last two series starts, highlighted by a ninth at Autodrome Chaudiere.
Alex Tagliani enters this weekend with momentum following a top-six finish in each of his series starts this year, including three wins. The Lachenaie, Quebec native has two poles (2009, `13) an average finish of 10th and a best result of third (2015) in six previous Trois-Rivieres appearances. Kevin Lacroix is another favourite entering this weekend after becoming the first driver in the history of the series to win a caution-free race last season at ICAR in his first start at the track. He then backed it up with a win last year at Trois-Riveries, too. He enters this weekend with some momentum following an eighth place finish in Saskatoon.
If there’s any two drivers looking for a solid weekend, it’d be the pair of drivers racing Can-Am sponsored Fords for Go Fas Racing. Alex Labbe will be behind the wheel of the No. 32 entry, with Jeffrey Earnhardt behind the No. 36. Labbe enters this weekend with momentum following a third place finish at Saskatoon, and has posted an average finish of 12th with a best result of fourth (2015) in four previous Trois-Rivieres races. Meanwhile, this will mark Earnhardt’s first career Pinty’s Series start to go with his numerous Camping World Truck Series and Sprint Cup starts.
The Trois-Rivieres’ crowd will also their eyes on the hometown favourites, the Dumoulin brothers. L.P. Dumoulin has a win (2014), a pole (2012), four top fives and an average finish of ninth in seven races at Trois-Rivieres and enters this weekend with momentum following a pair of good runs out east. Meanwhile, J.F. Dumoulin has five top 10s, an average finish of 13th and a best result of fourth (2014) across the nine Trois-Rivieres events.
