COLBORNE, Ont. – September 27, 2016 – Michel Beyore was back in the saddle of his DIRTcar Sportsman for Brighton Speedway’s Applefest Shootout last Friday night. It was the first race since May for Colborne, Ont.’s newest resident after Beyore took the summer off to move east.
Beyore timed in fifth fastest in his group which placed him inside the third row for his heat race. In his heat race, Beyore spun his Millennium Crane/Stemac/Metals Plus No.54 in turn four, but regrouped to make a charge to the front. He earned a third-place finish, which qualified him for the redraw and a top-12 starting position.
“I thought I blew it when we took off. I jumped on the gas so hard I spun the car and I hit the tire. I went to the back and thought I was screwed, but the car worked well. As the heat went on I got a little bit better at it,” Beyore said, explaining it took a bit to shake off the rust of a four-month hiatus.
Following the redraw, Beyore lined up sixth for the 35-lap, $1,000-to-win event and initially looked strong as he raced in to the top-five on the opening lap.
“In the feature the car felt good. All I wanted to do was get back down to the bottom because that’s where my car worked best. The one restart I did get back down and the other I was kind of hung out a little bit,” Beyore said.
On a lap two restart, things went awry for Beyore as he spun at the top of turn two and was hit by an oncoming car that ran out of room to avoid a collision.
“I couldn’t tell you what happened. The car got light and it went around. Either I got a little push or the car came out from under me,” Beyore said.
“I was up on the cushion and I could hear the race director on the race receiver saying “yellow, yellow” and the one car came around and he was way out there. I thought he was going to hit my head on. He caught me on the rear wheel.”
The damage ended Beyore’s night and weekend with damage to the rear-end. Beyore didn’t have enough time to make repairs before Saturday’s show.
While the end result was disappointing, Beyore was happy to get back in the seat with a competitive run.
“I was happy I put the car back to the way it worked well. For the second night out in that car to make the redraw, I think I did alright,” Beyore stated happily.
His second night of Sportsman racing was also an opportunity to experience the camaraderie in the pit area. With over 30 drivers signed in, several racers offered help and advice to the rookie pilot.
“All of the guys were pretty good. I appreciated those guys at least coming over and talking to me,” Beyore said. “When we wrecked, all the guys from the Cosco Haulage car had tires and a jack ready and waiting on me. To jump in like that when those guys don’t even really know me was pretty good.”
Following the incident, Beyore decided to end his season and begin focusing on next year’s program. Work commitments will not allow for any additional races this season. He plans compete at Can-Am Motorsports Park and Brockville Ontario Speedway throughout the 2017 season.
Follow Michel Beyore online at www.beyoreracing.ca and on Twitter at @54Buck.
Michel Beyore’s 2016 season is supported by the following corporate sponsors: Millenium Crane, Metals Plus, Stemac, Hoy’s Garage, CNC Machining, Praxair and MGS Custom Tune.
Prepared By Clayton Johns Media
claytonjohns@hotmail.com
Photo Attachment: Michel Beyore drives his DIRTcar Sportsman at Merrittville Speedway earlier this year. (Dale Calnan/Image Factor Media photo).
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