Double-Double for Team Octane at Mosport

Steve · May 26, 2012

Double-Double for Team Octane at Mosport

May 26, 2012

(MontrÃ©al, QuÃ©bec, Canada) â€“The weather was perfect and so were the results for the Touring cars of Team Octane during the first event of the Canadian Touring car season at Mosport from May 18-20, 2012.

Karl Thomson, team owner of Compass360 the Grand-Am and World Challenge mega-team, joined Team Octane for a one-off, but set the tone on Saturday, capturing pole position behind the wheel of the Castrol MINI Cooper S JCW. A great result considering it was his first day behind the wheel. His teammate Michel Sallenbach driving the Clinique du Pneu #46 MINI was right behind him. Newcomer to the series and rookie Paul Gravel driving the #48 MINI GENUINE PARTS car for his very first professional event qualified a respectable 7th position.

Thomson, who pulled a great start, stayed at the front for the entire first race while Sallenbach tried to catch him, but ran out of laps before he was able to attempt anything while keeping the pressure on his teammate. â€œI am ecstatic to start the season with a 1-2; this track has been tough to us in the past so this is a great accomplishment. It shows the hard work that the crew has performed over the winter, we could not be happierâ€ claimed Team Owner Alain LauziÃ¨re. â€œI want to thank Alain and his team. This was a lot of fun and I am glad to come back to Canadian Touring, the intense format of the short races makes for some exciting racingâ€ expressed Thomson.

The roles were reversed for the Sunday race, but the results were the same with another fantastic 1-2 with this time Sallenbach leading Thomson. â€œI knew I needed to get Karl at the start as the two cars are equal and it would have been difficult to get by Karlâ€ mentioned the winner Sallenbach. Paul Gravel improved his lap times once again and managed an exciting fourth position. â€œWe are extremely proud of Paulâ€™s performance this weekendâ€ expressed Team Owner LauziÃ¨re.

The weekend also marked the introduction of the new B-Spec class. With cars virgin of any prior testing, P.J. Groenke driving the Tundra, Verax.ca MINI Cooper #8 captured the third starting position while Andre Rapone managed a fifth in his very first session behind the Durabond #73 MINI Cooper.

The two teammates would cruise together pretty well foot to the floor for the duration of the event, exchanging positions to finish in fourth and fifth position as the checkered flag was waved. The second race was more eventful as P.J. ended his race in the guardrail after contact with a competitor while Andre soldiered on to finish in fourth position.

Team partners include MINI GENUINE PARTS, Castrol, Durabond, MINI.ca, Bully Clutch, Revolution MINI Works, Perry Auto, Carrosserie Touchette, La Clinique du Pneu Granby, Lettrage Raoul, ASG Accessoire de Soudure Granby and Carbotech Brakes.

The 2012 season of the Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Continental tire will join the Formula 1 show on June 8-10 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in QuÃ©bec for the Formula 1 Grand-Prix. The Championship competes throughout 8 weekends of racing. Details are available at CTCC: Canadian Touring Car Championship.

Contact: Alain LauziÃ¨re â€“ 450-455-2468 ([email protected])
Photos by Richard Coburn except where noted
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minimark · May 26, 2012

Congrats guys on some great RESULTS!!!

Steve · May 30, 2012

Canada: Perfect Start for Team Octane. (MiniMotorsport.com)

30 May 2012

The first round of the Canadian Touring Car Championship saw Team Octane celebrate a double double with its MINI cars, making it our MINI Star of the Month.

Perfect weather and a perfect result for Team Octane at the opening round of the new Canadian Touring Car Championship (CTCC) season: in mid-May, team principal Alain LauziÃ¨re sent four MINI Cooper S cars into action at the Mosport Park circuit north-east of Toronto. Two of his cars sprinted to first and second places in the touring car category in both race one and two â€“ a classic double double for Team Octane and a perfect start to the season.

Despite only having had one day in which to prepare in the MINI, Karl Thomson guided his number 47 MINI to victory in race one. His team-mate Michel Sallenbach in the number 46 MINI crossed the finish line just behind him to take second place in the class. The second race followed just one day later, and produced another excellent result â€“ only in reverse order. This time it was Michel celebrating the win, while Karl had to settle for the runner-up spot. â€œI am ecstatic to start the season with a 1-2. It shows the hard work that the crew has put in over the winter, " said team principal Alain LauziÃ¨re. "And the race was a lot of fun too."

As a successful motorsport team in Canada for many years, Team Octane will be delighted to hear the latest news from MINI Canada, who have recently announced their intention to promote outstanding performances in the CTCC and autumnâ€™s Targa Newfoundland. "The MINI motorsport heritage is impressive and has been part of the brand since the 60s â€“ with wins in big events such as the Rally Monte Carlo, Targa Newfoundland and most recently the Dakar Rally, as well as track racing in MINI CHALLENGE events and the CTCC," said Adam Shaver, Head of MINI Canada. "We have launched this programme to show our support." Top-three finishes in the CTCC and at the Targa Newfoundland will be rewarded with financial support from MINI Canada.

Send in your suggestions for the MINI Star of the Month.

Team Octane finished first in the open class at the Targa Newfoundland in 2010 and finished runner-up in the touring class of the CTCC in the same year. In 2007 and 2009, Alain LauziÃ¨reâ€™s team went one better and won the CTCC touring class. As such, Team Octane is certainly not lacking experience, and Alainâ€™s team was born with the will to win. The next outing in the CTCC is just around the corner: the second round of the Canadian Touring Car Championship will be held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve from 8th to 10th June, and Team Octane will be looking to continue its rich vein of form.

MINI Motorsport would like to congratulate Karl, Michel and Alain LauziÃ¨reâ€™s team on its excellent start to the season, and hereby crowns them Team of the Month for May. Every month, from now on, we will present and take a look behind the scenes of a MINI team that has produced outstanding performances. We are looking forward to the MINI Motorsport familyâ€™s next success in June. Post your story here. 3, 2, 1, GO MINI.
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sdmidget · May 31, 2012

Well done!!!

rum4 · May 31, 2012

congrats guys

Nathan · May 31, 2012

Great result. Looking forward to seeing Team Octane have a great season.

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