BOWMANVILLE, Ont. | The storm that battered southern Ontario Saturday afternoon didn’t spare the Mosport circuit, whose paddock looked like a devastated area as calm returned.
Obviously, among all the participants present, the space reserved for the organizers and teams of the Nissan Sentra Cup was the most affected.
Facilities blown away by the strong gusts were destroyed, including hospitality tents and race car shelters.
Didier Marseau estimates the damage sustained in this storm of rare intensity at several thousand dollars.
“Our structures need repairs and probably many of them need replacing,” said Nissan Canada communications director.
frightened pilots
The riders were on track for about twenty minutes when the sky literally fell on their heads.
“Some were very scared as they sat in their car, to add Marceau. They were afraid to see it fly away because the wind was so strong. »
The facilities of young driver Justin Arseneau, whose father Marc owns the Circuit ICAR at Mirabel, suffered serious damage. The trailer used to transport the Sentra by Nicholas Barette, son of humorist Michel Barrette, ended up on the other side of the paddocks after being blown away by the wind.
A couple of the company’s backup vehicles were also damaged, but the Nissan Z prototype, a very limited-production piece that serves as the lead car, suffered no scratches, much to Marceau’s relief.
Victory at Charbonneau
With Saturday’s race suspended, never to be resumed, the second race of the weekend was presented as planned on Sunday morning, despite heavy rain.
Simon Charbonneau took the win, beating Justin Arseneau by just 1.2 seconds. Alexandre Fortin accompanied her to the podium.
Valérie Limoges, Nicolas Miron, Sylvain Ouellet, Daniel Fortin, Nicolas Barrette, François Angers Routhier, Raphaël Saint-Pierre, Marie-Soleil Labelle and Max Poirier followed in turn.
The next two stages of the Nissan Sentra Cup will be held at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve as a prelude to the Canadian Grand Prix on June 18th and 19th. 30 pilots met there.