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Ranger Steals One Back At Montreal

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Written by Shon Sbarra/NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and Photo by Matthew Murnaghan/NASCAR | 30 August 2010

Andrew Ranger took one bump that nearly cost him the win and gave it right back to grab the checkered flag in the NAPA AUTOPRO 100 Sunday.

After losing the lead briefly to Jason Bowles on the white-flag lap, Ranger muscled past on the final turn to claim the victory in a NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 race that he had dominated until the final circuit around the 2.709-mile Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

“(Bowles) got into the back of me in the hairpin and when we got to the last chicane I moved him a little bit,” said Ranger. “I don’t know what happened after that, but I was able to get the win.”

It is Ranger's second win in three years at Montreal's 2.709-mile course; he was second in last year's event.

“I’m really happy to get the win in front of my (home) crowd and for the Dodge Dealers of Quebec, who supported me this year.”

Andrew Ranger won his third NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race of the season in Montreal.

It's the third win of the season -- all on road-courses -- for the Roxton Pond, Quebec, driver who is running a partial schedule in the series along with his NASCAR K&N Pro Series obligations. The two-time NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion has 12 career wins in the series with nine coming on road courses.

The restarts seemed to cause trouble for Ranger, who started from the pole position for the fourth time this season, but his car seemed to settle in on the longer green-flag runs.

“My car was all over the place on restarts,” he said. “But it got better the more laps we were able to run I was happy with the car all weekend.”

Bowles and Ranger ran 1-2, respectively, in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., earlier this year before Bowles ran out of gas 100 yards from the finish line and handed that win to Ranger. Sunday in Montreal, Bowles had several restarts to challenge Ranger including one on Lap 6 where they made contact in Turn 1 that briefly put Bowles into the lead. However, Ranger quickly regained the top spot.

Bowles took advantage of a green-white-checkered finish to make a move for the lead on Ranger in the hairpin Turn 10. Ranger wobbled from the contact and slipped back into second. As the leaders went through the final chicane, Ranger returned the favor. Bowles spun into the retaining wall while Ranger kept the momentum and took the lead.

After the contact between Ranger and Bowles, Don Thomson Jr. took the opportunity to finish second for his best series-career finish on a road-course. The veteran driver out of Hamilton, Ont., logged his fourth top-five finish in his last five starts including his first win of the season in his last outing on Aug. 21 at Mosport Speedway in Bowmanville, Ont.

“It was a pretty uneventful race for me,” said Thomson. “I was trying to save my car as best I could and these races almost always come down to a green-white-checkered finish and the Home Hardware Chevy was best there at the end.”

Robin Buck, of Campbellville, Ont., finished in third. It was his best finish since placing third in the 2007 Montreal event. He is a frequent competitor in series road-course races, but has been plagued by mechanical problems in recent starts. This time, however, he was able to drive his Durabody Ford to a solid finish.

“It was a busy race,” said Buck. “We started 13th and I thought a top-five finish would be good, so to get third is a bonus.

“We tried a new setup for qualifying and it obviously didn’t work, so we went back to what we know works and the car performed well.”

Scott Steckly and Jason Hathaway crossed the line in the fourth and fifth-place positions, respectively.

Kerry Micks Trevor Seibert, J.F. Dumoulin, Ron Beauchamp Jr. and John Farano rounded out the top 10.

Bowles, the 2009 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion, limped his car across the line in 20th with major hood damage.

The race was slowed due to caution four times for a total of nine laps and Ranger led a race-high 21 laps.

Points leader JR Fitzpatrick and his closest challenger DJ Kennington both suffered mechanical issues early. Fitzpatrick, who started on the front row alongside Ranger, picked up enough spots through attrition to finish 18th. Kennington completed just 14 laps of 24 laps and finished 28th. Fitzpatrick, who carried a 16-point lead into the race, extended his lead to 51 points with just three races left on the schedule.

Both Steckly and Micks capitalized on the opportunity and moved into striking distance of the two leaders should either or both encounter further misfortune. Micks now trails Fitzpatrick by 92 points and Steckly is 101 points off the pace.

Steckly rebounded from a disappointing finish on Aug. 21 at Mosport Speedway in Bowmanville, Ont., and earned the Autolite Spark Plugs Time To Change Your Position award while Michel Pilon collected the Coca-Cola Move of the Race award. He started from the 34th and final position and maneuvered his way to a 16th-place finish.

Race winner Ranger picked up the Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race award and the Mahle-Clevite Engine Builder of the Race award. He also notched the top position in the Dodge-Mopar Fast Five competition as the top-finishing Dodge in the event.

Jarrad Whissell earned the V-tech Free Pass bonus. He posted a 13th-place finish on the lead lap after being a lap down earlier in the race.

The next NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race will be the Wild Wing 300 presented by DriveWise at Barrie (Ont.) Speedway.

Dumas, Graf Come Out on Top at Mosport

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Written by Ryan Smith/American Le Mans Series and Photos by Dan Boyd | 30 August 2010

Klaus Graf and Romain Dumas won Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport on Sunday, taking Muscle Milk Team CytoSport’s Porsche RS Spyder to victory in a race called after 2:19 running. A heavy accident between Luke Hines and Jonny Cocker on Mosport International Raceway’s Andretti Straight damaged the Armco safety barrier beyond timely repair.

Patrón Highcroft Racing’s David Brabham and Simon Pagenaud finished second and still hold the lead in the LMP championship of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón heading into the final race in a month’s time at Road Atlanta’s Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA2. The red flag came following Hines’ hard crash into the safety barrier on the left side of the circuit on Mosport’s fastest section.

Officials from the International Motor Sports Association, the Series’ sanctioning body, estimated more than three hours of repair work to replace the barrier and restart the race. The event finished under yellow.

Muscle Milk’s Porsche was the quickest car in every session at Mosport during the weekend. This despite Dumas joining the team for the first time; the Porsche factory driver and reigning Le Mans 24 Hours winner for Audi subbed for team owner Greg Pickett, who was injured in testing at Mid-Ohio earlier this month.

The Muscle Milk Team CytoSport Porsche RS Spyder took the checkered flag in the Mobil 1 Presents the Grand Prix of Mosport.

Autocon Motorsports’ pairing of Johnny Mowlem and Toronto’s Tony Burgess placed third in class with their Lola B06/10-AER.

“This car had a really balanced package,” Graf said. “It has been developed a lot over the years, it's probably one of the best sports cars ever built. With this track you really have to work hard to find the right balance. I think we're learning a lot more with the Porsche engineers and the Michelin engineers. We get closer every race. And then to bring in the factory drivers, and someone like Romain, we get even that much closer.”

It showed. The Porsche never trailed, and Dumas set the track on fire in his opening 65-minute stint. He led by nearly 20 seconds at one point as Patrón Highcroft, Autocon Motorsports and Dyson Racing each swapped the second-place position early and often. Pagenaud had to drive hard to keep from going a lap down, and the final

“It was for sure a good stint,” said Dumas, who also won overall in a Porsche at Mosport in 2007. “I knew at the start I had to push because we were a bit slower on the straight. I was pushing hard for five or six laps, when I got more than a 10-second gap I started saving fuel. We lapped nearly every car. We had a good strategy and Klaus was really good in qualifying. We were confident for the weekend and we walked away with the win.”

And in the process kept CytoSport’s championship hopes alive.

“Obviously Romain had no trouble getting ahead,” Graf said. “The caution came out and I almost had a whole lap on the whole field. Most of the GT cars were fighting for position, so there were a lot of tough corners. I couldn't take too many risks because I had such a good lead. We had a really, really good package and I just wanted to stay close if the opportunity came maybe put Simon down.”

Patrick Long and Jörg Bergmeister were GT winners for the fourth time this year with their Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Flying Lizard Motorsports’ ace pairing solidified their hold on the class championship with a hard-fought victory that saw three manufacturers – Porsche, Ferrari and BMW – on the class podium.

“The start was wild. There was oil dry on the front straight down into turns 1 and 2 which made visibility really tough,” Long said. “It was really tense when it came down to the yellows, it made it more about strategy instead of running flat out. If it was any other weekend I might have let Oliver by and raced for points, but as a team we want to go out and go for the wins. We wouldn't want to disappoint anyone – the team, sponsors, friends, family, fans who came out to see us. So week-in and week-out we’re going for the win.”

The #45 Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR won the GT class for the fourth time this season.

Risi Competizione’s Toni Vilander and Gimmi Bruni placed second in their Ferrari F430 GT. Vilander started from the rear of the grid due to Jaime Melo being removed from the entry due to an illness. Bill Auberlen and Tommy Milner finished third for BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team.

Milner, Bergmeister and Bruni ran in that order, nose-to-tail for the better part of 20 minutes. Bergmeister made the winning pass at the 1:50 mark and brought Bruni with him past the BMW.

“It took a while to get by the BMW even though they had older tires,” Bergmeister said. “Every time we got close we picked up a bit of understeer. But (Milner’s) tires came off just enough I could get by him in Turn 1. I had just a bit more traction on the last turn; luckily he didn't defend too hard. Once I had no one in front of me, I could open a gap to Gimmi. Even if we went green again I knew we might be able to hold them off.”

Long and Bergmeister lead the class drivers championship by 18 points over Bruni. In the team and manufacturer championships, Flying Lizard and Porsche have only a 1-point lead over BMW Rahal Letterman and BMW.

“It's better to have the 4-point advantage from today,” Bergmeister said. “The outlook (for Petit Le Mans) doesn't change. We still have to finish the last race. We don't want to take too many risks but we still have to stay focused.”

Gunnar Jeannette and Elton Julian were LMP Challenge winners for the fourth time for Green Earth Team Gunnar with their ORECA FLM09. The victory moved Jeannette and Julian into a tie with Level 5 Motorsports’ Scott Tucker for the class championship; Tucker drove to a runner-up finish with Christophe Bouchut.

The G-Oil GETG car led all but nine laps. Julian went around PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports’ Ricardo Gonzalez on the race’s seventh lap

“We had a lot of targets for the day,” Julian said. “I either had to follow somebody all day long, or pass them and open the gap. I got the lead and I got to just putting down fast laps. I opened that gap and put almost 30 seconds against the 52 team, which says a lot because that team has been so quick and so strong. And we didn't have a car that was quick right as we got off the truck. Our team worked all weekend getting us more and more speed.”

Green Earth Team Gunnar moved into a tie for the LMPC points lead with their victory at Mosport.

Frankie Montecalvo and Christian Zugel placed third in class for Genoa Racing. But for the third time in four races, the day belonged to GETG. Jeannette posted the fastest lap of the race, pretty impressive for a car still on the same motor that was in the car when the team took delivery of it in the winter.

“What a great job the team did today. It stayed green a long time. It made my job really easy,” Jeannette said. “It wasn't like Road America where we really had to fight, but we'll take this win.

“We are up to 83.5 hours on the engine at the completion of this race,” he added. “I was happy we didn't have to do another 29 minutes on it. Just mentioning too, G-Oil and their product is really holding up. Some of our other competitors who aren't running G-Oil have had some engine troubles. We did finally change the oil today though.”

Velox Racing won its first American Le Mans Series race as Shane Lewis and Lawson Aschenbach drove their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to a hard-earned victory. The duo was running second to Hines when the ORBIT/Paul Miller Racing entry crashed.

The Velox duo drove back from a pitstop penalty during the race’s first full-course caution. Lewis and Aschenbach ran second to the ORBIT car the entire way.

“Shane was driving so well; we stayed with the No. 48 the whole time and the two of us had almost lapped the field,” Aschenbach said. “The team was working hard all weekend and we knew we could make it (the penalty) up on the track. We knew it was a big wreck, we didn't know it was going to take so long.”

Velox Racing captured its first ever GTC win at Mosport.

Class championship leaders Tim Pappas and Jeroen Bleekemolen placed second for Black Swan Racing. Alex Job Racing’s Bill Sweedler and Mitch Pagerey came home third.

“I knew my job was just to stay on (the No. 48’s) bumper for the solid hour and just keep pushing and pushing,” Lewis said. “I knew we didn't have to take any risks and just wait for him to make a mistake, and he never did. But it made for a great afternoon. I don't tap too many products or talk about them, but we are all Porsches in the GTC and look at this car. There were two bad accidents this weekend and both drivers walked away fine. Plus this motor has 58 hours on it without a rebuild. Now to have a win on that motor. That says a lot.”

The Brabham/Pagenaud pairing won the LMP portion of the MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge, given to the entry that goes the farthest the fastest with the least environmental impact. Corvette Racing’s pairing of Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen were the GT winners.

The final round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA2 at Road Atlanta. The 1,000-mile/10-hour race is set for 11:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, October 2. SPEED will air the race starting at 11 a.m., with live radio coverage available on American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche – a production of Radio Show Limited – as well as Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 242. Americanlemans.com will stream qualifying live starting at 3:15 p.m. ET on Friday, October 1. Visit the Series’ schedule page for ticket and accommodation information. Live Timing and Scoring, track schedule, entry list and much, much more will be available on Racehub at americanlemans.com.

You can follow the Series on Twitter (almsnotes) and on our Facebook page and the official YouTube channel.

Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport

Mosport International Raceway, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada

Sunday’s results

1. (1) Romain Dumas, Ales; Klaus Graf, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (1, LMP), 99.

2. (3) David Brabham, Maidenhead, GB; Simon Pagenaud, Montmorrillon, FR; HPD ARX-01c (2, LMP), 99.

3. (5) Tony Burgess, Toronto; Johnny Mowlem, London; Lola B06 10/AER (3, LMP), 98.

4. (8) Elton Julian, Santa Monica, CA; Gunnar Jeannette, Salt Lake City, UT; Oreca FLM09 (1, LMPC), 95.

5. (10) Scott Tucker, Leawood, KS; Christophe Bouchut, France; Oreca FLM09 (2, LMPC), 95.

6. (4) Paul Drayson, London, GB; Jonny Cocker, Guisborough, GB; Lola B09 60/Judd (4, LMP), 95.

7. (2) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, Bracken, Yorkshire; Lola B09 86/Mazda (5, LMP), 94.

8. (7) Christian Zugel, Holmdel, NJ; Frankie Montecalvo, Highlands, NJ; Oreca FLM09 (3, LMPC), 93.

9. (21) Andy Wallace, England; Scott Tucker, Leawood, KS; Oreca FLM09 (4, LMPC), 93.

10. (6) Ricardo Gonzalez, Monterrey; Luis Diaz, Mexico City; Oreca FLM09 (5, LMPC), 92.

11. (11) Patrick Long, Bellaire, FL; Joerg Bergmeister, Langenfield, DE; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (1, GT), 92.

12. (28) Toni Vilander, Finland; Gianmaria Bruni, Rome, IT; Ferrari 430 GT (2, GT), 92.

13. (12) Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, CA; Tommy Milner, Leesburg, VA; BMW E92 M3 (3, GT), 92.

14. (13) Oliver Gavin, Yardley Hastings, GB; Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (4, GT), 92.

15. (15) Johnny O`Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (5, GT), 92.

16. (14) Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Ferrari 430 GT (6, GT), 91.

17. (9) Kyle Marcelli, Barrie, ON; Chapman Ducote, Miami Beach, FL; Oreca FLM09 (6, LMPC), 91.

18. (17) Bryan Sellers, Braselton, GA; Wolf Henzler, Nuertingen, DE; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (7, GT), 91.

19. (20) Ed Brown, Las Vegas, NV; Guy Cosmo, West Palm Beach, FL; Ferrari 430 GT (8, GT), 90.

20. (27) Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (9, GT), 90.

21. (19) Paul Gentilozzi, Lansing, MI; Marc Goossens, Huntersville, NC; Jaguar XKRS (10, GT), 87.

22. (24) Shane Lewis, Jupiter, FL; Lawson Aschenbach, West Palm Beach, FL; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (1, GTC), 86.

23. (23) Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Jeroen Bleekemolen, Monte Carlo, Monaco; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (2, GTC), 86.

24. (25) Bill Sweedler, Westport, CT; Mitch Pagery, Deerfield Beach, FL; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (3, GTC), 86.

25. (22) Bryce Miller, Summit, NJ; Luke Hines, Essex; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (4, GTC), 78.

26. (16) Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Dirk Mueller, Monte Carlo, Monaco; BMW E92 M3 (11, GT), 48.

27. (18) David Murry, Atlanta, GA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Design Ford GT (12, GT), 48.

28. (26) Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Lola B06/10 AER (6, LMP), 43.

29. (29) Henri Richard, Los Altos Hills, CA; Andy Lally, New York, NY; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (5, GTC), 32, Accident.

Ciekiewicz Repeat Winner at the Grand Prix of Mosport

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Written by Perry Iannuzzi/Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship | 30 August 2010

Dave Ciekiewicz repeated his wire- to-wire win on Saturday, by leading every lap to take the checkered flag in Sunday’s feature race in the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Toyo Tires at the Grand Prix of Mosport.

Starting from pole position, Ciekiewicz used a good start to keep his Donington Motorsports Subaru WRX ahead of the fellow front row starter, Gregory Pootmans in the Team Aldo/Northwest BMW 328. The two Super Touring (ST) machines engaged in a race long dice, and while Pootmans never lost contact with Ciekiewicz, he was unable to get by the black Subaru.

Ciekiewicz led all 20 laps and crossed the finish line with a 0.837 advantage over Pootmans.

Sasha Anis started and finished third in ST in a G1 Racing Hyundai Genesis.

“It was pretty much identical to yesterday. I would get a little gap on the straight, but [Pootmans] was all over my butt in 5a, 5b and knocked me around a couple of times, but I was able to get out of 5b usually pretty good and pulled a gap, so it was a good race. I’m just happy to gap the points and move a little bit closer in the overall championship lead,” Ciekiewicz explained.

After starting from the third position, Tom Kwok got by Saturday’s race winner and polesitter, Kurt Langeveldt, late in the race. Kwok’s M&S Racing Honda Civic took the checkered flag ahead of Langeveldt’s Can-Saf Motorsports Mazda Protégé by 0.291 seconds.

“Thank you to my team for giving me a great car,” a happy Kwok said afterwards.

Anthony Rapone rounded out the Touring class podium in a Durabond/Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si.

The NOS Energy Drink Fastest Lap Award went to Dave Ciekiewicz in Super Touring who turned in a 1:30.810. Tom Kwok had the fastest lap in Touring with a best time of 1:36.498.

The MK Technologies Hard Charger Award went to David Bensadoun's BMW 328 of Team Aldo/Northwest, who finished 7th after starting 29th.

The ANZE Suspension Hard Luck Award went to Super Touring car driver Michael Delle Donne of RMP Competition who sat out the race because he donated an ECU and an alternator from his BMW 330i to team mate Rocco Marciello’s car. Despite his efforts, Marciello lasted only seven laps in race.

The final stop of the season is the Sundown Enduro at ICAR in Mirabel, Quebec, September 11-12.

The Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship Presented By Toyo Tires is Canada's Premiere Touring Car Series and features Canada's Best Drivers Racing Today's Hottest Touring Cars. The Championship is showcased at eight event weekends in Quebec and Ontario with marquee events at Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres and Honda Indy Toronto.

Downs Boys Take Two of Three Podium Spots, Weisberg Wins L2

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Written by Diane Swintal/Cooper Tires Prototype Lites | 30 August 2010

Last week, it was Antonio Downs who lamented that his brothers had not joined him on the Lites 1 victory podium. Today, it was Lucas and Matt Downs holding up their end of the bargain, finishing first and second in Round 13 of the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship.

Instead of the usual 45-minute event, the race was a 75-minute, 48-lap endurance event that included a mandatory four-minute pit stop – simulating a degree of what the drivers in the American Le Mans Series by Tequila Patrón experience. The pit stop added an entirely new realm of strategy and chance to the equation, as Lucas Downs, driving the #79 Eurosport Racing/Sam’s Club Élan DP02, used the pit stop to gain the lead. During the first full course caution after the pit window opened, Downs waited an extra lap after the leaders came in, came out with the lead and kept it until the end.

“We got lucky,” said Downs. “I stayed out an extra lap and one way or another, it worked. Charlie and Matt were faster than me when Gary wrecked – I appreciate the opening, but we were fortunate. I have to say, 75 minutes was just long enough! I didn’t need it any longer with those guys going that fast.”

Matt Downs (#12 Eurosport Racing/Hormel Bacon Bits) was happy with his second place finish, but noted the missing family member, with Antonio Downs (#4 Eurosport Racing/Lamex Foods) just off the podium in fourth.

“It was close racing,” said Downs. “After the pit stops, the car really came in, but I’m happy with second place behind my brother – we’re close to this podium deal with all three of us!”

It was a tough day for CORE autosport, as pole sitter Gary Gibson (#13 Perfect Pedal) crashed avoiding a car returning to the track after a spin and #54 Jonathan Bennett (Composite Resources) spun out of the last corner and was hit by another car on lap 46. But championship leader Charlie Shears (#21 US Builders) was the one positive note, finishing third.

In Lites 2, John Weisberg (#75 BERG Racing/Redcom) and Lee Alexander (#23 Factory 48 Motorsports/ APE Raceparts) battled back and forth all day, with Weisberg coming out on top and happy to see the finish.

“75 minutes is really long!” said Weisberg. “We made a strategic mistake on the stop and ended up pitting under green, but luckily I was able to lay down some really fast laps. The last yellow let me catch up to the field – I caught Lee (Alexander, #23 Factory 48 Motorsports/APE Raceparts), then he got caught up with a Lites 1 car and I was able to get by. I owe this all to my crew, they did a fantastic job.”

The Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship features racing between two sports racer prototype classes, Lites 1 and Lites 2, presenting a dimension of competition as drivers must be aware of classes with distinctly different speeds as they navigate the race track. This is the same challenge faced by the drivers of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón.

The Championship concludes with Rounds 14 and 15 at the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, September 29 through October 2. Follow along on the race weekend at www.litestiming.com, on Facebook and Twitter and visit www.prototypelites.com for the latest schedule and updates.

 

Rampelberg Grabs Wild MX-5 Cup Win, Championship Lead At Mosport

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Written by Reece White/SCCA and Photo by Al Merion | 30 August 2010

Brad Rampelberg, of San Jose, Calif., earned a wild SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup win Sunday at Mosport International Raceway, part of the Mobil 1 Grand Prix of Mosport weekend, in a battle with Lyonel Kent, of Knoxville, Tenn., and Russell Walker, of Dallas, Texas, that wasn’t decided until the final corner.

At the finish of the 28-lap, 68.852-mile race that averaged 90.361 mph flag-to-flag, Rampelberg had grabbed a 0.255-second victory, his fifth of the season in the No. 4 AMG Racing/Mazda/Cobalt Brakes Mazda MX-5. The path to the checkered flag in round nine of 11 in the season, however, was anything but pretty.

Rampelberg, who entered the weekend third in the championship and locked in a season-long fight with leader Justin Piscitell and teammate Michael Cooper, had struggled through the practice and qualifying sessions early in the weekend at the 10-turn, 2.459-mile circuit east of Toronto.

With the win at Mosport, Brad Rampelberg took over the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup points lead.

“Mosport is an old-school track,” Rampelberg said at the finish. “I’ve raced here before, and I have to be honest, this track is faster than I am. It’s a great win here – there are a few classic tracks in North America, and winning at Road America and winning at Mosport is just amazing. You don’t get much better than that.”

While Rampelberg fell from his seventh starting spot to ninth on the first lap, polesitter Nick Evans, in the No. 28 Team MER/Mazda/Sparco Mazda MX-5, and Cooper, in the No. 84 AMG Racing/Bromante Landscaping & Design MX-5, set the pace up front.

By lap two, Piscitell, who had started sixth in the No. 89 Team MER/DAMG Worldwide/Merchant Services MX-5, had joined the two leaders up front. Trying to slip past Cooper for third through the left-hand turn nine, Piscitell nosed ahead of Cooper. The two made contact, moving Piscitell off the racing surface at the entrance of turn 10 and into the tire barrier.

The contact moved both racers to the end of the field, with Piscitell suffering the heaviest damage. He would finish 13th, eight laps down. Cooper finished 11th.

Cooper was penalized 10 points and placed on two-race probation for his role in the incident.

Back at the front, Evans led a six-car breakaway for the lead that became a five-car train on lap eight when Jesse Combs lost control of his No. 77 ALARA Racing/coolgas.com MX-5 and made contact with the tire barriers, also in the final turn. Combs would rejoin the race, but a trip down pit lane to check the damage left him running 12th at the finish.

Evans continued to lead through lap 13, but transmission troubles relegated the driver who had topped both practice and qualifying to a sixth-place finish.

Ara Malkhassian, driving the No. 11 ALARA Racing/Bulldog Productions MX-5, took the point on lap 14, and then relinquished the lead to Rampelberg on lap 15. After turning the race’s fastest lap of 1:36.711 (91.534 mph), Malkhassian fell off the pace, leaving Rampelberg, Walker and Kent to battle for the lead.

Rampelberg led the final 13 laps, with Kent and Russell swapping the second position on lap 22. On the final lap, Kent actually moved into the lead through turn seven, but the right hand final turns left Rampelberg on the inside and just ahead at the finish line.

“Nick Evans and Michael Cooper were the two guys to beat this weekend, and I was just hoping to be a part of that train,” Rampelberg said. “I had to race smart, and there was a bunch of attrition. The AMG guys gave me a great car, and I’m just happy to be here. I got raced really clean by Russell Walker and Lyonel Kent at the end, and it was another great racing finish. I don’t like to work this hard, but we needed this win.”

For Kent, it was his best finish since a win at Road Atlanta in round two.

“I had my work cut out for me today, starting back in eighth,” Kent said. “ALARA Racing gave me a good car. The qualifying strategy didn’t work out the way we had planned. The first couple of laps were pretty crazy, and I just wanted to keep my nose clean and make sure the Bulldog Productions car was there at the end. That’s what paid off was patience, and I slowly picked cars off one-by-one.

“It came down to Brad, Russell and myself. I got a good draft on Brad coming down the back straight and we went side-by-side through eight, nine and 10. It was a close race and it’s great to be back on the podium.”

Walker’s third-place finish was by far his best of the season in MX-5 Cup. Driving a partial schedule, Walker had yet to finish in the top-10 in four previous races but qualified third and was able to run in the lead back for the entire race at Mosport.

“I’ve been here twice with Star Mazda, and it helped me get up to speed quickly,” Walker said. “The Team MER guys really helped me get up to speed this weekend. For all the open-wheel guys who think this is easy, they’re in for a shock. It’s been a big challenge to adapt to these cars, only running four races this weekend, but the work paid off this weekend. It’s been an amazing experience, but we’re getting there finally and it’s good to get my first pro podium.”

Jeff Mosing drove the No. 30 Team MER/Frank’s International/RaceNowForAutism MX-5 to a career-best fourth place finish, one day after his best-ever qualifying effort left him starting fifth. Mosing fell back early, but continued to turn laps approaching the times of the leaders.

Alfred Caiola also earned his top career finish, finishing fifth in the No. 09 AMG/B&L Management MX-5 after qualifying 11. Caiola passed the struggling Evans on lap 23 to move into the top-five.

The weekend gives Rampelberg the edge in the Championship battle with two races remaining both during a doubleheader weekend at Miller Motorsports Park. In third place and trailing Piscitell by 12 entering the weekend, Rampelberg now leads Piscitell by 16 points (482 – 466) after earning 61 points with the round nine win. Cooper trails Rampelberg by 28 points in the championship hunt. Evans (413 points) and Combs (404 points) complete the top five.

Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup rules allow each driver to drop the lowest point-scoring race from their final tally. With the excluded race, Rampelberg leads by 21 points over Piscitell, with Cooper 28 points in arrears of Rampelberg.

The SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup finishes the season with a doubleheader weekend at Miller Motorsports Park, Sept. 10-12. For more information and results, visit www.mx-5cup.com.

Follow the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup on Twitter @ MazdaMX5Cup.

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