TORONTO: The fourth-annual Nissan Micra Cup officially launched its 2018 season, this past weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, northeast of Toronto, Ontario. Despite Mother Nature forcing the drivers and spectators to manage some extreme weather conditions, it did not stop the Nissan Micra Cup from presenting two hotly contested events, won by two-time champion Olivier Bédard, (2015, 2017) on Saturday and by Kevin King on Sunday.
Friday’s sunny qualifying session set the tone for the weekend, when the top five drivers finished within three-tenths of a second. Olivier Bédard was the fastest qualifier, ahead of Normand Boyer, the reigning Senior Class champion, followed by Kevin King, Fadi Mourad and Valérie Limoges.
On Saturday, a very different scene awaited Nissan Micra Cup fans at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Despite a mix of hot sun, rain and dense fog throughout the day, drivers forged on with the first race of the season.
Olivier Bédard set the tone from the start, on his way to an indisputable victory. There were several battles behind him, most notably, the duel between Normand Boyer and Kevin King for second place. Boyer eventually overtook King, who finished third last season.
Novice champion Jake Exton earned a fourth-place finish after a close fight with Peter Dyck, the top finishing Ontario driver. Frédéric Bernier, Michael Habrich, Edward Wong, American Mike Ogren and Austin Riley, rounded out the Top 10.
With the sun back out and after several fan activities, including autograph sessions and a parade lap for Nissan Micra and Z owners, the second race of the weekend and of the 2018 season once again saw Olivier Bédard and novice Mourad share the start line.
As soon as the race began, King, Bédard, Limoges, Boyer and Mourad exchanged positions in one of the best battles the series has ever seen. The race concluded in this same order, after contact between Edward Wong and Peter Dyck forced a neutralization in the last five minutes of competition. Jake Exton, Frédéric Bernier, Mike Ogren, Austin Riley and Sylvain Ouellet rounded out the top 10.
In the drivers’ championship, Olivier Bédard leads ahead of Kevin King and Normand Boyer, who is also in the top spot of the Senior Class standings. With his fifth-place overall finish on Sunday, Fadi Mourad is the highest-ranking novice.
The Nissan Micra Cup cars are based on the road-legal version of the Micra, which has a base price of $9,988.