“Ontario-based Formula Ford team grabs wins and podiums at Mirabel racing facility during busy five-week stretch of racing”
Brantford, Ontario – September 15 – Britain West Motorsport, Canada’s leading Formula Ford competition group, celebrated their winning ways for a second straight weekend and third event in a row. Heading to the ICAR facility located at the Mirabel Airport near Montreal, Britain West Motorsport completed an outstanding weekend taking four podiums and six top tens. Making their first appearance at the unique facility, BWM focused on car set-up to keep them at the front of the field with all three drivers over the double-header weekend. The team is now three-for-three taking the win at GP3R followed by the top spot at Mosport and now another first place at ICAR.
Leading the way for the BWM crew was recent GP3R winner Nathan Blok who took the win on Sunday along with a third place finish in the Saturday round. Back-to-back podiums has the talented teen on top of the points standings in the Pro Division as he looks to take his first series title. Blok was fast all weekend staying inside the top five through all the official timed sessions. In the Saturday feature race, the Pembrook, Ontario resident took a shot at the lead in the closing stages. Not able to complete the pass the 17-year-old racer charged back on the final lap to grab a podium spot. On Sunday it was Blok leading the chase pack as the leader began to pull out a gap. With the lead car suffering a mechanical failure, it was Blok taking over the point and bringing home the win for Britain West Motorsport.
Having another breakout weekend was Sergio Pasian of St. Jean de Arc, Quebec. Pasian, running in his Formula Ford in the Pro Division, collected two top tens on the weekend taking sixth place on Saturday followed by fourth on Sunday. On Saturday the Brazilian ran a great race, running in a tight battle and bringing home his best finish of the season with a sixth place. Sunday was another strong day as Pasian ran with the chase pack looking to hit the podium. Sitting in third in the closing stages, Pasian was passed under yellow for third place, but the moved was missed by all of the officials. While disappointing to be robbed of a podium, Pasian was excited about the pace of his racing at the challenging ICAR facility.
Having his best weekend of the season was Guy Gilain of St. Eustache, Quebec who took the pole in the Masters class on both days, and followed that up with second on Saturday and the Masters class win on Sunday. A short in the electrical system kept Gilain off the top step on the podium on Saturday. A great effort on Saturday night saw the BWM team find the problem, a result of the extremely bumpy ICAR layout. Sunday was redemption time for Gilain who took command of the Masters class winning by a large margin at the flag. Gilain has been in the hunt for the Masters crown all season long and his solid performance this weekend will keep him at the sharp end of the rankings.
“It was a great weekend for sure. We had our cars set-up very well for this very challenging track. Nathan was really strong all weekend and took his second win on the season,” comments Britain West Motorsport owner David Clubine. “Sergio had his best weekend ever. It is unfortunate that he was passed under yellow and it was missed, however it will only serve to make him stronger in his quest for a podium finish. Guy was the class of the field in Masters and really gutted out a great performance all weekend long.”
The Britain West Motorsport team will head back to Mosport International this weekend for the second to last round of the Ontario Formula Ford Challenge. Making the trip will be Garett Grist, a member of the Sofina Foods Driver Development Program. Grist currently sits second in the series points tally in his rookie season of racing. Joining Grist in the A Class cars will be Britain West Motorsport team principal David Clubine. The multi-time Ontario Formula Ford Challenge race winner will be making his first appearance in 2011.
“The team is really on a roll right now. The schedule is gruelling, but when you keep winning it helps make it a bit more fun,” continues Clubine. “Our big focus is to get back to the pole position this weekend at Mosport. My personal focus is to help Garett work on some of his weaknesses. He has incredible speed and with a few tweaks he should be able to get close to the track record.”
A fixture in the Canadian motor sports scene for nearly two decades, Britain West is the exclusive Van Diemen Chassis and Dunlop Tire importer for Canada. They also represent AimSport Mychron Data Systems, Penske Shocks and HANS Device. Britain West are also known as the leading engine builder for the popular Formula Ford power plant making use of an in-house machine shop, tooling and test dyno. All the staff at Britain West has an eye for detail and put customer service first.
For complete team information be sure to check out www.britainwestmotorsport.com. For more information on Britain West Motorsport and this news release please contact Dave Clubine at dclubine@sentex.net or call 519-756-1610.
