“Twin 2nd place finishes at Tremblant despite injury”
Pembroke, Ontario – July 10, 2012 – Nathan Blok, the 18-year old 2011 Formula 1600 Champion, had his battles to overcome during the Summer Classic weekend at the famed Circuit Mont-Tremblant. The fifth and sixth races of the 2012 Formula Tour 1600 Championship took place under very hot & humid conditions while Blok dealt with a wrist injury.
A shunt by Michel Bonnet during Saturday’s qualifying session left Blok off-track in a tire wall. Luckily the car received minimal damage, but the driver was left with a sprained wrist. Back on the circuit, Blok qualified his #1 Aurora Tools / Great Slave Helicopter Van Dieman 2nd out of a field of 26 competitors and shared the front row of the starting grid with pole-sitter Matthew Di Leo. Despite the painful injury, Blok would finish the weekend with the help of a lot of ice, Advil and a Tensor bandage while he was on the track.
The first F-1600 feature race of the weekend (Race 5 of 2012) quickly became a 3-way duel between Blok, Di Leo and Michael Adams who started from the third spot on the grid. Despite a full-course caution that brought out the Safety Car for two laps, Blok and Adams traded positions for the entire 15-lap heat.
Coming into the final lap, Di Leo was in the lead when Adams attempted to pass Blok in Turn 4 but was not able to complete the move. Blok and Adams exited side-by-side and remained that way all the way to Turn 7 when Blok came out ahead. Blok defended another passing attempt by Adams in the next corner and would take the checkered flag in 2nd place.
“From the time I was sitting on the grid I knew I would be at a big disadvantage because of the injury I had from qualifying, but fortunately I was able to put it aside, and fight with Matthew (Di Leo) and Michael (Adams) for the early lead. After the caution, Matthew got an excellent start, and began to pull away, but it was a very intense and fair race for second with Michael, and I was pleased to have come out on top.”
Sunday’s qualifying session for Race 6 of 2012 saw Blok a mere 0.02 seconds behind 2nd place Adams while Di Leo repeated his pole-position.
At the drop of the green flag, Adams made a move for the lead passing Di Leo in Turn 1. Blok stuck with the leaders and in Turn 7 he made his own pass on Di Leo grabbing 2nd place. Now pressuring the leader, Adams put two tires off the road during Lap 3 and Blok capitalized on his mistake taking the lead. Blok and Adams would trade places for the next few laps passing the first lapped car of the field on Lap 8.
A full-course caution eliminated the 11.5 second gap between the two front-runners and Jesse Lazare in 3rd position but when the course returned to green, Blok and Adams made an awesome restart to open the gap between them and Lazare leaving themselves to battle for the win. On the 15th and final lap, Adams got by Blok in Turn 10 for the lead. Blok made two attempts to pass, under the bridge and again in the infamous Namarrow Corner but was unable to make the move stick, settling for his second 2nd place finish of the weekend.
“I was able to pass Mathew and Michael very early in lap 1, and I drafted with Michael to pull a big lead from the rest of the field. Unfortunately the late race caution reduced the gap we had, and after the restart, there was only a few laps to go, and we both fought for the lead to the end. Although i came in second, I am pleased to have extended my lead in the points heading into the prestigious GP3R! I would like to thank the Britain West Motorsports team for preparing an awesome car all weekend, and my many sponsors and supporters for helping me get to the podium.”
Blok enters Rounds 8 & 9 leading the 2012 Formula Tour 1600 Championship by 39 points.
For information and sponsorship info, contact Steve Blok at (613) 582-3867.
Nathan Blok Quick Facts: Nathan Blok is a 18-year old racer from Beachburg, Ontario and he is the currently leading the Formula Tour 1600 Series. Blok has been racing for 12 years beginning in karting and earned his first victory in cars in 2010 with a 1st place finish in the Ontario Formula Ford Challenge race at Calabogie, Ontario. He holds the F1600 track record at the Circuit Gilles Villeneauve and he is the youngest driver to win at the Trois Rivieres GP. He is the reigning 2011 Formula Tour 1600 Champion.
Away from the track, Blok holds a 1st Degree Black Belt in Karate, and is an honour student at Fellowes High School, (Pembroke, Ontario). This fall he will be attending the Mechanical Engineering Technology course at Algonquin College (Ottawa, Ontario). For more information on Nathan Blok, visit www.nathanblok.com.
Sponsors of Nathan Blok Racing: Sponsors of Nathan Blok Racing: Nathan would like to thank his sponsors for their continuing support – Aurora Tools (www.aurora-tools.com), Discovery Air (http://www.discoveryair.com), Great Slave Helicopters (www.greatslaveheli.com), NAPA Auto Parts (www.napacanada.com), Sun Sign Graphics (www.sunsigngraphics.com), Mursatt Chemicals (www.mursattchemicals.com), Arch Chemicals (www.archchemicals.com), Donley Pool Service, Beach-West Pharmacy, Lad’s Auto Recyclers, Engine Research (www.engineresearchinc.com), Stream Function (www.streamfunction.ca), SRB Technologies (www.betalight.com/index_can.htm), Sandra’s Embroidery Works, Woody’s Motor Vehicle Repair, TD Products (http://www.tdproducts.com), Lions Club, Kings Sports and his many personal sponsors.
