Bowmanville, Ontario - This past weekend, Alex Tagliani and Theetge Motorsport faced adversity at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, where NASCAR Canada kicked off its 2024 season. Despite a few challenges, Tagliani and his team demonstrated great team spirit and rallied together to finish the race in 10th place.

 

Tagliani started the weekend by securing the 6th fastest lap time in Practice. He then qualified 7th, a mere 0.638 from pole position, considering a concerning disadvantage as his machine didn’t match the power of his competitors. The race was challenging as strategy wasn’t on his side, but he masterfully managed the winding corners of CTMP and finished 10th in the ASSA ABLOY Accentra 200.

 

Tagliani remarked, "Overall, it was a really good and fun weekend. Considering everything that this team had to go through in the past month, my overall take on this is that we have an amazing group of guys. I'm extremely proud to be part of Theetge Motorsport & McColl Racing."

 

The team encountered challenges from the start, with the car arriving just an hour before the first practice session on Saturday morning. "We received our car around 11:15 AM, and we were on track by 12:25 PM," Tagliani explained. "Everybody stayed calm. We didn’t run the car over the winter. Talking about dedication; Donald had to swap his older road course engine and drive it himself to McColl Racing to get it in the car last week because we realized that the new one wasn’t going to arrive in time. We still achieved P6 in practice!"

 

Tagliani praised the dedication of his crew, stating, "The guys were super professional about it. We did everything we could to improve the car. We’re going to test it in between races to try to make it better. We're super excited about the season and want to be more ready."

 

The race itself was a mix of strategy and perseverance. Tagliani highlighted the difficulties they faced, "in regards to the race, I think we had the pace to be in the Top 4. But we were on the wrong side of the strategy. We got caught by the first yellow and then we didn't have another caution after our last pit stop. So we went from running in the Top 7 to being outside of the Top 20. All the overtakes had to be done on track as the guys in front of us didn’t have to pit."

 

Tagliani still managed to secure a Top 10 finish. "It was a shame because we didn't have the pace in the straightaway, which made passing difficult. So passing had to be done on restarts. After that, we were a sitting duck in the straight. Finishing 10th with everything we had to go through during the race, I would say it's mission accomplished."

 

Tagliani also expressed his gratitude to his partners: "It was my first race proudly representing BFL Canada. It's an honour to be their new ambassador. I was also really happy to have Arobas Personnel on my car this weekend. The key is to have the right people on your team, and this is a company that finds you the perfect employees for your business. Major shout out to the people at Chevrolet Repentigny who just moved to their new massive location at the corner of Highway 40 and Highway 640 on the North Shore. The yellow and red livery looks amazing. We’re thrilled to represent St-Hubert for the entire road course program."

 

With the first race of the season over, Tagliani remains optimistic and eager for what lies ahead. "I'm leaving the weekend pumped. The team is gelling well. It was a true privilege for me to race for Theetge Motorsport. I really had a lot of fun and enjoyed every minute of it."

 

Alex Tagliani will be back on track at the highly anticipated Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières on August 10 and 11.