Top Three Waged A Hard Fought Battle All Race Long

Bowmanville, Ontario - Round 1 of the F2000 Canada Championship, the BEMC Spring Trophy Races at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park was en epic display of courage and skill as the top three protagonists waged a race long battle for the top spot.

Nathan Blok came into the series the most experienced driver having several F2000 starts under his belt and put that to good use, managing tires and some lapped traffic to grab the first win of the season in his Tenaquip Van Diemen.

The 30-minute race started with Blok taking the early lead over Britain West teammate Chase Pelletier and Brian Graham Racing driver Zacharie Robichon.

It was nose to tail until just past the halfway point of the race when Blok caught some lapped traffic entering the front straightaway. He had to lift slightly and Pelletier pounced, grabbing the top spot.

They settled into a rhythm at that point, but traded fastest laps and positions once more as they weaved their way through the backmarkers. With around 8 minutes to go the anxiety level at the front started to increase. Robichon was now putting an immense amount of pressure on Blok. He responded and got on the gearbox of leader Pelletier.

Pelletier wanted to get the slight gap he was enjoying back and charged hard into the hairpin in corner 5, running slightly off at the exit and into the marbles. He struggled to get the power down and it killed his momentum coming off of the corner and heading down the long straight. Blok would pull out and pass fairly easily and take the lead once again as Pelletier had to fend off a hard charging Robichon. Pelletier would lose that spot on the last lap as he encountered a car moving slowly in the last corner and Robichon slipped past.

Blok grabbed the checkered flag, Robichon was 2nd and Pelletier was 3rd, all separated by just 2.3 seconds.

Blok would also secure the fastest lap of the race with a 1:20.906

Winner Nathan Blok – “At the start I wanted to just settle into a rhythm as I knew there would be some traffic situations and felt that whoever made the fewest mistakes would come out on top. I was trying to be patient and defensive at the same time. You could feel that Chase and Zach were getting more anxious as the race wore on and the crew was counting down the laps. It was an amazing victory and to be honest one of the best races I have ever been in – it was a big pile of fun. There is not a lot to be done for tomorrow as the crew prepared an amazing car. We faded a little at the end so maybe we will work on that for race 2.”

2nd Place Zacharie Robichon – “Our plan all along was to sacrifice just a little speed to save the tires. I felt I learned a lot and it’s a very different style of racing than the F1600’s. I had some trouble in dirty air so I could not run the whole race on the gearbox of the guy in front of me so I waited and saved my tires for the end. It was a great race and I had so much fun I can’t wait for tomorrow. Following Blok and Pelletier I could see what we need to do to go and win this race tomorrow and I have a great crew so that’s what we’re going to go and work on.”

3rd Place Chase Pelletier – “I was really pleased with how quickly I got up to speed in these cars. I was quickest in a couple of the practices and led a lot of laps so that’s cool. I am really enjoying the grip level. It was an excellent race, really a lot of fun. Both of those guys have a lot of talent and we showed each other a lot of respect like when Nathan and I went side-by-side through three corners. It’s a challenge to pass in these cars but we have great pace and I am looking to finish two spots higher tomorrow.”

Race 2 goes Sunday afternoon and the grid will be set by a 10-minute qualifying earlier in the day.

The F2000 Canada Championship is the premiere wings and slicks series in Ontario, sanctioned by CASC Ontario Region and proudly supported by Hoosier Tire, Stäubli, Lincoln Electric, and Move Motorsports Management. The series is comprised of a six event, double-header format and competes at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Shannonville Motorsport Park and Calabogie Motorsports Park.