Antoine Bessette making his debut in the series with almost thirty drivers entered

Mississauga, Ontario – This weekend, the Nissan Micra Cup kicks off the second half of its inaugural season at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières. After six races, each as spectacular as the last, the highly anticipated event will see close to thirty drivers in action.

Among them, three-time world figure skating champion and double silver medalist at the Olympics in Lillehammer and Nagano, Canadian Elvis Stojko will demonstrate what he can do behind the wheel of the agile and fun Nissan Micra. Retired from competitive skating in 2002, Stojko pursued his interest in motor racing. He started racing karts in Mexico in the Rotax DD2 Master class race with the Maranello factory team.

“I’m very happy to participate in the Nissan Micra Cup at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières,” said Stojko. “I am honoured to be invited to this fantastic event, which will allow me to prove myself in front of Quebec fans. The cars look like they are fun-to-drive and competition is fierce. Thanks to Albi Nissan, Nissan Canada and the promoters of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières for giving me this unique opportunity.”

In addition to Stojko joining the two - factory drivers Olivier Pelletier and Marc-Antoine Demers - the Albi Nissan team will give another driver his debut in the series this weekend. An experienced professional driver on the international scene since 2000, and the recipient of both the Gilles-Villeneuve Trophy and the Canadian Champion Race Driver Award in 2005, Antoine Bessette is making a return to racing after a few years off.

“My passion for racing has never left me and I always intended to come back under the right circumstances, which is what the Groupe ALBI is allowing me to do today,” said Antoine Bessette. “I am very happy to be part of this team and I am inspired by the passion and the determination that the Groupe ALBI demonstrates. Also, the level of competition of the Nissan Micra Cup is very compelling and I like that all the cars are the same with a low operating cost. This kind of series attracts many good drivers; the races are very tight and provide quite a show.”

Life on the track in Trois-Rivières will not be made easy for these new drivers as the regular series competitors, and more specifically those vying for the championship title, don’t intend to relinquish their spots at the front of the pack. The championship leaderboard is very tight, with Nissan GT Academy Driver Thanaroj Thanasitnitikate of Thailand, in the lead ahead of Quebecker Olivier Bédard and Albertan Stefan Rzadzinski. In fourth place is Abhinay Bikkani of India, the second Nissan GT Academy driver, who took over this position from Valérie Chiasson following his double victory at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant last weekend.

Thirty-two drivers are currently ranked in the championship, almost all of whom are entered for Trois-Rivières. It will be particularly interesting to watch the performance of local favourite Marc-André Bergeron. The expected duel between the hockey player and figure skater at the wheel of their almost-stock version of the Nissan Micra will no doubt captivate the large audience at the GP3R. Bergeron, who earned a podium earlier this season at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, has experience on the track and a great feel for the Nissan Micra race car on his side.

The other drivers from Trois-Rivières who will be contesting the race include novice Mario Berthiaume, Kevin King and Paul Dargis. Also noteworthy is that series promoter Jacques Deshaies hails from Trois-Rivières.

Éric Salvail, popular television host and Nissan Canada’s special guest

In the paddock, popular television host Éric Salvail will be Nissan Canada’s special guest. He will be on site throughout the weekend supporting the drivers.

BOTH RACES TELEVISED

Thanks to the GP3R organizers, Nissan Canada and JD Promotion, both Nissan Micra Cup races will be televised on RDS (September 5th at 10:00 am and rebroadcasted on RDS2 on September 8th at 7:00 pm). Each show will be an hour dedicated to the Nissan Micra Cup for fans to enjoy.

The Nissan Micra Cup drivers will be in action this Friday for the free practice at 3 pm. On Saturday, qualifying will start at 8:00 am, with the first race at 11:45 am. On Sunday, the second race will take place at 9:20 am.

Don’t miss series news and updates on the Coupe Nissan Micra Cup Facebook page and live tweets/results during practice, qualifying, and races on Twitter: @MicraCup.

For more information on the Nissan Micra Cup, please go to the website www.nissan.ca/micracup.

2015 Nissan Micra Cup Calendar:
May 22 to 24 Spring Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant
June 5 to 7 Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada
July 25 & 26 Summer Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant
July 31 to August Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières
August 15 Circuit Saint-Eustache
September 25 to 27 Fall Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant

About Nissan North America

In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized annually by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year since 2010. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.InfinitiUSA.com, or visit the U.S. media sites NissanNews.com and InfinitiNews.com.

About Nissan Motor Co.

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan's second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 247,500 employees globally, Nissan sold 5.32 million vehicles and generated revenue of 11.38 trillion yen (USD 103.6 billion) in fiscal year 2014. Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of more than 60 models under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands. Nissan leads the world in zero-emission mobility, dominated by sales of the LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle. It is the best-selling EV in history with almost 50% share of the zero-emission vehicle segment.