Graham Lobban Charges to “B” Class Victory

Calabogie, Ontario – Australian native Scott Andrews dominated race one of the MCO Ted Powell Memorial today, starting from pole and leading every lap on his way to victory in round 9 of the championship.

Andrews, making his series debut and having never seen the Calabogie track before arriving Friday put on an impressive display of talent from the moment he took the wheel. He paced practice and his pole-winning lap was almost a second under the track record.

The race got off to a clean start with Andrews holding off teammate Thomas McGregor into corner one. From there he proceeded to run at near record setting pace for the first half of the race and built up a seven second lead.

McGregor had a fairly quiet race in second with a heated battle for third overall behind him between “B” Class leader Graham Lobban, Reid Arnold and Connor Wagland.

Contenders Mikhail Goikhberg and Andre du Preez ran into trouble early with off track excursions and had to come to the attention of their respective crews. Both would return to the race, however.

There were intense battles throughout the rest of the field but the battle for 3rd was the one to watch. Lobban and Arnold exchanged places several times right up until the last lap with some daring passing. Wagland was right there ready to pounce the entire time should they get together.

At the checkered flag it was Andrews cruising home with a 11 second lead followed by McGregor and Arnold.

“I just love coming to race in Canada,” said an elated Andrews. “The Toyo tire is so much fun to drive on. The car moves around a lot and the driver makes all the difference and that’s the style of racing I really enjoy. I am really happy to get the win and my Exclusive Autosport Spectrum was perfect all day.”

Graham Lobban put on an incredible performance grabbing his “B” Class win, running as high as 3rd overall. Connor Wagland was right there the entire time and finished 2nd, looking to repeat as series champion. Amy Castell had an impressive drive to 3rd and returned to the podium with her car now under the Britain West tent.

Other notable performances include rookie Ben Hurst, finishing 4th in his Brian Graham Racing Piper Honda and Keith Lobban who recovered from a lap one off, dropping to last and then driving back through the field to a 4th place finish in “B” Class.

Competitors will line up and do it all over again Sunday, starting with an early morning practice, qualifying and an early afternoon race start.

The Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Series is the premiere open wheel series in Ontario, sanctioned by CASC Ontario Region and proudly supported by Toyo Tires, Honda HPD, Heather’s Heros, Cove Dentistry, Stäubli, Lincoln Electric and MK Technologies. 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.

The Formula 1600 Super Series is the combined premiere events of the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Series from Ontario and the Toyo Tires Formula Tour 1600 Series from Quebec. The series is comprised of a four event, double-header format and competes at CTMP’s Victoria Day SpeedFest, Formula One Grand Prix of Montreal, the Bay of Quinte Grand Prix, and the Grand Prix of Trois Rivières.