2017 Northern Championship Race No.2

The second race in the 2 race Northern Championship Series, sponsored by Tekno, was held Oct 1, 2017 at the BlackFlyRC track in St-Laurent, New Brunswick. BlackflyRC is owned and operated by Stephane Doucet, who put in extra effort in preparation for this race by treating the clay track with calcium to help maintain a damp, dust free racing surface. The day was very sunny and reasonably warm for this time of year which was appreciated by all racers and spectators alike. The layout at BlackflyRC is pretty technical with lots of short shoots and corners, a big triple jump, and a long straight to challenge the racers. Racing was done in a clockwise pattern which is opposite to typical club races held at the facility. Dan Leblanc, a long time racer and race organizer, came to visit and helped announce the final races.

Being race #2 of a 2 race series, most racers from the first race attended to challenge for the top spot in the series. There were a few additional racers from the local area and abroad who also wanted the challenge of the competition and they joined in the single event. The results of this race are added to the overall points series to determine the Overall Series Winners! Trophy presentations were made to the winners of the race day, and also to the overall series winners. BlackFly thanks all racers who attended and helped make the race successful!

2wd Buggy A-Main: RESULTS VIDEO

1st: Kyle McKinnon, 2nd: Gregg Lawton, 3rd: Martin Plourde

In the 2wd buggy A-main the race started well over the first few corners, but a crash in the corner before the big triple gave Kyle and Martin some clear track and were able to pull away from the field early. Gregg, the TQ of the class, had early handling problems and fell back to 4th in an early battle with Jeremy. The handling seemed to be regained and he clawed his way back to battle the leaders. With 2 laps remaining he was able to make a flying pass over Martin who had trouble in the triple. In the end there was not enough time to catch Kyle who finished 1 second over Gregg in 2nd with Martin in 3rd.

2wd SCT B-Main: RESULTS

1st (bump-up): Jonathan Comeau Duguay, 2nd: Stephane Doucet, 3rd: Jean-Erik Chiasson

2wd SCT is a popular class in the series and there were enough racers to have an A & B main. The reward for the B-main winner would be a bump up to the A-Main. This race had a lot of interest with 3 lead changes. Stephane had some early troubles and the lead was taken by Serge. Serge then had a crash that broke his SCT taking him out of contention. Stephane resumed the lead but Jonathan was working his way through the field from 5th and took the lead with 4 laps to go and held on for the win and the bump to the A-Main.

2wd SCT A-Main: RESULTS VIDEO

1st: Alex Rizi, 2nd: Jeremy Sherriff, 3rd: Kyle McKinnon

2wd SCT was a very competitive class this race, with 4 of the racers finishing on the same lap. Alex Rizi, who was using an SCB, jumped to the lead and led it from the start to the finish. The battle was for 2nd and 3rd. Guillaume held 2nd for a brief time before falling to 3rd allowing Jeremy to take the 2nd spot. A collision mid race gave Kyle the chance to take 3rd with Guillaume having to settle for 4th.

2wd Stadium Struck A-Main: RESULTS VIDEO

1st: Alex Rizi, 2nd: David Jean, 3rd: Yan Carbonnelle

The 2wd Stadium Truck class is new to the series and there was a bigger field at this race which was great to see. Alex Rizi got off to a great start and held it to the finish. Early in the race the racers would mix up the order giving Serge a chance to take 2nd. He held 2nd until a bad lap saw him fall to 4th and allow David and Yan to improve to 2nd and 3rd. Serge battled back with Yan but another bad lap caused him to fall to 5th.

4wd SCT A-Main: RESULTS VIDEO

1st: Gregg Lawton, 2nd: Stephane Doucet, 3rd: Guillaume Ward

4wd SCT was a challenging class, with the top 3 racers qualifying within 5 seconds of each other. The start of the race was pretty clean, but problems happened in the infield. Serge went from 4th to 1st in a lap, taking the lead from Guillaume. In the next lap Gregg found the speed to take 1st with Stephane following for 2nd. Not shown in the laps was Stephane applying pressure throughout the race. Back in the fight for 3rd, Serge would battle with Guillaume until Guillaume was able to secure the spot with Serge settling for 4th.

1/8 Buggy A-Main: RESULTS VIDEO

1st: David Jean, 2nd Alex Rizi, 3rd: Martin Plourde

The 1/8 buggy class had a very clean final with a battle for the top 3 spots early in the race. TQ David had an early crash which put him into 3rd for a few laps allowing Martin to take 1st. David worked his way past both Alex and Martin to regain 1st. Alex then had a small battle with Martin to take 2nd while Martin held 3rd.

1/8 Truggy A-Main: RESULTS VIDEO

1st: Guillaume Berube, 2nd Stephane Doucet, 3rd Guillaume Ward

The start of the 1/8 truggy was exciting. Guillaume Berube lead the race from the start and had it under control to the finish. The race for 2nd then began with Stephane Doucet, Serge Hache, and Guillaume Ward each taking a turn at the spot. Stephane claimed 2nd early and then fought hard to catch Guillaume Berube, but he could not overcome the lead that Guillaume had built up.  The race then turned to the battle for 3rd that Guillaume Ward, Rene Leblanc, and Serge Hache all wanted. Serge was holding the position but Guillaume was able to make a pass late in the race to take the 3rd position and the spot on the podium.

 

Event Photos: