Ninth place for Dion-Viens at GP3R
GREAT RESULT HAVING STARTED FROM 16TH WITH PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING CANCELED BAD WEATHER
Simon Dion-Viens participated in the 50th edition of the prestigious Trois-Rivières Grand Prix this past weekend. Driving the #37 Ford Castrol Canada car supported by Rousseau Metal, Bestbuy Auto Parts and Impact Ford, the Kamouraska driver crossed the finish line in 9th place after a highly contested race.
“We arrived in Trois-Rivières with a lot of optimism with a brand new car prepared by Jacombs Racing team. I was really looking forward to the only practice session to try this new car. However, due to the weather and thunderstorms, both Saturday practice and qualifying sessions were canceled. We drove very briefly on Sunday morning in the only practice session before the race where we recorded the 9th best time,” explains Simon.
“During the practice session, I noticed that the back of the car was very unstable under braking. We tried to make some changes before the race to solve this problem. Due to the cancellation of qualifying, the starting grid was determined according to the Nascar Pinty’s Championship points standings. It is from 16th place that I started the 50-lap race,” continues Dion-Viens.
Quickly, Dion-Viens was able to overtake several cars and found himself comfortably in the Top 10 just before the halfway point of the race.
“With a very efficient pit stop by the team, we were up to 7th position at the halfway point. However, I was not very comfortable with the car’s braking behavior because of the still very pronounced hoping of the rear end as I was trying to slow the car down for the tight corners of the track. So, I could not push the car as I would have wanted under braking. Then 15 laps from the end, on a restart, I was lightly hit from behind enough to lose some positions. However, I was able to maintain a good pace until the end of the race to finally cross the finish line in 9th position just behind Andrew Ranger” explains Simon.
“Under the circumstances, I am very satisfied with my performance and especially very proud of the work done by all members of the team. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our supporters present at the track and on social media for their invaluable encouragement during the weekend of the Grand Prix,” concludes Simon.
Stay tuned as an announcement will be made next Friday regarding the next event that Simon will attend as well as a major partnership with a renowned company.
Image: Patrice Marchessault / PMstills Photography
