TORONTO – July 17, 2010 – Defending Super Touring champion Nick Wittmer powered his way to his third consecutive heat race win of the season, and fourth overall victory, on Saturday at the Honda Indy Toronto.
Starting from the pole position, the Lombardi Racing Honda driver took command of the race early and led all 22 laps. By the time the chequered flag fell, Wittmer was 3.784 seconds ahead of the second-place G1 Racing Hyundai Genesis of Sasha Anis.
The Team Aldo/Northwest BMW 330 of Gregory Pootmans moved up two positions to finish third in Super Touring. “The track was fairly good and everyone seemed to be pretty clean. I had a little contact at the start but nothing major, just little bumps. It wasn’t a bad race,” he said.
The fastest lap of the race (1:21.740) was turned in by Dave Ciekiewicz of Donington Motorsports in a Subaru WRX.
In the Touring class, Tom Kwok won from the third spot on the grid in a Honda Civic Si fielded by M&S Racing, besting the Octane Motorsports Mini Cooper of Michel Sallenbach. Kwok was the only Touring competitor to finish on the lead lap.
“The handling was good to the end of the race and my brakes were good to the end of the race so I was able to brake very late, pushing Karl Thomson [into making a mistake] at the end, so I finally gained the second place. For me it’s just unbelievable,” Sallenbach explained.
Patrick Seguin, of Canadian Classic Cars Motorsports, scored his first podium finish of the season with a third place finish in his Honda Civic after starting fifth.
“I didn’t have anything for the first guys, but I fought well to keep my third position holding off Anthony [Rapone, fourth place] and the rest of the pack,” he said.
The action continues on Sunday, with a 30-minute feature race, scheduled to run from 9:20 a.m. – 9:50 a.m.
Follow all the action from the Honda Indy Toronto, including session reports, live timing and scoring and the latest championship news at www.touringcar.ca.
The Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship Presented By Toyo Tires is Canada's Premiere Touring Car Series and features Canada's Best Drivers Racing Today's Hottest Touring Cars. The Championship is showcased at seven event weekends in Quebec and Ontario with marquee events at Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres and Honda Indy Toronto.
From Perry Iannuzzi
