Watkins Glen (New York), October 16, 2011.– This weekend, Rémy Audette became the first Québec driver to ever win the F2000 Championship Series. With a big lead heading into the final double-header of the season, Audette was not happy just earning sufficient points to solidify his spot at the top of the series. He dominated the practices and qualifying on his way to finishing on the podium for both races.
« We came to the last weekend of the season for fun because all I needed to do was start one of the two races to earn enough points for the title. » confides Rémy Audette. « I obviously wanted to do better and once again, the entire Audette Racing team did a remarkable job, enabling me to set the fastest time on both practice sessions as well as the first qualifier » adds Rémy Audette.
Starting in pole position for the first of the two races on Saturday, Audette and the 37 other drivers had to put their ambitions on hold before the first lap was even completed. « One of the drivers had crashed into the wall separating the start/finish line and the entrance to the pits. The wall was damaged upon impact and the area was then rendered dangerous without the wall’s protection. The officials then decided to postpone the race until Sunday morning » recounted Rémy.
Sunday’s schedule of events became very busy for the drivers of the F2000 Championship Series with two races preceding the year-end banquet! Rémy comments on the first race: « I had a very good start and I was leading the race but for some reason, the car started to lose power on the long straightaway and I ended up losing two spots ». In the end, the #21 Dimensions Doors/Novatech Van Diemen finished third, only one second back from the eventual winner.
Having set the racing lap record during the first race, Rémy Audette once again started in pole position for the second race. « To respect the schedule, qualifying for the second race was cancelled and replaced by the order of the fastest lap times during the first race. Seeing as I had set the record, I was starting in pole position » explained Rémy.
The power problem was not able to be resolved in the short amount of time between the two races but Audette was nevertheless able to maintain the lead for a good portion of the race. Unfortunately, each time there was a post-accident yellow period, the lead he had built up was diminished. « The lack of power during the last two re-starts made me lose a position each time. Despite everything, finishing third is an excellent result and it’s a great way to conclude the season » indicated the Québec driver.
With these two new podiums, Rémy Audette completes the championship in first place, with a total of five victories, and finished in the top 5 for thirteen of the fourteen races. « It truly is an exceptional season for me and for the entire Audette Racing team. Winning the championship was our goal at the start of the season and we were always in control of the situation, allowing us to succeed. In addition, we did not have one single mechanical fail and we finished every single race throughout the year. I have to specifically thank our mechanics and all the members of our team, as well as our sponsors, for this championship title » concludes Rémy.
North American Formula 2000 was the Audette Racing Team’s primary goal for this year, with Rémy Audette behind the wheel. Mathieu Audette also contested select rounds of the Canadian Touring Car Championship during the summer with his Acura RSX Type-S, earning one victory and three podiums.
Several projects are currently being examined for the 2012 season. In early spring of next year, the Audette Racing Team will announce their decisions, as well as which series it plans to contest.
The Audette Racing Team benefits form the support of Dimensions Doors, Novatech, Acura Plus Blainville, Les Extrusions du Nord, Verre Select, Jeld Wen, OPM, Amusements Spectaculaire, Les Moulures PFJV, Gulf, Blueprint Racing, Mec-Inov and Omnitech.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment