Mosport Park (Ontario), May 23 2010.- Montrealer Nick Wittmer, Lombardi Honda Racing Team driver and winner of the 2009 Canadian Touring Car Championship, debuted the 2010 season with two podium finishes at the first two rounds held this weekend at Mosport Park, near Oshawa (Ontario). Other than Wittmer’s two second place finishes, the Lombardi Honda Racing team is also enjoying the satisfaction of seeing their new drivers attain excellent results. Quebecker Benjamin Distaulo finished fifth and sixth while Alex Healy, of Ontario, completed Sunday in seventh place after suffering a mechanical problem on Saturday.
The results from this weekend’s double-header at Mosport are very encouraging for the Lombardi Honda Racing team, especially after the small issues that the team was forced to deal with, as explained by the reigning champion Nick Wittmer: we had power steering problems and had to change my car’s engine in between the two races. Faced with these conditions, finishing both races on the heels of winner Marc-Antoine Camirand and his BMW bodes really well for championship points. Nick Wittmer and his Honda Civic Si crossed the finish line behind the winner by only seven tenths of a second on Saturday and 1.4 seconds on Sunday.
Benjamin Distaulo proudly launched his new collaboration with the Lombardi Honda Racing Team by showing that he is among the candidates vying for the victory. Distaulo was particularly pleased with his "Top 5" finish on Saturday: I was feeling the pressure when I arrived at Mosport, a track that I am less familiar with than my challengers. I pushed my Civic Si to the maximum and I achieved fifth place, which was my goal. He adds: it really is a start to the season that I was hoping for. Sunday, Benjamin crossed the finished line in sixth place.
As for the young (20 years old) Ontarian driver Alex Healy, the first round of his career wearing the Lombardi Honda Racing colours was a tough start. While fighting for fifth spot alongside his team mate Benjamin Distaulo as well as Dean Fantin (BMW), he suffered a broken fuel line. This rare occurrence forced Healy to the back of the grid for Sunday’s start. Alex demonstrated the extent of his talent, climbing positions one by one to finish in seventh place. I had a lot of fun, my car was fantastic and I climbed from thirty-second all the way up to seventh in thirty minutes of racing; it shows how competitive we’re going to be for the rest of the season explains Alex Healy, 2009 series Rookie of the Year.
Team owner Tony Lombardi sums up the weekend : as the reigning champions, we always want to win but given the circumstances, seeing our three cars amongst the top seven is very encouraging. Nick was always impressive regardless of the challenges and he never let up the pressure on Camirand. As for Benjamin, he proved that he is amongst the top in the series. Alex was unlucky to not be able to complete Saturday’s race but when we look at what he did on Sunday, there’s no doubt: we knew he had talent and he just proved that he is very talented! I’m proud of what our three drivers achieved and we are eager for the next round he concluded.
Lombardi Honda Racing contests all rounds of the 2010 Canadian Touring Car Championship, which includes two visits to Mosport to kick off the season before heading to the Grand Prix in Mirabel, Toronto, and Trois -Rivières. The season ends with a third trip to Mosport at the end of August and a second visit to Mirabel in mid-September. The team receives support from the following partners: Lombardi Honda, Trim Line Montréal, Discount, Pole-Position Magazine, Distaulo Racing (Puma), Perry Auto Parts, Red Line Oil and Pneu Nicoletti. All information concerning the dealership can be accessed on the web site www.lombardihonda.com. For more information on the racing team, visit the site www.lombardiracing.com or visit the Lombardi Honda Racing page on Facebook and team videos on Youtube.
|
|---|
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment