7/10/2014
Max Hanratty
Formula Tour 1600: Exclusive Autosport Wraps Up Successful Weekend at iCAR
(Mirabel, Quebec): Exclusive Autosport continued their dominance in Canadian F1600 racing this past weekend as the team collectively acquired six podium finishes at the Jiffy Lube 100 at iCAR in the Formula Tour 1600 Championship Series. Tristan DeGrand extended his win streak to eight in a row after he led every lap of practice, qualifying and racing. Max Hanratty captured two third place finishes and Jayson Clunie found the podium for the first time this year nabbing two second place finishes in the Masters class.
The team had plenty of time to get accustomed to the 3.6 km road course as they had two days of official practice Thursday and Friday which set the trio up for a successful weekend of racing. Competition was fierce despite a small 13-car grid. DeGrand captured the pole position in his #93 Exclusive Autosport / Spectrum / Sparco / Pro Am Golf USA / Honda Racing HPD F1600 with a fast time of 1:39.580. Hanratty put his #91 Juniper Networks / Exclusive Autosport / Spectrum / Sparco / Exclusive Management Inc. / Honda Racing HPD behind his teammate in P3 with a fast time of 1:40.217. The #90 Exclusive Autosport / Spectrum / Sparco / Exclusive Management Inc. / Honda Racing HPD driven by Clunie would also start within the top ten in P9 with a fast time of 1:42.358.
DeGrand took the lead on the first lap and maintained his position throughout the duration of the 14 lap race. Hanratty took over second place off the start and had a great battle with Olivier Bedard throughout the majority of the race. Bedard got around Hanratty bumping him back to third position where he took the checkered flag. Clunie picked up a couple of spots off the start before settling into a race rhythm. He continued to move forward as he battled through the field. Clunie ran his fastest lap of the race on the final lap. He finished sixth overall which gave him a second place finish in the Masters category.
Starting positions for race two were determined based on fast lap times from Saturday’s race. DeGrand started once again from the Pole position. Hanratty started the second race from P2 and Clunie from P5. DeGrand took an early lead at the drop of the green flag and once again led the field from flag to flag. Meanwhile Hanratty in the #91 Juniper Networks / Exclusive Autosport /Spectrum / Sparco/ Honda was heavy into a battle for second place with Bedard off the start. The two made contact which moved Hanratty back to sixth position. Hanratty clawed his way back to third position and crossed the line at the checkered in third with a comfortable lead over fourth position. Clunie had to check up slightly to avoid Hanratty and Bedard at the start of the race causing him to lose a few spots. He made slight contact with another competitor during the opening lap which caused some handling issues. Once he got a feel for the car, he adapted to the handling and began his charge forward, once again running his fastest lap of the race on the last lap. Clunie finished seventh overall - second in Masters.
Max Hanratty #91 Juniper Networks / Exclusive Autosport / Spectrum / Sparco / Honda Racing HPD
“It was an overall solid weekend for us. The crew worked hard and gave me an incredible car. Had some good battles out there and gained some valuable points - boosting myself from sixth to third in the points championship. I want to thank Juniper Networks, SynerComm. and Exclusive Autosport for making all of this possible for me.”
Jayson Clunie #90 Exclusive Autosport / Spectrum / Sparco / Exclusive Management Inc. / Honda Racing HPD
“It feels great to finally have my first podium in the Exclusive Autosport Sparco Spectrum F1600. It took some time to adapt to the open wheel car as my background has been in sports cars the last few years. I have been loving the challenge and absolutely loving the Spectrum F1600 car. A huge thanks to the team and crew for their constant hard work and dedication to this program. Thank you to my partners who without their support I wouldn’t be here. I’m really looking forward to the upcoming Super Series races in Toronto.”
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kimberly Duncalfe
Exclusive Management Inc.
(306) 242.8294
kimberly@exclusivemanagementinc.com
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Article Credit: Kimberly Duncalfe
Submitted By: Max Hanratty
