Gino Clair wires Granby field, Hebert on top at RPM
Drummondville, QC – July 5, 2015 – Gino Clair of St. Edmond, QC and David Hebert of St-Damase, QC posted DIRTcar 358-Modified Starter Series wins over the holiday weekend at Autodrome Granby and Le RPM Speedway, respectively.
Clair led all 50 laps at Autodrome Granby to earn his first win of the season. He built a comfortable lead over Gabriel Richer and Dominic Dufault, as they battled for second.
Clair’s big lead vanished when a caution was thrown on lap 16 for Kevin Hamel, but he kept the lead as Francois Bernier took second while David Hebert made his way to the top 5 with 20 laps completed.
At the halfway point, Bernier reached Clair’s back bumper with Dufault still running strong in third.
A caution for Paul St-Sauveur with 20 laps to go helped Dufault, who grabbed second on the restart.
A severe accident on lap 34, involving several cars in the front stretch, brought out the red flag as Maxime Plante flipped over and several drivers pitted for repairs.
Clair stayed strong on the following green as Alain Boisvert moved up the inside to take second away from Hebert with a dozen laps to go, only to have Hebert regain the position with a skillful move in the closing laps.
“My car was great tonight!” he said. “I needed to stay concentrated and keep my spot.”
Clair joins his brother Mario as a 2015 DIRTcar 358 Modified Starter Series feature winner.
Saturday at Le RPM Speedway in St-Marcel-de-Richlieu, QC, Hebert used lapped traffic to surprise Mario Clair in the last portion of the DIRTcar 358-Modified Starter Series and win his second Starter Series race of the season.
Mario Clair led the way in the 40-lap event as he survived several early cautions. Chris Raabe and David Hebert made their way into the lead pack with a dozen laps in. Hebert used the middle lane to pass Raabe on lap 13.
At the halfway point, Clair was in the lead with Hebert on his back bumper and Chris Raabe running alone in third.
The leaders reached the rear of the field with 10 laps to go. Clair got caught behind a slower car which opened the door for Hebert. He took the lead on lap 33 while Alan Therrien was racing for third with Raabe.
Hebert never looked back and secured a qualifying spot for the 358-Modified event in Syracuse on NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week. Clair finished second while Raabe rounded out the top three.
‘’My car was running great in every line’’ stated Hebert in the winner’s circle. ‘’It is always fun to win here at RPM” said the driver of the ONE car. Hebert added to his lead in the Le RPM win column.
Another busy weekend for Eastern Canada drivers is ahead. The 358-Modifed Starter Series will visit Autodrome Granby this coming Friday, July 10, Autodrome Drummond on Saturday, July 11 and Cornwall Motor Speedway Sunday, July 12.
358-Modified Starter Series Race #10—Autodrome Granby, July 3, 2015 Event Summary
Feature Results: Gino Clair, David Hebert, Alain Boisvert, Steve Bernier, Steve Bernard, Mario Clair, Dominic Dufault, Francois Bernier, Mathieu Boisvert, Michael Parent, Pierre Hebert, J-F Corriveau, Daniel Nadeau, Martin Gagné, Sebastien Fournier, Paul St-Sauveur, Maxime Michon, Simon Perreault, Gabriel Richer, Yan Bussiere, Mario Lajoie, Maxime Plante, Claude Brouillard, Maxime Viens, Kayle Robidoux, Kevin Hamel, Pierre Dagenais
LAP LEADERS:
G.Clair (1-50)
Heat Races (8 laps, top 4 went to redraw)
#1: S.Bernier, K.Robidoux M.Boisvert, S.Perreault, M.Clair, M.Lajoie, G.Viens, C.Brouillard, S.Fournier
#2: A.Boisvert, G Richer, D.Dufault, M.Parent, D.Nadeau, M.Plante, M.Michon, S.Bernard, Y.Bussiere
#3: G.Clair, D.Hebert, F.Bernier, P.St-Sauveur, K.Hamel, M.Gagne, J.F. Corriveau, P.Hebert.
358-Modified Starter Series–Le RPM Speedway, July 4, 2015 Event Summary
Feature Results: David Hebert, Mario Clair, Chris Raabe, Alan Therrien, Steve Bernard, Dominic Dufault, Simon Perreault, Sebastien Gougeon, J-F Corriveau, Kevin Hamel, Paul St-Sauveur, Daniel Nadeau, Patrick Beaumier, Steve Bernier, Clement Therrien, Eric Bessette, Patrice Demers, Maxime Viens, Maxime Plante, Gino Clair, Claude Brouillard, Alain Boisvert.
LAP LEADERS:
M.Clair (1-32)
D.Hebert (33-50)
For more information on the Super DIRTcar Series, 358 Modified Starter Series, Sportsman Series or the Pro Stock Series, visitwww.dirtcar.com, www.SuperDIRTcarSeries.com, www.facebook.com/DIRTcar or follow on Twitter @SuperDIRTcar.
The Super DIRTcar Series and DIRTcar Racing in the Northeast Region is brought to fans by several sponsors and partners including Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Racing Fuels, Chevy Performance Parts, NAPA Auto Parts, Pole Position Raceway and Dig Safely New York. Contingency sponsors are ASI, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix, ButlerBuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, FX Caprara, Fox Shox, Impact Race Products, Intercomp, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, KSE Racing Products, Mobil 1, Motorsports Safety Systems, MSD Performance, Racing Electronics, Superflow, TNT Rescue and Wrisco Aluminum.