Nissan Sentra Cup mid-season will be reached this weekend at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières

NISSAN SENTRA CUP -  The Nissan Sentra Cup will be one of the featured series presented at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières this weekend. The Canadian motorsport series will have two races, one on Saturday August 5th and the other on Sunday August 6th, as part of the ever-popular event, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of spectators once again for this fifty-third edition.

These rounds, 5 and 6 of the 2023 season, will mark the conclusion of the first half of the season. With three wins in four races so far, Simon Charbonneau is undoubtedly the favorite. He currently leads the championship standings ahead of Nicolas Barrette, Alexandre Fortin (winner of the opening round of the season), Simon Vincent and defending champion Valérie Limoges.

Limoges, who holds the record for the most career overall victories at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières for a female driver (two wins in the Nissan Cup - Micra and Sentra), will attempt to secure another triumph on this temporary 2.4 km urban track which greatly enhances the abilities of the drivers. On the other hand, after his triumphant performance in front of a packed audience at the Nissan Grand Prix at the Complexe ICAR in Mirabel on July 9, Charbonneau now holds his own destiny is his hands as he aims for his very first victory in Trois-Rivières.

For those unable to be on-site, it will be possible to watch all the Nissan Sentra Cup on track sessions on the series' Facebook page. Free practice, qualifying, races, all will be presented live! Fans in the grandstands will have free access to the Nissan Sentra Cup paddocks to meet the Series' family. Additionally, they can test their Nissan Z driving skills on the Nissan Canada simulator.

Nissan Sentra Cup drivers will be on track from 1:00 p.m. to 1:20 p.m. for a free practice session on Friday, August 4, followed by qualifying from 4:00 p.m. to 4:40 p.m. Saturday, after the formation lap behind the Series' official Safety Car, which will be the new Nissan Z, the first race will begin at 2:10 p.m., providing 40 minutes of action. On Sunday, the second race will be presented from 11:15 a.m. to 11:55 a.m. The podium ceremonies will immediately follow the end of both races.

Between 25 and 30 drivers are again expected in the Nissan Sentra Cup for this Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières 2023. As usual, the racing Sentra field will be completed by the Micra class cars.

For more information on the Nissan Sentra Cup, visit sentracup.com and the series' social media. To watch all the events of the 2022 season, visit the Nissan Sentra Cup YouTube page

SCHEDULE 2023 - NISSAN SENTRA CUP

May 26, 27, 28                     Spring Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Québec
July 9                                    Nissan Grand Prix, Complexe ICAR - Mirabel, Québec
August 4, 5, 6                       Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Québec
August 26                              NASCAR Event, Complexe ICAR - Mirabel, Québec
September 1, 2, 3               Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario
September 22, 23, 24         Fall Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Québec

To follow the Nissan Sentra Cup on social media:
Facebook: @CoupeSentraCup
Instagram: @nissansentracup
Twitter: @SentraCup
YouTube: SentraCupTV

Justin Arseneau and Kevin King are the winners of the Nissan Sentra Cup races at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières

NISSAN SENTRA CUP - The Nissan Sentra Cup staged this weekend the seventh and eighth rounds of its 2022 season as part of the 52nd edition of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières. Action raged in both races and saw Justin Arseneau win on Saturday and Kevin King finish first on Sunday.

Friday's qualifying session, held for the 33 entered competitors (a record in the history of the series!), saw young Justin Arseneau take his seventh pole position in seven races so far this season. Point standings' leader Simon Charbonneau set the fastest time, but got penalized and had to start the first race from the fourth position behind Arseneau, Alexandre Fortin and Valérie Limoges, winner in Trois-Rivières last year.

Staged in front of packed grandstands, Saturday's race was highly spectacular. Pole position holder Justin Arseneau, who celebrated his seventeenth birthday only three days before the event, made a good start and remained in first place all race long. However, he was under tremendous pressure from Simon Charbonneau, Kevin King and Alexandre Fortin. Those three battled hard to dislodge Arseneau from the lead, but they endured different outcomes. Charbonneau, the championship leader before Trois-Rivières, hit the wall and was forced to retire, leaving Fortin and King to compete for second and third places. They crossed the finish line in that order.

Valérie Limoges enjoyed a solid race to finish fourth, a place that propelled her on top of the point standings - a first in the history of the series. André Lapointe, Éric Chaput, Nicolas Miron, Frédéric Chaput, Sylvain Ouellet and Normand Boyer completed the Top 10. These six drivers fought fiercely for positions all race long.

For his first career race in the Sentra Cup, Freddie Hunt finished twelfth, right behind Nicolas Barrette. Jean-Michel Isabelle captured victory in the Micra class which also displayed intense competition. Isabelle was making his return to the series. He finished ahead of Martin Barrette and Samuel Rowe.

Sunday's race was held in front of an impressive crowd and under beaming sun. Kevin King started the race from pole position, with Alexandre Fortin alongside. If Fortin quickly lost touch with King, the latter remained in the lead throughout the race, put under pressure by Justin Arseneau first, and then by Sylvain Ouellet who drove a stunning race.

A collision between Daniel Fortin and Frédéric Chaput sadly forced the officials to neutralize the race. The cars crossed the finish line behind the official Nissan Z (the safety car of the series). Kevin King captured victory ahead of Sylvain Ouellet and Éric Chaput. After a challenging start to the season, Nicolas Barrette earned a well-deserved Top 4 finish, ahead of Simon Charbonneau, André Lapointe and Freddie Hunt. Valérie Limoges finished the event in eighth place and retains the lead in the drivers' championship ahead of Simon Charbonneau.

In the Micra class, this second race of the weekend was hotly disputed again. Jean-Michel Isabelle was the victor for a second time in succession. Frédéric Bernier and radio host Benoît Gagnon took the other two steps on the podium.

In addition to the two scheduled races, fans of the Trois-Rivières Grand Prix could visit the series' paddocks without restrictions, admire the brand-new Nissan Z and meet the drivers and their teammates. They were also numerous to hone their driving skills on the simulator allowing them to drive the Nissan Z virtually.

Actress and Nissan brand ambassador in Québec Karine Vanasse was also onsite on Saturday to cheer on the Nissan Sentra Cup drivers and present the top three drivers with their trophies on the podium.

The next event will take place early September, on Labour Day weekend, when the Cup returns to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario. This will represent the penultimate event of the 2022 season.

To follow the Nissan Sentra Cup on social media:
Facebook: @CoupeSentraCup
Instagram: @nissansentracup
Twitter: @SentraCup
YouTube: SentraCupTV

2022 SCHEDULE - NISSAN SENTRA CUP
May 20-22                Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario
June 17-19                Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada, Montréal, Québec
July 22-24                 Summer Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Québec
August 5-7                Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Québec
September 2-4          Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario
September 23-25      Fall Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Québec

Over 30 Nissan Sentra Cup drivers this weekend at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières

NISSAN SENTRA CUP - An exceptional starting-grid awaits Nissan Sentra Cup fans this weekend, during the 52nd edition of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières. The event, which will be contested on August 5, 6 and 7, will see two Nissan Sentra Cup races with some of the best current Canadian drivers, in addition to the Briton Freddie Hunt, the son of the 1976 Formula 1 world champion, the legendary James Hunt.

Hunt, who usually competes in the Le Mans Cup series in Europe at the wheel of a Nissan-powered LMP3 prototype, will make his North American racing debut, on the site where his father had competed against Gilles Villeneuve. It was during the 1976 Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières. James Hunt finished third and Gilles Villeneuve won the Formula Atlantic race.

To celebrate his father's unique participation in the event, Freddie Hunt will drive the number 96 Nissan Sentra, the number his father had at the 1976 edition. He will have to face the regular Nissan Sentra Cup drivers, in addition to the reigning champion Kevin King, who is only competing a partial season this year. But after having getting a win at the F1 Grand Prix du Canada last June, there is no doubt that King remains one of the favorites this weekend in Trois-Rivières, the city where he resides.

Championship leader and mid-season champion after the races presented at the end of July at Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Simon Charbonneau will try to win for the first time in his career on the famous temporary urban circuit of Trois-Rivières. A racetrack that his main rival for the title, Valérie Limoges, knows very well, as she is the only female driver to have ever won twice in the history of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières. It was in 2019 in the Nissan Micra Cup and then last year, in the Nissan Sentra Cup.

Third in the standings and already winner three times in six races this season, Alexandre Fortin will try, like Charbonneau, to win for the first time in his career in the GP3R.

Let's not forget either the young Justin Arseneau, rookie in the series and who has accumulated exploits (pole positions and lap records) since the beginning of the year. Only one victory is currently missing from his 2022 season but it is only a matter of time before he gets there. If we add Sylvain Ouellet, leader of the Senior class and actually Top 5 in the standings, veteran Normand Boyer, Éric Chaput and his son Frédéric, Nicolas Barrette, or Olivier Bédard, whose participation remains to be confirmed, these are nearly a dozen drivers who can legitimately claim victory in both races contested this weekend.

In the Micra class, François Angers-Routhier will try to maintain on top of the standings. In this category, several drivers will make their comeback at the GP3R, such as Jean-Michel Isabelle and Frédéric Bernier. Martin Barrette and the popular radio host Benoît Gagnon will be at a second event in 2022 in this class, after the Grand Prix du Canada.

In addition to on-track action, fans will be able to enjoy the return of multiple entertainment and an open paddock with no restrictions this year. In the Nissan Sentra Cup section, it will be possible to drive the all-new Nissan Z on a simulator. A model which will also be used by the series as the Official Safety-Car and which it will be possible to admire in the Nissan Sentra Cup paddock.

Karine Vanasse, actress and Nissan brand ambassador in Quebec, will be there on Saturday to cheer on the Nissan Sentra Cup drivers. She will reconnect for the occasion with the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, an event who had discovered last year. She was also present at the 2022 Grand Prix du Canada.

Nissan Sentra Cup drivers will take the track four times during the weekend, with a free practice session and qualifying on Friday, ahead of the first 40-minute race on Saturday at 2 p.m. The second race will take place on Sunday at 11:35 a.m.

Both races will be presented live on the Nissan Sentra Cup Facebook page as well as on giant screens for spectators in the grandstands. Later in the year, these two races will be broadcast on a Series special program on RDS network. Fans of the series are also invited to follow all the news on the social medias of the Nissan Sentra Cup.

To follow the Nissan Sentra Cup on social media:
Facebook: @CoupeSentraCup
Instagram: @nissansentracup
Twitter: @SentraCup
YouTube: SentraCupTV

Nissan Sentra Cup on-track activities
- Practice session: Friday August 5, 12:10 pm to 12:30 pm
- Qualifying session: Friday August 5, 3:35 pm to 3:55 pm
- Race 1: Saturday August 6, 2:00 pm to 2:40 pm
- Race 2: Sunday August 7, 11:35 am to 12:15 pm

2022 Schedule - Nissan Sentra Cup
May 20-22                Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario
June 17-19               Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada, Montréal, Québec
July 22-24                 Summer Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Québec
August 5-7                Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Québec
September 2-4          Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario
September 23-25      Fall Classic, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Québec