Simon Charbonneau and Stefan Rzadzinski win the Nissan Sentra Cup races presented at the Grand Prix du Canada

NISSAN SENTRA CUP - Presented this weekend as part of the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada, the third and fourth races of the 2022 Nissan Sentra Cup season were won by Simon Charbonneau, in the rain on Saturday, then by Stefan Rzadzinski Sunday, under the sun.

The popular Canadian motorsport series has also made history at Formula 1 more than once. Valérie Chiasson became the first female driver in the history of the Grand Prix du Canada to stand on the overall podium, during a race Coupe Nissan Micra in 2015. This weekend, Valérie Limoges and Marie-Soleil Labelle both won a Top 3, one in the overall standings and the other in the Micra class, at the end of Saturday's race.

No other motorsport series offers more success to female drivers on the circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal other than the Nissan Sentra Cup, and while Valérie Limoges is familiar with the Top 3 and even victories in the series, this is a very first podium at the GP of Canada for the young (18 years old) Marie-Soleil Labelle, who is a rookie at the event.

Nissan Sentra Cup drivers had the honour of being the first to hit the track at this Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada, the country's premier sporting event, back on the calendar for the first time since 2019. On Friday morning, the twenty-eight drivers of the series competed in their free practice session.

Following that, the qualifying session, in front of already full grandstands, saw Justin Arseneau, another young talent of 16, take pole position with his Nissan Sentra from the ICAR Racing Team. Stefan Rzadzinski, Alexandre Fortin, Simon Charbonneau (the winners of the first two races of the season) and defending champion Kevin King completed the top 5.

After the hot sun on Friday, an icy wind greeted fans at the track on Saturday morning. The drivers' task was complicated as the rain made its appearance just before the start of the Nissan Sentra Cup race, forcing the mechanics to do a quick switch from slick to rain tires just before the green flag.

Shortened by weather conditions and a long full-course yellow, this first race saw Charbonneau win with just over a second ahead of Rzadzinski. Valérie Limoges completed the podium, her first on the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit, ahead of Kevin King, Daniel Fortin, Mathieu Miron, Simon Dion-Viens, Alexandre Fortin, Sylvain Ouellet and Éric Chaput.

In the Micra class, Samuel Rowe won his first victory, ahead of François Angers-Routhier, the championship leader, and Marie-Soleil Labelle. She finishes in front of the popular radio host Benoît Gagnon by a few hundredths of a second.

After the rain and cold on Saturday, the sun was back for the second Nissan Sentra Cup race at this 2022 edition of the Grand Prix du Canada on Sunday. With the encouragements of Karine Vanasse, the actress and spokesperson for Nissan in Quebec, and tens of thousands of fans in the grandstands, Stefan Rzadzinski returned to victory, exactly seven years after he triumphed in the Nissan Micra Cup on the same circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

The Western Canadian driver won ahead of Kevin King and Simon Charbonneau after a short and spectacular race, but ended under yellow flag. Valérie Limoges, Éric Chaput, Sylvain Ouellet, Mathieu Miron, André Lapointe, Nicolas Touchette and Frédéric Chaput completed the top 10.

In the Micra class, Samuel Rowe took his second victory of the weekend, ahead of François Angers-Routhier, while Benoît Gagnon climbed on the podium. Marie-Soleil Labelle and Martin Barrette finished fourth and fifth.

The next event will take place in five weeks, at Circuit Mont-Tremblant (July 23-24).

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

Double-header of the Nissan Sentra Cup at the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada this weekend!

NISSAN SENTRA CUP - The Nissan Sentra Cup will be part of Canada's biggest sporting event this weekend, the famous Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada. Held on the circuit Gilles- Villeneuve, this year's event is expected to be a record-breaking sell-out. For JD Promotion & Competition - promoter of the Cup - for Nissan Canada and for the 30 or so entered drivers and the thousands of fans of the popular Canadian motorsport series, this undoubtedly will be one of the highlights of the 2022 season.

Located on Montréal's Ile Notre-Dame, the circuit Gilles-Villeneuve has been the scene of the Grand Prix du Canada since 1978. This 2022 edition also marks the return of the event and the Formula One World Championship to Canada after it's cancellation for the past two years.

Launched last year on Canadian road courses, the Nissan Sentra Cup will be making its maiden appearance at the prestigious event. However, some of the series' drivers have already raced on circuit Gilles-Villeneuve as the Nissan Micra Cup was part of the Grand Prix program in 2015.

Nearly thirty drivers are entered for this double-header. In addition to the regular competitors, defending Cup champion Kevin King will be making his return to competition. He will surely fight for victory against the first two winners of 2022, Alexandre Fortin and Simon Charbonneau, who captured a victory each in the opening two races of the season held in Ontario in May. Other possible race winners include Valérie Limoges, the young and very promising Justin Arseneau (the current leader in the drivers' championship), veteran Normand Boyer and Sylvain Ouellet. Competitors who've been unlucky in the first event of the season, like NASCAR driver Simon Dion-Viens, Nicolas Barrette, André Lapointe and Éric Chaput who this season is teaming up with his son on the Sentra entered by the Gabriel Group, will do everything possible to climb the podium in Montréal.

Noteworthy is Stefan Rzadzinski's debut in the Cup behind the wheel of one of Groupe Touchette's Nissan Sentras. The Alberta driver captured victory in one of the two Nissan Micra Cup races held at the Grand Prix du Canada in 2015.

In the Micra class, François Angers-Routhier will do his best to extend his domination after winning the first two races of the season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Ontario. Popular radio host Benoit Gagnon will be competing in the Micra category in Montréal. Gagnon contested the Micra Cup race held at the Grand Prix du Canada in 2015.  

The Nissan Sentra Cup drivers will be in action four times during the weekend for the delight of the race fans who will sit in packed grandstands, as well as thousands of guests in the suites and other Formula 1 hospitality units. On Friday, Cup drivers will have the honour of being the first to take to the track for the sole free practice session to get to grips with the 4.361-km F1 track. This practice session will run from 8:25 am to 8:55 am and will be followed at 10:55 am by a 30-minute qualifying session for the two races of the weekend.

The first race will go green at 10:20 am Saturday, June 18 and the second race will start at 10:10 am Sunday, June 19, less than four hours before the start of the 51st Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada, Round 9 of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship. The two, 15-lap Sentra Cup races will be shown on the giant screens located around the track.

In addition to the on-track action, the 300,000-and-plus spectators expected to attend the event will have the chance to pay visit to the Nissan Sentra Cup paddock, located behind the east hairpin corner of circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. The paddock will be easily accessible and will be the home of the Sentra and Micra cars and their teams. Fans will also have the chance to look at the new Sentra Cup Safety Car, the new Nissan Z.

Actress and Nissan brand ambassador in Québec Karine Vanasse will also attend the event on Sunday to cheer on the Nissan Sentra Cup racers. After the 2021 Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, this will mark her second appearance at an event of the Cup.

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

Nissan Sentra Cup on-track activities
- Free practice sessions: Friday June 17, 8:25 am to 8:55 am
- Qualifying session: Friday June 17, 10:55 am to 11:25 am
- Race 1: Saturday June 18, 10:20 am to 10:50 am
- Race 2: Sunday June 19, 10:10 am to 10:40 am

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