Canadian Weekly Notebook - Disappointment for Latifi in Belgium

The Renault Sport F1 Development Driver qualified second, six tenths of a second down to pole winner Charles Leclerc. Sadly, an engine issue ruined his efforts in the Feature Race.

“I had a problem with the engine on the way from the pit lane to the grid and was unable to start, which is disappointing because we missed out on a lot of points,” Latifi declared.

Starting the Sprint Race 18th, he stormed through to just outside the points in ninth. “It was a good comeback in the Sprint Race, but it was always going to be difficult to finish in the points,” Latifi said.

Raphaël Lessard captures 10th place in ARCA-CRA Super Series

Raphaël Lessard finished 10th in the Berlin 251 of the ARCA-CRA Super Series at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan. The race was split into three segments of 100 laps, 100 and 51. Lessard had a disappointing qualification but ran hard in the race. He finished the first segment in 8th place. The second segment was marred by several caution periods and one red flag. Lessard crossed the line in 5th place.

The Canadian took the start of the final segment in second place in his No. 99 Toyota Camry FRL Express/Toyota-TRD/JBL Audio. Not satisfied with the handling of his car, Lessard decided to play it safe and bring back the car in one piece. He crossed the line in 10th place.

“The alternator belt broke early in the last segment, probably because of a debris," Lessard explained. "This resulted in the battery getting drained and the engine losing power. We only found out about this when the race was over. Obviously, the car was not going well at all during that third segment, I couldn’t keep up with the leaders. It is a shame because I had a hard time getting accustomed to this strange track, but the race was going great till then. The Berlin Raceway is not an ordinary race track as every corner is different.”

A Top 5 finish for Lazare, Green in Virginia

Montreal-based Motorsports In Action and its drivers Jesse Lazare and Chris Green, earned another Top 5 finish this weekend in the North American endurance IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series, upon completing the two-hour race presented at the Virginia International Raceway. Behind the wheel of their No. 69 McLaren 570S GT4, Lazare and Green progressed among the leaders throughout the duration of the race and could've finished even higher than their fifth place ranking had it not been for caution periods interfering with their pit stop strategy.

The MIA team also entered the No. 68 McLaren in this event with Ontarian driver Kenny Wilden and American Rod Randall were at the wheel. Qualifying in 12th, they unfortunately had to retire due to mechanical issues with 15 laps to go.

Forcier scores podium finish in Virginia

Raphaël Forcier took part in Round 5 of the US Formula 4 Championship this past weekend on Virginia International Raceway’s road course. Forcier qualified ninth for the first race of the meeting and finished seventh. For Race 2, the Montrealer started seventh and stayed cool despite a mid-race full course yellow to claim third. Driving his No. 62 car, Forcier started seventh for Race 3. Several accidents marred the 10-lap race, where Forcier finished seventh. The teenager now lies second in the point standings with 129. Kyle Kirkwood is first with 204.

Toronto’s Steve Bamford claimed 18th, 19th and 22nd places in the three races, respectively.