Round 3 was a special event held during the prestigious Grand Prix de Trois Rivières. For the first time the GP3R was split into two full weekends and Formula Drift took place on the second weekend combined with the World Rally Cross Championship.
With so little track time due to the rally cross, 16 drivers were pre-qualified before the event using their point standings. An added bonus to this event was having US drift champion Vaughn Gitten Jr. in his RTR Ford Mustang as well as European drift champion Dean Kearny in his Oracle Lighting Viper doing drift demos. For a lot of the race fans at the GP3R who didn’t know what drifting was until the event, it was a great intro to the sport.
This marked the first time any drifting series in Canada held the competition on a street course and consequently drivers had to quickly learn the track and layout. At the end of the first practice session the tight walls claimed their first victim. Simon Schaffner came in too hot and hit the wall very hard with the rear of the car which spun him around and smashed the front of the car as well. The Top 16 battle was only the next morning so they would have time to make the repairs.
The top 16 was very interesting. Alex Gosselin was putting down great runs and earned himself a spot in the final three. Joining him would be Trois Rivières home favorite Martin Langlois and Ontario native Pat Cyr. The battle for the number one spot between Martin and Alex ended fairly quickly. On Martin’s chase run he pushed it a bit hard which sent him into the wall and earned him a zero. With that Alex got his first career win, Martin got his first podium and Pat Cyr’s third place finish allowed him to clinch the overall FDC championship.
Keep in mind there is the Formula Drift World Round taking palce at Autodrome St-Eustache September 6-7.
