The Nissan Micra Cup announces expansion to Ontario

At the event Christian Meunier, president of Nissan Canada, announced that for the second season, the series will expand to Ontario, growing to eight race weekends, with three of these happening in Ontario and five in Quebec.

"We knew the Nissan Micra Cup was a great idea but the level of excitement and enthusiasm for the series, as well as interest in participating, far exceeded our expectations," said Meunier. "The affordability of the series attracted a diverse group of drivers in the first season, and demonstrated that it’s not only a great bridge from karting to car racing, but also a series for those who always dreamt of racing. Adding races and expanding to Ontario will attract even more drivers to the series, and will allow us to demonstrate the fun and affordability of the Micra to more Canadians!"

With two races each weekend, there will be a total of 16 races over the course of the 2016 season, 10 in Quebec and six in Ontario. Officials will use the 12 best results of each driver to single out a champion. The full race calendar and more specific details for scoring will be announced at a later date.

"The success and interest in the Nissan Micra Cup proved Canadians are hungry for spec series racing and this encouraged us to expand the series next year with more races, but also beyond Quebec’s borders, into Ontario," said Jacques Deshaies, owner of JD Promotion & Compétition and the series promoter. "Even before announcing this expansion, we had a number of new drivers interested in participating next year, so we anticipate more cars, and even more excitement, on the track."

An inaugural season filled with success

Coined as Canada’s most affordable racing series, the Nissan Micra Cup features identical, almost stock Nissan Micra S race cars offering reliability and fun, behind the wheel. In 2015, six adrenaline-packed weekends and 12 spectacular races decided who would be crowned the very first champion in the history of the series. Young Quebecker Olivier Bédard, who visited the top step of the podium five times over the season, earned this title.

Olivier Bédard’s exceptional performance in the Micra Cup caught the Canadian motorsport community by storm. The 18-year-old Micra Cup champion was recently bestowed with the prestigious Gilles-Villeneuve Trophy, presented by Auto Sport Québec (the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile’s representatives in the region of Québec). Created in 1982, the Gilles-Villeneuve Trophy rewards each year a driver from Québec who showed outstanding fighting spirit. As the 2015 winner, Olivier Bédard, follows in the footsteps of other drivers who have marked the history of Canadian motorsport, such as Patrick Carpentier, Alexandre Tagliani and Antoine L’Estage.