Other open wheel
Mosport race report
MOSPORT, ON - Bruno Spengler from St-Hypolitte, QC had a victorious debut in the Fran Am 2000 series race ...
Published: Aug 23, 2002, 6:12 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
MOSPORT, ON - Bruno Spengler from St-Hypolitte, QC had a victorious debut in the Fran Am 2000 series race #2 on Aug. 18, which was part of the Mail2Web.com Grand Prix of Mosport. The 18-year-old Canadian led flag to flag to capture his first pro series win in Canada. It was also Spengler's first visit to the historic Mosport facility.
Spengler made it known early on in the weekend that he was there to win as he put in the quickest practice time, then put his Auto Basi/Inside Track/TCS Tatus on the pole. Amazingly, his first flying lap in qualifying would hold up for the pole.
"I know the Michelins are best in the first three laps, so I tried to get a good lap in early," said Spengler, who watched the final laps of qualifying from the pit lane.
At the drop of the green flag, Spengler slipped into the lead and slowly built up a six-second margin until a late full course caution made the race end under yellow.
"I am very happy to come back home and win at Mosport," said a very excited Spengler. "My car got better as the race went on. It may have looked like an easy win from the outside, but with all the different rubber on the track from the ALMS cars, it was very difficult. I have to say thanks to Auto Basi, Inside Track Motorsport News, TCS, Good Vibes, Reneka and March 15 Management for making it possible for me to be here. I can hardly wait for next week in Montreal."
This was Spengler's first professional race in Canada - but he is by no means a stranger to professional open wheel racing. Spengler currently competes in both the Formula Renault Eurocup and Formula Renault German Championship - where he sits sixth and second respectively in the championship standings.
Spengler decided to take advantage of a gap in his European schedule to come home to Canada to compete in the Fran Am 2000 series.
"I had a gap in my schedule," Spengler explained, "And the opportunity to race at both Mosport on the ALMS weekend and with CART at Montreal is something I couldn't pass up."
Inside Track Motorsport News Associate Editor Russ Bond talked about their association with Spengler. "Bruno is clearly something special," said Bond. "We have been following him since he was karting in France - we try to cover Canadian's wherever they race in the world. Bruno started sending us Backpage Columns on his European experiences for Inside Track, which have been well received by young racers looking to follow in his footsteps. When he told us, 'I'm coming to race in Canada, bring the biggest decals you have' - how could we say 'no'."
Spengler also had a chance to meet Chevrolet Corvette C5R - and fellow Canadian - driver Ron Fellows. "It was great to meet Mr. Fellows," said Spengler. "I watched him - on TV - win at Le Mans. We talked about his Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship amongst other things."
-inside track news-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article SBRS: Lime Rock report 2002-08-21
Next article Montreal qualifying summary
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Bruno Spengler
BMW's Spengler looks back on rollercoaster SUPER GT debut
Super GT
Super GT
Okayama
BMW's Spengler looks back on rollercoaster SUPER GT debut
Spengler says GT300 professionalism on a par with IMSA
Super GT
Super GT
Okayama Testing
Spengler says GT300 professionalism on a par with IMSA
BMW's Spengler has "a lot to learn" in SUPER GT switch
Super GT
Super GT
BMW's Spengler has "a lot to learn" in SUPER GT switch
Latest news
Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
3 h
Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors
Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
3 h
Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss
IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 3 h
IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing
Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
4 h
Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe