Seven racing series will offer no less than 17 races - three more than in 2022 - to make up the bulk of the programming for the 53rd Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières on August 4, 5 and 6, 2023.
With a second place finish on the Sunset Speedway oval in Ontario in the first race of the 2023 NASCAR Pinty's Series season, Alex Guénette intends to add his name to those of Andrew Ranger, Kevin Lacroix and Alex Tagliani, who have won more than one race on the Trois-Rivières urban track.
My win in Trois-Rivières last year showed that I belonged among the elite of stock car racing in Canada and that's what gave me the support to come back as a full time driver in the NASCAR Pinty's Series," said Guénette. My second place finish on the oval in the season opener encourages me to want to do the double in GP3R."
In addition to Ranger, Tagliani and Lacroix, Guénette knows he will also have to contend with the Dumoulin brothers and this season's champion Marc-Antoine Camirand who will still be very fast and shouldn't get caught up in an imbroglio like the one that wiped out their chances of winning in 2022.
With its 60-lap race on Sunday August 6, 2pm, the NASCAR Pinty's Series is still the king of the GP3R. On Saturday, the Chevrolet Urban Challenge, with its repechage race and final race of the day, will be back with the single-seaters powered by Chevrolet's 5.7L V-8 engines once again fueled by non-petroleum synthetic gasoline that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80%. The Formula Tour 1600, the SuperProduction Challenge, the NISSAN Sentra Cup, the SCCC Canadian Sports Car Championship and the Legends Modifieds, which should welcome a dozen American drivers from the US Legend Cars, will also be on the program.
A challenge to local businesses to keep Saturday night activities going downtown
The withdrawal of the NITRO Rallycross series as the anchor of the GP3R off-road weekend, despite a contract in place, forces the Trois-Rivières event to consolidate its activities in 2023 to the weekend of August 4, 5 and 6 only. The time and resources thus freed up will allow the Grand Prix team to focus on the sustainability of the downtown activities, including the traditional fireworks display over the St. Lawrence River. The team has given itself six weeks to find six partners from the business world who will invest $15,000 each to take the place of municipal funding for this free, colourful evening, always appreciated by tens of thousands of Trifluvians.
"We have always said that this festive, free, public event was a way to thank the people of Triflux for their hospitality," said Dominic Fugère, GP3R's executive director. "We understand the context that prompted the city of Trois-Rivières to restrict funding, but we believe it is possible to maintain this great opportunity to celebrate among Trifluvians, but also with the participants and race fans who visit us. I know that this is a special night for many leaders in our community and I want to give them the chance to join us in thanking Trifluvians and allowing them to gather for free in a family atmosphere. I also invite the other major events of Trois-Rivières to join us to highlight themselves during this evening and to offer the people of Trois-Rivières a memorable evening in honor and for the happiness of the people of Trois-Rivières."
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Information :
Dominic Fugère, General Manager
dfugere@gp3r.com
+1 819 386-7079