PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
AN EXCITING RACE SCHEDULE, AMBITIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS AND TWO WEEK-END RELAY ON THE SCHEDULE FOR THE 52nd TROIS-RIVIÈRES GRAND PRIX
Trois-Rivières, Tuesday, May 17, 2022 - While preparing to unveil an impressive race schedule for the weekend of August 5, 6 and 7, as well as the new GP3Vert integrated environmental program, the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières received, on Monday, the authorization to relaunch its second weekend of activities, which will be held on its half-asphalt/half-earth circuit on August 13 and 14.
It is an impressive program of 14 races that awaits speed and adrenaline enthusiasts on the Trois-Rivières urban circuit during the traditional road course weekend of August 5, 6 and 7. Of course, NASCAR Pinty's Series champions Louis-Philippe Dumoulin, his brother Jean-François - second in Trois-Rivières last year - and two-time winner Kevin Lacroix will all be trying to take the crown from Alex Tagliani.
They will be up against two drivers from GM Paillé's new structure: three-time series champion and four-time NASCAR winner Andrew Ranger and Marc-Antoine Camirand, fourteen-time winner in Trois-Rivières - but never in NASCAR! Camirand completely dominated the first race of the season by leading 203 of the 252 laps at Sunset Speedway last Saturday before being overtaken by Brandon Watson, Raphaël Lessard and eventual winner Treyten Lapcevich on the final restart.
New this year, the NASCAR Pinty's Series will be joined by the refined machinery of the SCCC Canadian Sports Car Championship featuring Mercedes AMG GT4, Audi RS3 LMS TCR, Mustang GT4 Multimatic and Honda Civic TypeR TCR, including GP3R legend Jocelyn Hébert.
THE URBAN CHALLENGE RETURNS AS THE CULMINATION OF A SERIES OF FIVE EVENTS
A favorite in 2021, the Chevrolet Urban Challenge is back in full force with a field that could reach 50 cars. The drivers will first participate in a series of four qualifying events on the dirt ovals of RPM Speedway, Autodrome Drummond, Cornwall Motor Speedway and Autodrome Granby before coming to battle on the Trois-Rivières asphalt on August 6. The Nissan Sentra Cup development series, the Formula Tour 1600 and the Super Production Challenge are also back on the program as well as the diminutive modified Legends that were so impressive during their demonstration last year that they have been given their own place on our schedule. And more good news: the free open house will be back on Friday August 5th.
NEW GP3Vert PROJECTS TO SUSTAIN OUR DEVELOPMENT
The stated goal when we started the GP3Vert integrated environmental program in 2017 was to weave sustainability directly into the fabric of GP3R. Thus, initiatives to reduce the ecological impact of our event are an integral part of our operations and serve as a test bed for initiatives that can be adopted by other events, businesses or citizens.
With this in mind, GP3R is announcing a major deplastification of its operations. Thanks to the collaboration of the innovative Trois-Rivières company SoluCan, the GP3R will replace single-use plastic water bottles, essential for hydrating its visitors and volunteers, with 100% recyclable aluminum cans. In addition, GP3R will work with its food concessions to replace single-use plastic serving dishes and cutlery with fiber and wood substitutes that will be recovered and recycled into biomass that will eventually be biomethanized and turned into renewable natural gas. RPMEco will add its effort by recovering and recycling plastic from oil and automotive fluid containers used by race teams.
These de-plastification efforts will be in addition to the migration to lower carbon impact alternative fuels already announced in 2019 but whose deployment has been delayed by the global Covid-19 pandemic. As indicated in the GP3R carbon footprint conducted in collaboration with the Trois-Rivières Sustainable Foundation and the City of Trois-Rivières, the diesel consumed during site set-up operations in 2018 represented 33.5 tons of CO2 equivalent, or nearly one-third of GP3R's direct emissions.
In order to reduce this impact, the GP3R - in collaboration with its heavy equipment supplier Lionel Deshaies Inc. - is migrating this year to 100% pure biodiesel, produced in Quebec by Innoltek of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu. The biodiesel comes from the transformation of recycled products such as animal fat or recycled cooking oil. This recycling of recycled materials allows a reduction of greenhouse gases of more than 95% compared to standard petroleum diesel.
We are already offsetting the greenhouse gases emitted by our race vehicles through our social plantings in the community, such as the more than 200 plants we have planted at École Chavigny," added Dominic Fugère, GP3R's executive director. However, these emissions are only a small part of the impact of a large event like ours. We must aim to reduce before we compensate, and that's where the use of biofuels, both on the track and for assembly, makes sense."
CEO Simon Doray was proud to announce Innoltek's partnership with GP3R: "Thanks to the leadership of event organizations such as GP3R regarding sustainable development, this will allow the general public to better understand the important role that biofuels can play in the short term in the societal effort to decarbonize our economy," he said. Quebec must, along with the electrification of transportation, incorporate all types of fuels, including biofuels, in order to reach its 2030 GHG reduction targets. The exemplary nature of the Trois-Rivières Grand Prix will help promote biodiesel as the green fuel of choice."
Another fossil-free fuel that is helping to decarbonize is also expected to make its debut at GP3R, but this time on track! Tests conducted with P1 Race Fuels' ECO100 synthetic racing gasoline have proven conclusive and could even lead to its use in GP3R competitions as early as this year. Produced from captured carbon, green hydrogen generated via electrolysis and complex alcohols distilled from secondary biomass from agricultural waste, this fuel allows the development of technologies that will contribute to the decarbonization of transportation while enhancing the value of the current fleet of cars powered by internal combustion engines.
LAST HOUR: THE RELAUNCH OF THE WEEKEND HALF ASPHALT / HALF BEATEN EARTH AUTHORIZED
While preparing to unveil all this good news, the GP3R learned one more thing on Monday afternoon, as it obtained the court's approval to return to its two-weekend formula, one of which will be held on the half asphalt/half dirt circuit that uses a portion of the Hippodrome 3R track.
"We are pleased that the courts have ruled in favor of restarting our second weekend of activity by enforcing our rights to be one of the only places in the world to offer rallycross and supermoto races in the center of a city. Now that we have a free hand, we'll be confirming a strong lineup of local talent in the days to come."
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Information :
Dominic Fugère, General Manager
dfugere@gp3r.com +1 819 386-7079