Behind the wheel of car #47 WeatherTech Canada | Bellemare Group | Omnifab, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin had a great start to the 2024 NASCAR Canada series season, taking third place on Sunday, at the Mosport circuit (Canadian Tire Motorsport Park), after leading several laps and being in the fight for the victory until the last restart.
Triple series champion Louis-Philippe Dumoulin arrived with confidence at the Ontario circuit, which he particularly appreciates for its fast corners and atmosphere. For the occasion, more than 30,000 spectators attended the 51-lap event, extended to 53 due to incidents at the end of the race. “I’m a little disappointed with the yellow flag that sent the race into extra time because I was really hoping to be able to fight to the end with Marc-Antoine Camirand for the win. I saw that his tires were more worn than mine in the last few laps and I believed in my chances. But overall, starting the season with a podium is a satisfactory result for our team. We showed our competitiveness throughout the weekend, with a special mention to the Dumoulin Compétition team during the pit stops: the work and strategy were perfect! » mentions Louis-Philippe Dumoulin.
The day before, during free practice and then in qualifying, Dumoulin was already in the first positions of the peloton of 30 cars. “I qualified fifth because I didn’t have full confidence in the tires. The set of tires tested for qualifying did not give me complete satisfaction, but I have overcome it. Then, the second set, used for qualifying and with which we have to start the race, did not allow me to exploit the car’s full potential either, although my time was still good,” summarizes the driver of car No. 47 WeatherTech Canada | Bellemare Group | Omnifabulous.
As soon as the race started, under a summer sun on Sunday afternoon, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin was among the leaders. He took the lead on lap 18, on the second restart, before going to the pits to refuel on lap 23, when the test again came under yellow flag. “After refueling, we decided to return to the pits for the second time with FCY to change all four tires. The bet was big because we expected the race to restart at any moment but it was the right choice. Then I had new tires to face the second part of the race,” explains the driver from Trois-Rivières. Remember that the NASCAR Canada series rules prohibit teams from refueling at the same time as changing tires, during a pit stop.
Louis-Philippe Dumoulin, who started very far back in the peloton, soon returned to the top 3. “I had some difficulties with the drivers who had not changed tires and were still blocking the trajectory, although they were slower with their old tires, but in general I couldn’t. We will not waste much time,” he confesses.
The race eventually went to overtime. “It’s a shame about the last yellow because before it was possible to win. I finally conceded a place during the last restart, to the benefit of Gary Klutt, to finish third, but this circuit car that we completely rebuilt gave me complete satisfaction. It’s nice to think that you come to a circuit to aspire to victory, to keep fighting. The entire team worked very hard during the offseason to start 2024 with a good rhythm. It is a very promising podium for the future,” concluded the driver of car number 47 WeatherTech Canada | Bellemare Group | Omnifabulous.
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