Honda Michelin Series Race 5 Results from Shannonville

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Honda Michelin Series Race 5 Results from Shannonville


ROOKIE TRAVIS WALKER WINS THE SECOND RACE OF THE HONDA / MICHELIN
DOUBLEHEADER AT SHANNONVILLE MOTORSPORT PARK


Shannonville, Ontario (July 4, 2004) - Rookie Travis Walker won Round
5 of the Honda / Michelin Series race held Sunday on a wet
Shannonville Motorsport Park track. The Mississauga  (ON) driver
becomes the first rookie to win a race this season. He started the
18-lap event in sixth place but moved into first on lap nine as the
track was quickly drying up. His Oakville Honda Civic DX Coupe
crossed the finish line with a margin of 12.932 seconds over second
place Ryan Kelly of London. Veteran driver Didier Schraenen, winner
of Saturday's Round 4, finished third to take the lead in the points
standing. Rookie Jamie Holtom of Ottawa finished fourth ahead of Kuno
Wittmer of Montreal.

Rookies and newcomers ran a great race against the veterans on a wet
track as they held eight of the first ten positions at s ses
rivauxrother of Kuno, finished sixth, ahead of rookie Alex Penfold of
Georgetown, Ontario, and Québec drivers Frédérick Lelièvre of
Mont-Joli and rookie Emmanuel Boivin-Moreau of Longueuil. Veteran
Steven Laporte of Saint-Sauveur rounded up the top-10.

'Walker was really exited about the win. '''Everything went great,''
said Walker. I was a bit nervous about starting the race on dry tires
after it had been called a wet race, but it was a great call by team
manager Mark Jonak. As the track dried up, everything went smoothly.
I did not lose my concentration as I increased my lead over the rest
of the field. It's a great win for all the team.''

Polesitter Ryan Kelly was also pleased about the outcome of this
race. In Round 1 at Mosport, he led the field in the wet and was
quickly outpaced by his more experienced rivals. Not this time as he
held the rest of the field running on wet tires to record his best
finish and first podium of the season. ''I'm glad that this race is
over as I have no more tread on both left side tires,'' said the
driver of the KelCoatings Honda. ''I built a good gap at the start of
the race, but as my tires started to go, the field started to catch
up with me. I could not do anything against Travis (Walker) as he was
on dry tires, but I held off Didier who was suddenly being challenged
by Jamie (Holtom). That gave me the break I needed to finish second.''

Starting on the outside of the front row, Didier Schraenen of
Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, spun his wheels at the start and found
himself in third place, challenged by Normand Boyer of Sainte-Agathe
(QC). Schraenen held off Boyer on the first lap and then passed Kuno
Wittmer for second place. He held that position until lap 8 when
Walker flew by him on his way to the win. During the second half of
the race, he was in the thick of a heated battle for third through to
sixth place. ''These guys are mad out there,'' said the
Énergie/NAPA/RDS driver. ''At the start, Normand (Boyer) was pushing
his car into mine, but I held off. I'm happy it's over. Only once did
I touch another car but it was unintentional. It's been a great
weekend with two podium finishes.''

Top 5 in the provisional points standings after 5 races are Didier
Schraenen with 116 points, followed by Steven Laporte with 108, two
more than Frédérick Lelièvre. Fourth place is held by Ryan Kelly
(104), followed by Denis Baillargeon (95).

In qualifying earlier...
In qualifying earlier this morning, Ryan Kelly won his second pole of
the season, lapping the 2.47 Pro Track in a record time of 1:22.291
for an average speed of 108.056 km/h. He shared the front row with
Didier Schraenen (1:22.419). Row Two was filled by Kuno Wittmer
(1:22.567) and Normand Boyer (1:22.595).

Next Race
Honda / Michelin Challenge Series drivers have four weeks of to
prepare for Round Six which will be held July 31, as part of the
historical Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières.

The Honda / Michelin Challenge Series is a 10-race series held over
nine weekends and is contested in Ontario (Mosport and Shannonville)
and Québec (Montréal, Trois-Rivières, Saint-Eustache and
Mont-Tremblant).

The stock Honda Civic DX Coupes are equipped with Michelin Pilot
Sport Cup tires, and provide a truly low cost form of motor racing.
The series was re-introduced to encourage young drivers to enter the
sport, but it did not deter some veterans from returning to the
series. The single-make Championship Series gives drivers the
opportunity the showcase their talent in identical cars.

The road racing series was originally launched in 1976 with the Honda
Civic Hatchback.  During its 17-year run, the series has attracted
more than 400 racers.  Among the Canadian race drivers who have
competed in this series are Richard Spénard, Tony Morris, Frank
Allers, Marc Dancose and Jacques Villeneuve, brother of the late
Formula 1 driver Gilles Villeneuve.

The series is sanctioned by ASN Canada FIA and sponsored by Honda
Canada Inc., and Michelin North America (Canada) Inc. The Honda Civic
has been the top-selling passenger car in Canada for the past six
years.  The Honda / Michelin Challenge Series reinforces the
fun-to-drive aspects of the Civic and will be further supported by
its reputation for quality, reliability and durability.


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