FEL SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP CANADA

Series Returns to Honda Indy Toronto with Tripleheader

Stories by Bryce Turner

The FEL Sports Car Championship Canada (SCCC) had an eventful triple-header on the streets of Toronto (July 14-16), where a visiting driver battled with series regulars at the front of the field for the second straight year.

Demi Chalkias started on the GT4 and overall pole in Race 1. She swapped the lead early before being involved in a wreck, which led to the race’s only full-course caution.

“I did my best to run away but, unfortunately, in the last corner, there was an incident with two TCR cars, which had one completely perpendicular to the track and it’s blind,” said Chalkias. “There was no yellow that was out at that time, so I made hard contact with them.”

Chalkias was able to continue, finishing 13th, but was left with significant damage that needed repair. She then finished third and seventh, overall, in the following races. The contrast between qualifying and the race one result was not lost on the driver.

“Qualifying P1 for both (Saturday) races was mega for me and it showed that I belong here and that I’m fast,” said Chalkias. “A lot of excitement qualifying, it was very emotional. In racing, the highs are really high and the lows are really low; yesterday was a super big high and today, having contact and losing my lead, was a low.”

Nick Galante took the lead from Chalkias in Race 1 and went on to win. The Monterey,

CA driver knows FEL Motorsports president Chris Bye through IMSA and was able to fit an appearance at Toronto into his schedule, driving for local team VPX Motorsport.

“(Bye) has the greatest team of people, hard-working, heartfelt and it extends all the way down through the paddock,” said Galante. “Even though they’re smaller in numbers… they’re shooting for the stars and I think they’re going to get there.”

Galante sported his familiar ‘Racing to End Alzheimer’s’ livery in the event. Supporting the Alzheimer Society of Toronto for this race, the cause hits close to home for the driver.

ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT A ‘WIN-WIN’

“Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away from Alzheimer’s and my aunt just passed away recently from Alzheimer’s,” said Galante. “The (Racing to End Alzheimer’s) founder, Phil Frengs, his wife Mimi is suffering from Alzheimer’s, so he created it in her honour to go do some good for the world and we’re doing it through racing, so it’s a win-win.”

In Race 2, Galante took the lead on the opening lap, before trading the position with Jack Polito in the early running. On Lap 7, Polito dove to the inside of Galante in Turn 1, making contact that sent Galante spinning.

“I tried on the outside of (Turn) One for a number of times and he’d been leaving me no room whatsoever, he’d been cutting me off, which was fine; that’s racing and I’m going to respect that,” said Polito. “I noticed I’d been getting better runs out of (Turn) 11, so I put it on the inside. I was up on his door and he turned in and that’s what happened.”

Galante was able to get going after dropping to third; the move by Polito caught him off guard.

“I looked in my mirrors going down the front straightaway and I thought he was too far back to make a move, so I ran my regular line, thinking that he wasn’t going to make a move,” said Galante. “I kept it off the wall, kept the clutch in, kept it running. Cars were coming at me, I thought we were going to take one head-on…turned it around Ricky Bobby style and we were able to carry on.”

On Lap 12, a caution bunched the field, allowing Galante to pass Chalkias after the restart, but he was unable to catch Polito, with the series’ points leader taking the win.

For Race 3, Polito was handed a grid penalty, sending him to the rear of the GT4 grid for the start. The final support series race before the IndyCar headliner saw Galante lead the field to green and go flag-to-flag for the victory, with Polito finishing second.

In TCR, Richard Boake swept the three races, with a top-three overall finish in the finale. He noted the difficulty of running on a street course like Toronto.

“You’re always kind of just managing risk, but trying to get the most out of the car, I think we did the best job of that this weekend,” said Boake. “I’ve been pretty fortunate to have some good success here, so just building that momentum and doing it in front of the home crowd makes it all sweeter.”

In the new-for-2023 TCA class, visiting driver James Vance swept the three races. Next up on the schedule for the SCCC is the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières.

Emzone Radical Cup Canada

The FEL Emzone Radical Cup Canada (RCC) hosted a historic weekend, where they were joined by their US counterparts for three races on the streets of Toronto.

After some discussions last season, the RCC and the Blue Marble Radical Cup North America (RCNA) were able to join forces this year, creating the car count necessary to put the Radicals on the Indy Toronto schedule. The combined event also meant that four classes were on track at the same time.

“We have 14 Radicals here, which we’re super proud of, but the reality is that with 14 cars, the economics don’t work,” said FEL Motorsports president Chris Bye. “It’s exciting having two different groups out there. It’s challenging because it’s a championship within a championship, so we run on our Michelins and they run on Hankooks. We started with a 30-second split but it was pretty busy out there, with 35 Radicals in the running; it looked like fun.”

The RCC cars are comparable to the Pro 1340 class in RCNA, while their Platinum and Pro 1500 classes have faster vehicles. The RCC field started at the front for the Saturday races, before holding up the rear for the Sunday finale.

Race 1 was run on a wet track and saw some close action, including cars screaming four-to-five-wide towards the first turn on a restart. Unfortunately, cautions limited the amount of green flag action.

Gavin Sanders grabbed the RCC and overall win in Race 1, before taking the class win and sixth overall in Race 2.

“We were a little bit nervous about the new surface and different sort of track layout, in terms of the bumps… then it went to wet and it was just super unpredictable,” said Sanders. “The second race (was) much drier, much easier, a lot more straightforward. A lot more racing, which was a lot of fun to be doing; it was an entertaining race.”

Sanders won the two SCCC races in Toronto last season, which provided him with some transferrable experience that he could use for the Radicals.

“Track knowledge is a big factor when it comes to street circuits, so it really worked out, it really helped in terms of our immediate pace and making adjustments to the car,” said Sanders. “The race craft also helps in terms of knowing where to pass and when, what opportunities normally open themselves up. But, with a new car, a very different sort of racing style, it kept me on my toes.”

Sanders was involved in an on-track incident in Race 3, which ended his day early; Owen Clarke took the RCC victory in that event. In the Platinum class, Jon Field grabbed two of three wins, including the overall victory in the middle race. The RCNA driver enjoyed competing alongside the Canadian contenders.

“It’s awesome, they’re great drivers,” said Field. “It was just a lot of fun, very competitive. We had a lot of different types of conditions to deal with this week, so it was exciting.”

Louis Schriber took the overall and Platinum wins in the finale. In Pro 1500, Nick Persing, Gregg Gorski and Danny Dyszelski each recorded a victory, while Ken Savage and Robert Cipriani-Detres (two wins) recorded victories in Pro 1340. IT