This weekend, the Nissan Micra Cup hosted its final races of the 2018 season as part of the Fall Classic at Circuit Mont-Tremblant. The grand finale event saw Olivier Bédard bag a victory on Saturday, and make a bold move to claim the 2018 Championship title by earning pole position, ahead of Normand Boyer, Jake Exton, Kevin King, Fadi Mourad and Valérie Limoges.
Jake Exton also concluded his season with a victory on Sunday – all witnessed by an exuberant crowd of spectators.
Before the race, approximately 50 Nissan Micra and Z owners were given the opportunity to drive the Circuit Mont-Tremblant track as part of a parade. After the Nissan LEAF pace car completed the two formation laps and subsequently released the peloton of Micra’s, Bédard solidified his lead over the drivers to earn his seventh victory of the season. Behind him, a battle ensued between Limoges, Exton, and King, with Limoges ultimately claiming the second-place spot. King, Mourad and Exton followed suit across the finish line.
Overall podium of the second race, with Jake Exton (1st) Jesse Lazare (2nd), Olivier Bédard(3rd) and Nicolas Barrette (1st rookie). Jake Exton won the final race of the 2018 season and is the first Ontario driver to secure a top three position in the final drivers’ championship standings.
Jesse Lazare, IMSA series endurance driver and 2017 winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona, was back competing this weekend at the Micra Cup and completed the top six amongst a squadron of eight drivers.
On Sunday, the grand finale saw Jake Exton qualify in pole position, before leading the race despite constant pressure from Bédard or Limoges. Multiple passes later, Exton was ultimately victorious in claiming his second win of the season and placing third overall in the final championship standings. Lazare was next across the finish line, followed by Bédard, Limoges, Marc Héroux, Nicolas Barrette, Éric Chaput, Austin Riley, Alex Habrich and Peter Dyck.
The Nissan LEAF was once again used as the official series pace car for the third consecutive Micra Cup event, attracting the attention of enthralled spectators at the Fall Classic.
The 2018 season had 34 drivers compete overall. In the final drivers’ championship standings, Olivier Bédard finished first with a total of 472 points and seven overall victories during the season. Following Bédard in the standings was Kevin King (350), Jake Exton (316) and Valérie Limoges (307). Normand Boyer finished sixth (219) and earned the 2018 Senior Class champion title. Fadi Mourad finished seventh (214 points), bagging the Rookie of the Year spot.
Jake Exton (car#00) and Olivier Bédard (car#1) shared the race victories during the 2018 Micra Cup grand finale on Sunday.
This weekend marks the end of the 2018 Nissan Micra Cup season. The next season will commence in the spring and will once again be comprised of six weekend events, each made up of two races respectively.
The final overall standings podium. Pictured from left to right: Jacques Deshaies, series promoter; Jake Exton (3rd); Olivier Bédard (1st); Joni Paiva, Nissan Canada president; Kevin King (2nd); and Fadi Mourad, 2018 rookie of the year.
For more information on the Nissan Micra Cup and its drivers, please visit www.micracup.com. Don’t miss series news on the Nissan Micra Cup Facebook page, as well as live information and results on Twitter at @micracup. All official videos will be available on the Micra Cup TV YouTube channel.
Race 11 results: www.micracup.com/2018-Results_Race?RID=411
Race 12 results: www.micracup.com/2018-Results_Race?RID=412
Drivers’ Championship Standings: www.micracup.com/2018-Results_ClassGen
SOURCE: Nissan
