DMCC Round 3 was held this past weekend in Victoriaville, Quebec. It was a very different venue then where a DMCC event usually takes place.. Instead of being at a race track like normal the 3rd round was held in a snow dump that was converted by the DMCC team and with the help of the town of Victoriaville into one of the best DMCC events ever. The track that was set up was very technical and even had a jump half way through it..made it really exciting to watch.
An other new aspect for Rd3 was the way the event was layed out, practice and qualification for both Pro and Pro Am drivers was on the Saturday and then both main competitions were on the Sunday. That way the Pro Am guy also got the visibility they deserve.
During practice most of the drivers were testing out the track and getting used to it especially with the jump it would un settle a car really easily and throw them off line. Pat Cyr who has been doing a bunch of Formula D events made it out to the event and was doing great even tho he was using a borrowed engine and was down a lot on power compared to what he was used to. It was a tricky track and if you got your entry wrong it would send you into the k barrier. something that happened to a few drivers but nothing to serious.
Practice went off with out a hitch for both the ProAm and Pro drivers and the grand stands were already getting full. It was time for qualifications. First up were the ProAm guys. Mario Courchesne of team Drifters/Soldiers had a rough first run..he backed the car into the k barrier but the damage was not too bad..But on his second run he had a bit worse luck and really hit hard…The crazy thing about this is that he and Pro driver Dominic Derosier share the car and Pro qualifications were coming up next. Tomy Boivert-Bellemare has been doing great all season and he get the top qualifying spot.
Next up were the Pros, There were already some drivers not at pre grid because of issues. Marc Landreville had engine problems during the practice session and had to retire and Marce Andre Fontaine who crashed his Skyline at rd2 sadly blew his tranny during practice too. Carl Nadeau did try to qualify in his BFG V8 powered M3 but the car had some big issues and both his qualification runs were a bust. After missing rd2 Tania was back but after a run in with the wall her day was over.. Too everybodys surprise Dom Derosier pulled up to the line for the second run of quals..Really impressed with the Drifters/Soldiers team for getting the car back together so fast after a pretty good wall hit. And even with a car that was not 100% Dom put down a solid run that get him into the show! Top spot went to Miro with Jeff Laflamme qualifying in second and Dave Brigg in 3rd.
Day 2 started off with a bang! Compared to Rd2 where it seemed like the end of the world with all the rain we received we could not of asked for a better day for the competition. After a few quick practice sessions for both Pro and ProAm the grand stands were already completely full and by the time the Pro Am comp started it was pretty much standing room only…was awesome to see since we were after all in a snow dump.
The Pro Am comp was great. These guys pushed the limits and gave the crowd a great show with tandem runs that in some cases were better then the Pro’s. Top qualifyer . Tomy Boivert-Bellemare took home the win after a hard battle against Eric Warnet in his Mustang with Marc Andre Claude getting 3rd.
Now it was time for the Pro competition. The top 16 battles were exciting and with a few drivers not making the cut both Miro and Jeff Laflamme got bi -runs into the top 8. The track was amazing for tandems..the action was so tight that a lot of the run resulted in one more times. The final 4 battle was some of the best drift action Ive ever seen in DMCC. First up was Miro against Pat Cyr. Pat is a tandem monster on a technical track like this. On his chase run he stuck to Miro like glue but it was on his lead run where it all went wrong. Pat had a bit of a gap on Miro and coming around the last clip where the finish line is, Pats back end clipped the K wall and it sent him into into and up the k wall with his front end. I have to give props to Miro for avoiding Pat while he was spinning around and loosing part off his car.
Next it was Dave Briggs against Jeff Laflamme, two drivers that were very consistent all weekend. It was a great battle with Briggs doing good on his chase run. On his lead run Briggs wall tapped causing his tire to pop and actually come right off the rim. With that a one more time was issue and after that intense battle Dave was giving the win.
With Pat Cyr out of it, Jeff Flamme was automaticly awarded 3rd place. Now for the battle for 1st it was Miro versus Dave Briggs. The battle was great and pretty equal so it really hard to pick a winner but after the judges went over the points Dave Briggs was given the win..His 2nd podium in DMCC and first win in DMCC.. Dave was excatic since he was aiaming for this for the longest time.
Overall it was an insane weekend. The venue for RD3 was one of the best ever with the great weather, awesome track and packed grand stands I don’t think we could of asked for anything better.
For more information www.dmccdrift.com