Mirabelle | Another star joins the long list of experienced drivers who will take part in the prestigious Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières next month.
Raphaël Lessard has already confirmed his presence at the NASCAR Pinty’s Series event on August 6th. This will be his third start in Mauritius.
Newspaper Went to meet him on Wednesday, when he got to know his new car during a day of private testing at the ICAR circuit in Mirabel.
Lessard recalled: “It is an idea of Mathieu Kingsbury. For our part, we have been looking for a car to race in Trois-Rivières for a few weeks. Everything paid off last week with the contribution of my partners, Daniel Perubi, owner of XPN World, which specializes in the manufacture of nutritional supplements.”
The driver from Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on July 5, has covered more than fifty laps of the Basses-Laurentides circuit.
“The more the day progresses, the more I improve my lap times. I’m convinced I’ll come to Trois-Rivières with a high-performance car. I just have to get back into the swing of things. It’s been a while since I’ve been driving on the road circuit,” he said as he got off the car.
Full time steering wheel in sight
Lessard, one of the most talented drivers of his generation, dreams of not only playing a full-time season next year in the nation’s most competitive stock car series, but also returning to the Craftsman Pickup Truck Series, NASCAR’s third division in the United States.
“I have opportunities on the table,” he said, “but it takes money. I’m in the process of doing four races this year on small oval tracks, albeit not with a big team. It will still allow me to find this series that has given me great sensations in the past.
As a reminder, Lessard achieved the best victory of his career when he won at the legendary Talladega Circuit on October 3, 2020 in Vans.
“My goal hasn’t changed,” he admits. I want to make a living by racing cars. As for the Pinty’s Series, it is a prestigious tournament and above all a very competitive one. I want to prove that I belong there.”
In 13 Pinty’s Series appearances, Lessard has three wins, the first of which was won in 2019 in front of his home crowd at Vallée-Jonction, on his first start.
Strong championship
Recruited this time by the famous Larue team, Lessard can keep his hand by participating this year in the very tough ACT-LMS Quebec tournament, where he dominates the cumulative standings ahead of teammate William Larue. He will also be among the twenty or so entered to compete on Saturday during the next stage which will be held at Autodrome Montmagny.
Among his opponents we will find the same Mathieu Kingsbury, the one who will entrust him with the wheel of his car in Trois-Rivières.
Kingsbury said, in an interview with register. For my part, I want to develop a project dear to me, which is to create a new team in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series to promote the emergence of promising young drivers.
“However, I want to be clear, I have no intention of retiring as a pilot,” noted this thriving entrepreneur at the helm of Duroking, which has more than 800 employees.
Lessard’s partner XPN will launch a new drink as part of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières.
“We have been supporting Raphael for three years and are very satisfied with the results of this engagement. “Trois-Rivières is an unmissable event of the motor racing season, and we are delighted to see our protégés proudly defend our colors there,” said Bérubé, President of XPN World.
Aside from Lessard, there will be no fewer than three other Quebec drivers to participate in both the Pinty Series race and the Défi Urbain Chevrolet event in a GP3R. They are Marc Antoine Cameran, Alex Labbe, and Dexter Stacey.
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