HUNTSVILLE - The fifth round of the Canadian Automobile Sports Clubs - Ontario Region 2012 season, the Motorsport Club of Ottawa Ted Powell Races, were held at the Calabogie Motorsports Park on Sept. 1 and 2.
The 5.05-km track is known for its tire-grinding surface and challenging 20-turn layout.
Any question of whether this was going to be a thriller was put to rest in the qualifying runs.
The Garage/MBRP’s 110 Viper pulled the second-fastest time in the GT2 class, just .986 seconds behind the class leader and with 50 cars on the track, including 17 from the Auto Sport Quebec Super Production series, there would be no shortage of competition.
Strategy is always a critical factor in any race and this one was no different. A full course caution came on the seventh lap.
Martin Barkey, the driver of the The Garage/MBRP’s 110 Viper, pitted as the course went green three laps later after just missing the opportunity to pit under full course yellow. Returning to the track, Barkey found himself down in 29th place. The early pit stop paid off however, as most of the other teams had also failed to pit earlier he was able to work his way through the field and move into second place in class in just 10 laps.
With his nearest competitor in the overall standings pressing hard just five seconds behind and his Viper’s tires showing signs of wear, Barkey as able to hold on to his lead for a second in class finish to the 24-lap race.
Barkey acknowledged after the race that the challenging Calabogie track pushed his team to the limit.
“What a race … Calabogie Motorsports Park is such a killer track we had such a great time at this event. With this being our first time racing at this track we had no proven car set up and had to figure this out with only a couple practice sessions before qualifying on Saturday. The team was able to get the Viper set up perfectly allowing us to qualify well and run the hour-long race with a second place finish in our class. Another big thanks to all crew and fans for making this race another memorable event.”
The second-place finish in this race gave The Garage/MBRP team 459 points in the standings, improving on its lead over the next closest team.
The team now is in preparation for the BEMC Indian Summer Trophy Race 3 Hour Enduro at Bowmanville, coming up on Sept. 15.