Weekly Blog (28th June 2022)

Weekly Blog (28th June 2022)

My plans for the past week, involved four days of racing , but for various reasons, the agenda was cut in half. 

Before my racing schedule could get under way , I had my monthly I.V.I.G infusions , for Myasthenia Gravis,  Tuesday and Wednesday 21/22 June, at the Cornwall Hospital .

On Wednesday  evening I was invited over to my buddy Don Simpson’s place at Russell, to join his lovely family for supper.

 

Thanks Don, the barbecue steak was excellent.

Racing was all set to begin on Thursday 23rd of June with an event I was really looking forward to. My local Mohawk International Raceway , at Hogansburg, New York were staging  a night of  DirtCar Series races for 358 Modified and  Sportsman.

The forecast was for rain, and the meteorologists got it spot on . It rained for much of the day and the show was called off around mid day. This was a real disappointment for me as I always enjoy big races at the M.I.R.

 It was the Jean Baptiste Holiday Weekend in Quebec, and on Friday and Saturday ,  Autodrome  Granby were staging the Quebec Bowl.

No this isn’t the Quebec Bowl, This is how my morning Timmy’s was being served,

The Friday show was also the opening race of the Quebec/Ontario Challenge, so a lot of long distance travelers were expected. The weather forecast was for an extremely  hot weekend.

I was joined on this trip by my good friend Chanty. We had accommodation booked at The Castel in Granby and arrived in good time to check in before the races.

Once at the track we met up with our friends at the Dagenais/Whitteker Modified and  Cedric Gauvreau Sportsman Teams.  I used them, as a base to leave my camera equipment .

As expected there were plenty of cars and many teams from Ontario had made the trip.

The racing is always good at Granby , but from a photographers point of view. it’s one of the most difficult. There is so much stuff on the infield and very few places to stand. The various light poles add early evening shadows, and the jersey barriers make it a challenge.

As usual I did the best I could.

The first of the feature races,  was supposed to be for the Sport Compact (4 Cyl) , but an accident in one of the Sportsman heats caused a long delay.

A change had to be made to the nights program and the Sport Compact and Rookie Sportsman features were postponed until the next day.

The Modified Quebec/Ontario Feature became the first to run.

After a few lead changes, Granby track expert David Hebert took the win.

I’ve lost count how many wins, David has had at Granby .

The Sportsman Quebec/Ontario race was up next .

Just like the Modified feature , there were plenty of lead changes before the checkers fell , just short of the scheduled 40 laps to beat the 11-00 pm curfew.

Gab Cyr ,  one of my Cornwall locals took this one.

Saturday was just as hot as Friday, if not hotter,  so what better way to spend the day , than beside the hotel pool.

 

When it became too hot to sit around,  I needed an ice cream .

Look who was standing behind me in the convenience store while I waited to pay. After last Sundays Grand Prix win in Montreal, he must of liked Canada and decided to stay for another week .

Saturday nights racing got under way an hour earlier, to compensate for the extra two features that got postponed from Friday.

The Pro Stock division was also an addition to the program.

The Dagenais Team had their second car racing today , which was being driven by Mario Clair.

 

For the Hot Laps I tried a picture taking location that I hadn’t tried for a while. 

From the outside , by the exit of turn four.

Here are some of the shots.

The two postponed features ran first with Dany Voghell winning the Rookie Sportsman and Perre Olivier Breault taking the Sport Compact

I then took a few  pics of the heat races from my usual spot on the middle by turn one and two. 

It was a really hot night, and the sun and heat had got to me, so I didn’t stay there for too long .

I took a break in the back of the Cedric Gauvreau trailer where there was a big electric fan and a camping chair to sit in .

Here’s a shot taken , while I sat  cooling down.

The regular nights Sport Compact and Rookie Sportsman features were held first before the major divisions.

Matheiu Voghel won in the Sport Compact and Raphael Cougeon was the Rookie Sportsman winner.

The Modified Feature was next, and this was yet another win for David Hebert.

He sure is the man to beat at Granby.

The Sportsman Feature followed this and was a little less predictable.

Samuel Charland took the checkers.

The Pro Stocks Feature brought the Quebec Bowl to a close, and in my opinion this was one of the best races of the weekend.

Yves Hamel took got the Victory in this one.

During the course of the day we all learned the sad news that Claude Lavergne , the father of Raymond and Jacques, the  Cornwall Motor Speedway promoters,  had just passed away .

My deepest sympathies go out to all the Lavergne family

R.I.P  Claude Lavergne

Sundays races at the track were canceled, but Tuesday the 28th of June’s,  Kart Night went ahead.

I wandered across town to take a look.