FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SA20180205-01EN SÉRIE ACT A HONOURS BOUVRETTE, GAGNON, BEAUCHAMP, TRÉPANIER AND OTHERS FROM « TOP-10 » AT 2017 GALA Laval, QC – February 5, 2018 – The 2017 Série ACT
Gala was held on Saturday February 3rd.
Over 125 competitors, fans and officials attended the event held at the
PUR Hotel in Quebec City. Over $23,000 in prize and awards monies were handed
out to the top-10 in car owner and driver Championships, and top-3 in the rookie
Championship standings. Jonathan Bouvrette of Sainte-Thérèse was crowned
2017 Champion of both car owner and driver Série ACT Championships. This is a first Late Model Sportsman division
championship for Bouvrette, who has raced this class for seven seasons. He ads these titles to his previous 5 NASCAR
Wheelen All-American Sportsman Championships he earned while racing at
Autodrome St-Eustache. Bouvrette had a dream racing season, he: ·
Won three (3)
of the six (6) events (50 %); ·
lead 256 of
600 scheduled laps (43 %); ·
finished in
the top-5 in every event; ·
he climbed
the podium 4 times (66%). Éric Gagnon of Terrebonne won the rookie of the
year title and the Les Constructions Alain Gaudreault Rookie
Championships. Alain Gaudreault and
Diane Gratton handed out the awards and monies to Gagnon, Mathieu Kingsbury of
Blainville and Carl Poulin of East Broughton who finished respectively 2nd
and 3rd in the rookie Championship. Série ACT Management also handed out special awards
during the evening. Gérald « Beedoo » Beauchamp was presented
with the Tom Curley Cup, an annual award handed out since 2014 to someone
active in Série ACT for his hard charging and respectful attitude with some involvement,
even minimal, on the US side. The trophy
was named in honour of the founder of the American-Canadian Tour. Curley dedicated 40 years of his life to
manage and promote stock car racing the North Eastern United States and
Canada. It is a symbol of discipline and
perseverance. Guy Laroche of Sainte-Croix-de-Lotbinière, an
enthusiast photographer, was presented the inaugural Yvon Larrivée Award. Handed out to a member of the media – all
forms – having contributed to promote Série ACT. The Late Yvon Larrivée held the positions, amongst
others, of print motorsports writer and for over 30 years, he was the media
coordinator for ACT in Canada and for Série ACT. He is still considered a reference in
motorsports communications in Canada. For the first time in the 17 year history of Série
ACT, Management invited fans to vote for their favorite driver and best
appearing car of 2017. An impressive
3,086 votes were casted for each of the categories. The fan choice for the most popular drive settled
on Eric Gagnon, while it picked the beautiful Dany Trepanier hot rod. Both were rewarded with plaques and American
Racer Tires, the Official Tire of Série ACT, jackets. Série ACT drivers were asked to identify the most
improved driver of the year. Quebec
City’s Gaétan Gaudreault was designed by his peers and received a plaque. And to highlight the fact that Gaétan’s
progress is in part a result of Nathalie Cantin, his life companion, DL
Performance/VP Racing Fuel presented her with a pink 5 gal fuel jug. VP Racing fuel is the only authorized fuel of
Série ACT. Contingency partner prizes were raffled to car
owners/drivers who participated in all six events and were in attendance. Four (4) powder coated Bassett Racing Wheels
were won by Gerald Beauchamp of Saint-Roch-l’Achigan. A 54 gal VP fuel drum was won by Patrick
Laperle of St-Denis-sur-Richelieu. And
the main prize, an A package, was awarded by Five Star Racecar bodies and won
by Simon Roussin of Quebec City. Mister Christian Trembaly and Miss Line Lamontange
from Alma received a pair of season tickets good for admittance at each of the
2018 Série ACT events. “They are just
fans. They don’t have a favorite
team. They love all of the teams. They are real fanatics. They travel from Alma towing their small
trailer, and regardless of the distance, they did not skip a race and even
travelled extra distance to US races when a Quebec driver was scheduled to race
in it. They need to be recognized and
encouraged” declared Marc Patrick Roy, Managing Director for Série ACT. Autodrome Montmagny’s Kenny Thériault, Owner, and Sylvain
Doyon, Managing Director, showcased the 3-year deal which will have Série ACT
race at the Montmagny, QC facility 4-times a year. “We heard the fans and competitors: they no
longer want 100-laps events. The parties
agreed host two 125 laps event and two 200 laps events” said Kenny Thériault. Série ACT Management thanked publically and whished
the Maltais father-son duo good luck.
Alain who was on board with Série ACT for 13 years as an Official and
pace car driver will graduate to Autodrome Chaudière as the race director,
while Thomas will follow along and become the track flagman. A special mention on Veteran driver Claude
Leclerc’s brilliant career who caped his 40th season was said. “Ironman” as raced in more than 777 ACT
events in Canada and the USA. He led 762
laps and won six races. The Veteran
driver was given a standing room innovation when he confirmed he was filling
for his membership card and his full season entry. He will compete in all 9 Canadian events and
will attempt to race in all 10 US events.
“We will do everything to race in all 19 events. If the crew follows along we will be there”
said Monsieur Leclerc. In his closing remarks, the Managing Director, spoke
about the upcoming season. “Many new
racers will be joining our ranks. Steve
Côté, Rémi Perreault and Vincent Vachon have already confirmed their intention
to race for Construction Alain Gaudreault rookie of the year title. It’s very promising, new drivers and the
influx of new cars. For example,
Jean-Philippe Bergeron announced the formation of a new race team backed by
Prolon Controls/JC Perreault. It’s
another extra car.” “I want to set the record straight: we will be
racing a minimum of nine times in 2018.
We will be racing at Autodrome Chaudière, Montmagny and
St-Eustache. We are addressing the two
events which were taken off the schedule that were planned for St-Eustache. And let’s not forget that we are still under
negotiations for a tenth and major race.
The game plan and other good news will be shared shortly.” Série ACT has managed and presented Championship caliber
Stock-Car events for the last 17 years.
It will be racing nine times in 2018, once at Autodrome Chaudière
(Vallée-Jonction, QC), Autodrome Montmagny (Montmagny, QC) four times and twice
at Autodrome St-Eustache (St-Eustache, QC).
Two other races will be confirmed shortly. For more information, we can be reached via media@serieact.com or by phone at 514-907-1773. - 30 - Source :
Série ACT 514-907-1773