Round 8 of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge takes place at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, just 40 miles (65 km) from driver James Vance's home in the Toronto suburb of Stouffville. Vance considers the beloved, challenging track - known by many by its first name, Mosport - as his home track and is thrilled to race July 12 at a familiar venue.
"I am completely excited for this weekend," Vance said. "I know the MX-5 cars really well, and I love racing them. My team (C360) is supportive of me doing this. I'm excited for the extra track time. I know I'm really fast in the car, and think I can shine in the series because last year I was running up front and now I have more experience.
The knowledge of the 10-turn, 2.459-mile circuit and the area will help ease the stress of the weekend, as Vance will pull his first weekend of double-duty racing with his teamCompass360 Racing in the SportsCar Challenge and Sick Sideways in the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup. Vance also will race with the MX-5 team in August at Road America and in October at Road Atlanta.
"The most frustrating part of this season is that I haven't been able to break out and really show my potential in Continental (Tire SportsCar Challenge)" Vance continued. "I've had to learn to lean on my teammates some. Luckily, I have a great one in Jon Miller."
With new plans in place with C360 teammate Miller, Vance will be equally as focused on success in his No. 74ExpoSystems USA Honda Civic Si in the Street Tuner class.
"We'll be focused on getting the No. 74 back on track," Vance said. "We've got a new plan going into the weekend. Jon and I will have our own engineering plan worked out with the team for our car. We'll be basing it more of how we feel in the car rather than looking to our teammates."
Vance's sponsor ExpoSystems USA will provide homecoming grandeur by setting up a Formula One-style garage structure. The structure is made of aluminum framing and will feature custom graphics. The unique structure will be on display and available for tours throughout the weekend, with dates and times to be announced. Unique setups similar to C360's are available for purchase on the company's website, www.exposystems.us.
The race weekend begins for Vance at 8 a.m. (ET) Thursday, July 10 for MX-5 Cup Practice 1. The series will hold two 45-minute sprint races. at 8 a.m. and 4:20 p.m. Saturday, July 12.
The SportsCar Challenge schedule begins at 1:40 p.m. Thursday, July 10 for Practice 1. Qualifying for the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Series takes place at 2:40 p.m. Friday, July 11. Finally, the green flag drops over Round 8 at 1:15 p.m. Saturday, July 12. Live timing will be available at scoring.imsa.com, with live updates at @IMSALive on Twitter. The race will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 at 10 a.m. Sunday, July 20th.
