Top 7 at Sunset Speedway, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin very confident for the rest of the NASCAR Pinty’s season

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The 2023 season of the NASCAR Pinty’s series began this weekend on the short oval of Sunset Speedway, in Innisfil, Ontario. Qualified seventh, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin finished the race in seventh position. But beyond the result, it is the outstanding level of performance of the driver, his team and the car #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare which caught the eye, Dumoulin battling in the Top 5 for most of the race before the incidents and contacts of the last laps changed the position order.

“Seventh place may seem far from our podium targets at the start but we are satisfied. The car #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare was very efficient, the team did an excellent job, which allowed me to evolve among the leaders from the first laps,” said Dumoulin. “A Top 3 was possible but we all know how it goes on short ovals: it’s a scramble during the last laps and as I was on the outside line during the last restarts, which is a disadvantage. I could have finished third, I could have finished tenth. I finished seventh, these are still good points for the championship, and above all, we leave this first event with the confirmation of being at the best level, of being able to fight for victory,’ he adds.

Louis-Philippe Dumoulin gained positions throughout the first segment of 125 laps. He was even one of the great animators of this segment, battling side by side with several opponents to clinch the fifth place at the mandatory break. “During the break, my techs noticed that the front of the car was lifting a lot, obviously a shock absorber had broken but we must to complete the second 125 laps shortly so we didn’t have time to repair. We were also a little too low in tire pressure because, when the sun went down, the temperature dropped a lot and it was difficult for me to get the tires up to the right temperature at the restarts » confides the driver from Trois-Rivières.

With the second segment marked by numerous yellow flags, the tire pressure concern was a big handicap for Dumoulin, who nevertheless fought on the inside and outside line to keep a place among the victory contenders. “At the final restart, I was sixth, so in the outside line. With the contacts in the last three laps, everything was still possible. Sixth, then fourth… then finally seventh! In these conditions it’s a bit of a lottery but we showed excellent potential during this first event, it looks very well for the rest of the season” mentioned the driver of the #47 car WeatherTech Canada | Bellemare Group.

Next event: Sunday, May 21 at the CTMP!

The second event of the 2023 NASCAR Pinty’s season will take place next weekend at the legendary Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) road course, formerly known as Mosport. For NASCAR Pinty’s drivers, this will be the first of two annual meetings at this track located northeast of Toronto.

The CTMP is a track that Louis-Philippe Dumoulin knows very well and where he has always success, in many racing series. After promising performances at Sunset Speedway, this race is highly anticipated for the driver of car #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare. “We are going there to win, at least aim for the Top 5! We have great momentum, our road race car has been fine-tuned over the winter and I love this track. It’s a good track for our powerful and heavy NASCAR cars, we can really go flat out. I like all the road race tracks used by the series but CTMP has something more and, in the current situation, I think we can go there with confidence and good chances of success” concludes Louis-Philippe Dumoulin.

Louis-Philippe Dumoulin PR

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