It was a busy couple of days for Thomas Nepveu as he completed his first-ever dirt racing events at Ohsweken Speedway on Monday and Wednesday night for the Freshstone Brands Dirt Classic and the Pinty’s 100. He walked away with another successful Top 10 finish in Race 1 after securing 8th place, and although Race 2 did not quite go his way, he had many positive takeaways from the events overall.
The young Oka-native driver of the #24 Evirum | Home Hardware Nepveu car had a steep learning curve as he began to navigate the clay surface on Monday evening, taking the time to familiarize himself with the new conditions in the opening practice session. He set the 17th quickest time, but got up to speed very quickly once it was time for qualifying, and went on to secure a third-row starting position as he qualified 5th overall.
As the first race kicked off in front of packed grandstands on Monday night, Nepveu had a battle on his hands immediately, going wheel to wheel against highly experienced drivers while continuing to build up experience of his own on the dirt track. He pushed hard lap after lap and crossed the finish line in eighth position.
“Race 1 went well,” said Thomas Nepveu. “I considered it to be part of my learning process as it was my first time racing on dirt, but we battled hard in the Top 10 and went on to finish P8, which I’m quite pleased with.”
Nepveu immediately got off to a strong start for his second outing on Wednesday evening, scoring the sixth fastest time in the practice session before going on to qualify third on the grid, marking his best qualifying result of the season thus far.
As the race got underway, Nepveu got his elbows out against his competitors, racing with the pointier end of the field and battling in the Top 5 for the opening half of the race. The second half of the race didn’t go quite as well, as he was involved in a few collisions that slowed his ascent. He was unable to make up sufficient ground and had to settle for 18th place.
“We were solidly fighting in the Top 5 for more than half the race,” Thomas continued. “It was very unfortunate that we got caught in an accident that ultimately made us lose a lot of places, and I wasn’t able to move back up the field. The team gave me a very fast car and it was a pleasure to drive it on the dirt. It’s a shame that our time here ended with some bad luck, but overall it was still two great days of racing and I can say that I’m leaving Ohsweken with a smile on my face after the performance and pace we displayed with the #24 Evirum car! Looking forward to the Evirum 125 at Circuit ICAR.”
Thomas Nepveu PR
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