Nissan Micra Cup Circuit Mont Tremblant Abhinay Bikkani

Double victory for Nissan GT Academy racer Abhinay Bikkani in the Micra Cup

The fifth and sixth rounds of the 2015 Nissan Micra Cup Circuit Mont-Tremblant (1)

The fifth and sixth rounds of the 2015 Nissan Micra Cup took place this past weekend at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant, in the region of Quebec, Canada. By the end of Saturday’s (July 25, 2015) race, the Nissan GT Academy drivers, Abhinay Bikkani from India and Thanaroj Thanasitnitike of Thailand, finished in first and second place respectively in a closely fought battle that saw the first six cars cross the finish line within 2.5 seconds. On Sunday (July 26), the order of the first five cars was identical to that of the previous day, with Bikkani earning full points.

The fifth and sixth rounds of the 2015 Nissan Micra Cup Circuit Mont-Tremblant (4)

The 25 drivers entered in a doubleheader, which marked the end of the first half of the season, delivered multiple battles, both at the front of the pack and further down the peloton. Qualifying in pole position for the first round on Saturday,Thanasitnitike led the first few laps, never quite being able to shake off his chasing teammate Bikkani or Albertan driver Stefan Rzadzinski. Series leader Olivier Bédard, as well as Valérie Limoges, who executed a nice climb up from tenth place on the starting grid, and Valérie Chiasson, who started in fifth but gave up four spots before climbing back, all joined the three favourites at the front of the pack.

The fifth and sixth rounds of the 2015 Nissan Micra Cup Circuit Mont-Tremblant (3)

On the last turn, each of the six drivers attempted the pass that would give them the victory. But with identical cars for everyone, which were very comparable to a stock Micra, it’s not enough to just have driving talent; drivers must also be very opportunistic. Bikkani came out on top, on his way to claiming his first-ever series victory.

2015 Nissan Micra Cup Circuit Mont-Tremblant (5)

Taking place on Sunday (July 26) afternoon, the second race kicked off with a similar momentum. Unfortunately, the first lap resulted in a hit that forced Metod Topolnik to abandon the race, followed by Chiasson and Aubé. Grouped at the front of the pack, Bikkani, Thanasitnitikate, Rzadzinski and Bédard crossed the finish line in the same order, separated by just over one second. In the drivers’ championship, Thanasitnitikate (216 points) retook the lead ahead of Bédard (202). Rzadzinski remains in third (180) ahead of Bikkani (155) who took over fourth place from Chiasson (121). Topolnik still leads the novice championship. With this outing only just finishing at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant, drivers and organisers of the Nissan Micra Cup will meet once again for two new races next weekend at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières.

Find more images from this race in the gallery below.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top