The Nissan Micra Cup will begin its sixth season next month. Having been on Canadian circuits since 2015, the series is one of the first in the country to announce its new 2020 calendar to offer fans and drivers an exciting season.
Nearly 30 drivers are expected to take part in this season which will start at Circuit Mont-Tremblant at the end of July and will be broadcast on RDS, a first for the Nissan Micra Cup.
Since its creation in 2015, the Nissan Micra Cup has allowed dozens of drivers, most of them racing novices, to taste the pleasure of motorsports.
Some of them have left their mark with titles and victories, but all of them have enjoyed the atmosphere and the pleasure of driving the agile Nissan Micra S almost as standard equipment on Canadian circuits.
The 2020 season took a little longer to take shape due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, but now it’s coming up with four events.
We have worked hard over the past few months to ensure that the 2020 season will be just as interesting as the previous ones.
— Jacques Deshaies, Nissan Micra Cup Promoter, JD Promotion and Competition
“Obviously, the safety of our drivers, teams and staff is our first priority and we will strictly adhere to the health and safety standards that will be put in place by the owners of the tracks where our series will take place,” said Deshaies.
“The drivers are looking forward to racing again! I have rarely seen such a craze, they want to have fun and the Nissan Micra Cup, with the low budgets it requires, is definitely the series that can offer them the best pleasure-cost ratio!
I expect to have 24 to 25 drivers at the first event, and probably about 30 at the Canadian Grand Prix1 later in the season,” said Jacques Deshaies.
A busy and attractive new 2020 calendar
The Summer Classic at Circuit Mont-Tremblant from July 24 to 26 will be the inaugural event, before seeing the series perform at Calabogie Motorsport Park, southwest of Ottawa from August 28 to 30.
After this event in Ontario, the competitors will have the Canadian Grand Prix1 and the season will end with the Fall Classic at Circuit Mont-Tremblant from September 24 to 26.
Originally scheduled for June, the Canadian Grand Prix has been postponed by Formula One authorities and its new date, in late summer or early fall, will be announced in July.
This will be the second time that the Nissan Micra Cup drivers will perform on the prestigious Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve as part of the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada.
The Summer Classic at Circuit Mont-Tremblant is expected to be held behind closed doors, therefore without spectators on site, but the situation could change for the following events.
“We will work with the event promoters to make sure things run as smoothly as possible. In any case, in the Nissan Micra Cup, no one participates with a big team of mechanics!
It’s a family event, everyone is well aware that if we have to reduce the number of people on-site, it will be done without any problem,” explains Jacques Deshaies.
If the spectators cannot be on-site, at least at the beginning, the means of communication, including social networks, will be activated as usual throughout the season, in order to inform the fans.
Fans will also have a particularly interesting new feature this season: the presence of the Nissan Micra Cup on the RDS network in Quebec. Eight thirty-minute shows summarizing the 2020 races and the entire atmosphere of the series will be broadcast in the fall.
“I think it’s hard to do better than that in terms of visibility for the fans! “Even if some races are presented behind closed doors, spectators will be able to follow this sixth season in full,” he concludes.
For his part, Steve Milette, President of Nissan Canada, is looking forward to seeing the Nissan Micra Cup in action.
It’s been a long time since the Nissan Micra Cup family has come together, and we are very happy to meet again on July 24th.
— Steve Milette, President, Nissan Canada
“Motorsports is part of Nissan’s DNA, and after more than 80 years of racing experience around the world, we know how to adapt to changing external circumstances.
Of course, the circuits will have a different atmosphere this year, but we are delighted with the opportunity to continue to bring the excitement of the Nissan Micra Cup to our fans with broadcasts on RDS. As always at Nissan, we keep moving forward while having fun,” added Milette.
New and familiar faces in the paddocks
Among the registered drivers, it is very difficult to predict who has the best chance of winning the title.
While Quebec’s Kevin King, 2019 vice-champion, and Valérie Limoges, third in 2019, generally start with the favor of the predictions, many young Ontario drivers also intend to fight for the 2020 title.
Last year, it was a rookie driver from the karting world, Marco Signoretti, who won the championship with his Micra S from the PayPay / Motorsports In Action team.
A team that will be back, as will the very promising Gavin Sanders, who is aiming to win the championship for his first full season.
The actor and comedian Michel Barrette, his son Nicolas, Jake Exton, Frédéric Bernier and the 2019 champion in the senior class Sylvain Ouellet (driver and owner of a team that will field no less than four cars) are also on the 2020 entry list.
In addition, four women will be present on the starting grid: Ontario’s Demi Chalkias, Quebecers Marie-Josée Massicotte and Marie-Soleil Labelle, a 16-year old rookie from karting, but also Valerie Limoges who we have seen on many podiums since the beginning of the Nissan Micra Cup in 2015.
More details on the race schedule and the complete list of entrants will follow shortly.
