5th place for Lessard in action packed race in Virginia

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The Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce native, Raphaël Lessard, was participating in the SoBo 250 at the South Boston Speedway in Virginia on Saturday night. He finished in 5th place following what was an action-packed race, filled with cautions and incidents. This 125-lap race was the CARS Tour’s championship race, of which Lessard was the 2016 SLM Series’ Champion.

Thankfully, the driver of the Toyota Camry #99 FRL Express/Toyota-TRD/JBL Audio prepared by David Gilliland Racing was not involved in any of the incidents which generated several yellow flags and two red flags. Indeed, it looked, at times, like a demolition derby and the main task for Lessard was to finish the race and not get tangled up in any accident.

“We avoided all the accidents and we finished the race, that is what matters,” said Raphaël after a very long race. “Let’s say it wasn’t our best race, as proven by our 10th place in qualifications. During the race, I was not able to race at the bottom of the track, I had to stay close to the outside wall, and the car was not reacting how I wanted it to. I came down pit road to have the crew make some adjustments during the race, but it didn’t help. The important thing after tonight’s race is that the car is in one piece!”

Even if Raphaël’s car was not performing as well as he would have liked, he still managed to get good restarts following the various cautions, and he had fun challenging his opponents.

For Raphaël, it is always a pleasure to be on the same track as those drivers he competed against last year. “It was really nice to be back on the track with the same drivers as last year in the CARS Tour. It is a great series and it is always fun to see familiar faces. All in all, it was a pleasant weekend.”

Raphaël’s next race will be in a month, on November 12, for the Governor’s Cup at the New Smyrna Speedway in Florida.

RLR PR

Speedway Digest Staff
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