A Top 5 finish for Raphaël Lessard in his first race of 2018!

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Raphaël Lessard, member of the TRD – Toyota driver development program, finished in 5th place on Saturday afternoon at the ARCA/CRA Speedfest Super Series 200 in Cordele, Georgia. In his first time behind the wheel of his new car, the FRL Express/Mobil 1/Toyota Camry #51, Raphaël Lessard led a spirited fight to the very end against other equally passionate contenders.
 
The newest member of the Kyle Bush Motorsports (KBM) team showed great determination throughout the 200 laps of the Crisp Motorsports Park’s Watermelon Capital Speedway. Starting in 9th position, following a satisfying qualifying session on Friday, Raphaël quickly joined the lead group despite an early collision that damaged his front right fender on the 10th lap.
 
The talented Beauceron fought a tough battle with Stephen Nasse as the two drivers were side by side almost at the halfway mark, a battle Raphael won on the 85th lap to secure 8th place. Rising to 7th place on lap 110 and 5th on lap 130 despite the fender damage becoming more apparent, Raphaël eventually took a pit stop to change his two left tires and repair his fender on the 139th lap.
 
During the last third of the race, Raphaël oscillated between the 5th and 7th positions until the 170th lap when he stopped to change his other two tires (as the competition allowed only two tires changes during pit stops).
 
In a restart on the 176th lap, where he was in 6th place with hopes of climbing into the top three, Raphaël’s Toyota Camry # 51 was hit by a rival’s car, which resulted in damage to the rear bumper. This setback did not have serious consequences, even though he had to start at the end of the pack on the leader’s lap, in 11th place, according to the rules of the series. Raphaël then made an excellent recovery after the last yellow by rising three places in one lap and three more afterwards to take 5th place. Raphaël was able to stay in the Top 5 for the final 12 laps of the race and finished 5.958 seconds off the leader.
 
“I’m really happy with my performance for my second race on the Watermelon Capital Speedway. Overtaking other cars is difficult on this track and the uphill was tough, but I hung on up to the end and I was able to climb back into 5th place after the accident on the 176th lap,” said Raphaël.
 
“It’s a very motivating start to the season with a new team and a new car, and I really enjoyed driving my Toyota Camry #51, an excellent car. My team has incredible expertise and our chemistry enables us to work together very well. My adaptation to KBM went very fast and I cannot wait for my second race with them. I am very lucky to be so well-surrounded and I would like to thank my parents, the investors, FRL Express, Mobil 1, Toyota-TRD, Cody Glick, my team leader and all the members of this team, as well as Kyle Busch for his helpful advice. These people give me the opportunity to pursue truly exciting experiences,” concluded Raphaël.

RLR PR

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