Wittmer takes title in style at ICAR finale

Nick Wittmer grabbed his second Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship in style with a defiant victory in race two for Lombardi Honda Racing.

Starting from pole, Wittmer left the field standing, and romped away to the finish line, taking the chequered flag almost eight seconds clear of the BMW of Gregory Pootmans by the end of the 25 lap race.

Dave Ciekiewicz, Wittmer’s main rival for the championship, could only manage sixth place in the final race of the season, crossing the line right alongside the Pontiac Solstice of Jacques Gravel, and couldn’t prevent Wittmer from claiming his second consecutive title in the CCTCC.

Michel Sallenbach took the win in the Touring Class, and in doing so defends his second place in the championship from Tom Kwok and Karl Thomson.

Thomson, after his win yesterday looked set to make it a Durabond/Compass 360 Racing 1-2 in the championship, but Sallenbach’s result denies him, and the Octane Motorsport driver does secure second place, with Anthony Rapone having being confirmed the Touring class champion yesterday.

The championship has run a rapid and condensed schedule after starting in late May and finishing this weekend, with just four months squeezing in all seven race meetings of the series.

Driver and team budgets as well as accident damage cost has seen the grid deteriorate over the season, but the championship still featured a 23 car field at the final race at Circuit ICAR. Now the championship shuts down for a long break to resume in May next year, with several manufacturers rumoured to be on their way in to join Canada’s touring car series in 2011.