ROCK HILL, S.C. (June 15, 2017) – CORE autosport is taking its Red Bull Global Rallycross program north of the border this weekend to take part in a GRC Lites doubleheader at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa.
While GRC teams will be paddocked just behind the museum, the actual course is made up of runways from the Ottawa-Rockcliffe Airport. The 0.762-mile track is a tight and technical one, but features a generous Joker Lap that knocks 0.44-mile off the full distance. The GRC signature 70-foot jump in the dirt section also marks the finish line and will make for an exciting mid-air finish!
The doubleheader means drivers Jon Bennett and Colin Braun have the opportunity to score points in races on both Saturday and Sunday. Currently, Braun is fourth in the GRC Lites Championship standings and Bennett is eighth.
Braun and Bennett are coming off of an impressive GRC round in Thompson, Connecticut, two weeks ago, when they raced in both the IMSA WeatherTech Series in Detroit and then used all means possible, including a helicopter, to get to the Thompson track in time for the GRC Lites final. Starting from the back row of the grid, with only one sighting lap to work from, Bennett finished eighth and Braun fourth. Braun went on to pick up his first GRC Lites podium of the year the following day.
Saturday’s GRC Lites race in Ottawa is scheduled to begin at 4:40pm ET. Sunday’s race is slated for 4:45pm. Both races will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network, Wednesday, June 21 at 5pm ET.
JON BENNETT
“I do enjoy my ‘air time’ in our GRC Lites car, so it is appropriate to race near Canada’s museum dedicated to air and space. In fact, I am an instrument-rated pilot and aviation enthusiast, so I hope to find a few minutes to enjoy the museum myself.
“The Ottawa layout looks interesting and technical. Technique and patience in the dirt section should pay dividends and the Joker merge just before the jump should be entertaining for the fans!
“Colin and I both enjoyed our IMSA/GRC double at our last event. I am looking forward to focusing on the GRC Lites car and always look forward to having races on Saturday and Sunday.
“The helicopter ride to Thompson was helpful to ensure our arrival before the Saturday final, and I could definitely get used to that kind of service, but I’m fairly confident our arrival at the Ottawa circuit will involve a rental car.”
COLIN BRAUN
“Focusing on one series this weekend will be nice, but I think both Jon and I really enjoyed the challenge of doing both at the last event!
“The Ottawa layout looks great. I do have to say that the layouts the series sends out can sometimes be a bit misleading as to what the actual course feels like and drives like, so I usually don’t get too wrapped up in analyzing them. We’ll know what we’re working with when we have a chance to do the real track walk. GRC does a great job with the space they have at each event to make an exciting and fun layout; I am sure this will be no different.
“I really, really want to get my first GRC win. I am not as concerned about the points; winning is the goal! I have always disagreed with people on the championship mentality versus winning races. To me, if you want to win races you have to finish races and not crash out, so winning a championship and winning a race really have the same level of driving effort as you cannot crash and win the race. Sure, maybe you turn up the risk a bit more but this is GRC where you can’t turn the risk up much higher!”