Ethan shines despite ‘The Big One’ at Mosport

The V8 SCOPS Premier Series moved to Mosport International Raceway in Canada, and with Dayne unable to race and Adam taking an indefinite leave of absence, Altus would be represented by Sam Blacklock and Ethan Warren. Both drivers were coming off solid races at Sebring however with the very tight field in pre-qualifying, getting a strong result was going to be tough.

Race 1 got off to an almighty bang, with an enormous crash involved almost the entire field when the track would be blocked between turns 1 and 2, as cars jostled for position in the run into T2. Sam was right in the thick of it, getting a slide when avoiding a baulked car in front and ultimately touching one car, who touched another and the chain reaction then took place. The incident would prove race ending for Sam, and Ethan would carry massive damage but remarkably was able to continue and finish in 16th place despite the incident.

Race 2 got off a lot cleaner and for the most part Sam and Ethan were having a very tight race with those around them. It is the nature of Mosport, where the margins are fine and often the passes are difficult. In the case of Sam, a pass was made on him which unfortunately would destroy Sam’s car, taking him out of the race. A penalty was applied to the offending driver, however it was little consolation from a second DNF in two races for Sam – a nightmare weekend.

In the case of Ethan however, he was having a great race, moving through the pack nicely and racing clean and strong despite often being attacked himself in odd places, and his race almost ended not once, but twice through some questionable driving. Ethan kept a cool head however, and did what many could not achieve and brought home a mostly clean car in 7th place after a long fight with Marlon McMullen.

The V8SCOPS series now moves onto Monza in two weeks time, where Dayne will also be making a welcome return and ruffling some feathers at the top. The team is optimistic of a good performance and will be looking to stay clear of the midfield.