Do the race in the cheapest car in the country

Frédéric Mercier

Thursday, 12 October 2017 18:22

UPDATE
Thursday, 12 October 2017 18:22

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Automobile racing is a sport of the rich. Except that with a little imagination, one can make it more accessible than you might think.

At least that is the ambition of the Cup Nissan Micra, a series of one-design racing where there are small sub-compact cars of a 109-horsepower.

A funny car racing

Yes, you read that correctly. For a third consecutive summer, drivers have traveled the circuits of Quebec and Ontario to the edge of Nissan Micra, the new car is the cheapest in the country with a retail price of 9988$.

Very little changed in relation to its civil version, the Micra race has received a few changes before making its debut on the circuit. We replaced the seats and steering wheel original by others specifically designed for the race. It has also removed the airbags and installed a safety cage to protect the drivers in case of need. It has lowered suspension, improved brake pads and changed the exhaust to sound a little more haunting.

For the rest, the Micra that criss-crosses the race track is roughly the same as the one sold at dealers. No changes have been made to its engine, four-cylinder, 1.6-litre or manual transmission with five reports.

The organizers of the Coupe Nissan Micra deal to make the modifications to the vehicles and sell them directly to the participants for 23 000$. Drivers interested in participating may so disburse that amount and make their entry in the series. To do is to pay the travel expenses incurred by the six weekends of racing.

Read also: Michel Barrette has fun Cup Nissan Micra

Small car, big fun

The idea of riding in a car as commonplace to leave you puzzled? I admit, me too.

At least that was the case until I spent a few laps behind the wheel of the Micra race. There I discovered a small sports car less powerful, but also agile and very fun to drive. After all, no need for a car to 500 horsepower to have fun on a race track.

“The beauty of this series is that all cars have the same power, it is really the driver that makes all the difference,” says Jacques Deshaies, Cup promoter Nissan Micra since its inception.

It is far from the world of Formula 1!