Laperle, Dery Win Big at Quebec Doubleheader
Waterbury, VT – St-Denis, QC’s Patrick Laperle and Québec, QC’s Jean-Francois Dery each took home American-Canadian Tour (ACT) wins this past weekend as part of a doubleheader in the province of Quebec. Laperle captured the $10,000 CAD top prize for winning the Bacon Bowl 200 in a barnburner at Vallée-Jct., QC’s Autodrome Chaudiere on Saturday, August 17, becoming the winningest Late Model racer in ACT history in the process. Dery then pocketed $5,000 CAD for winning the Jean-Paul Cabana 125 at Ste-Croix, QC’s Circuit Riverside Speedway on Sunday, August 18.
Laperle came out on top at Chaudiere of one of the most competitive, exciting start-to-finish ACT Late Model events of recent memory. Victoriaville, QC’s Samuel Charland, the defending Autodrome Chaudiere Late Model champion, started on the pole and led the first 17 laps. But Laperle was right there with him from the get-go. Following the first caution on lap 14 for Steve Godbout’s frontstretch spin, Charland and Laperle went back-and-forth, swapping the lead four times in six laps before Charland re-assumed control.
“Le Grand” Laperle went back to work a short time later with the duo trading the lead six more times between laps 45 and 65. Behind them, the rest of the field was engaged in their own war, with cars routinely going three- and four-wide as they chased the big money. Amidst the battling, St-Joseph de Beauce, QC’s Raphael Lessard was able to break out of the pack, and the youngster muscled his way underneath both the leaders to take over the top spot on lap 71.
Charland snatched the lead back seven circuits later, but Lessard remained on him while inaugural Bacon Bowl winner Jonathan Bouvrette of Blainville, QC also joined the fray. Following the third caution on lap 95 for Claude Leclerc’s stalled machine, Lessard put the heat on again and retook the lead on lap 106. But Charland got into Lessard entering turn three two laps later, sending Lessard spinning to bring out the fourth yellow and earning both drivers a trip to the rear.
As a result, Laperle suddenly had the top spot back, which he held until the fifth caution on lap 142 when Lessard returned Charland’s earlier favor. Bouvrette got the jump on the restart, and after St-Raymond, QC’s Christophe Paquet ducked under both to lead a circuit, Bouvrette swiped the lead back in search of his second straight Bacon Bowl win.
However, the sixth caution for Karl Allard’s broken right front on lap 166 proved to be Bouvrette’s undoing. Going toe-to-toe with Laperle on the restart, Bouvrette lost it going into turn one and went sliding off the track, and Laperle once again inherited the point for the 18th lead change of the race.
This time, the veteran found himself facing off against Barre, VT’s Nick Sweet and Dery, with Lessard soon rejoining the fracas at the front. Even with two more cautions slowing the event, Laperle was able to hold off the challenges, edging Sweet at the line for the victory and a Victory Lane kiss with Babe the piglet. It was the 46th ACT-sanctioned Late Model win of Laperle’s career, breaking a tie with Brian Hoar for the most all-time.
Sweet took second with Dery coming from 14th to win a late duel with Lessard for third. Lessard’s recovery to finish fourth earned him the championship in Autodrome Chaudiere’s Triple Crown Series. Alexendre Tardif, Mathieu Kingsbury, Paquet, Alex Guenette, Dany Trepanier, and Michael Lavoie rounded out the top-10.
Dery earned some sweet redemption from his near-miss on Saturday night with a victory in the Jean-Paul Cabana 125 at Circuit Riverside Speedway on Sunday, August 18. The multi-time ACT winner grabbed the lead on the start from polesitter Jonathan Bouvrette and held it through a competition caution on lap 50.
When the race resumed, Boischatel, QC’s Donald Theetge came to life, taking the lead from Dery on lap 54. But Theetge’s stay at the front lasted only two laps before Bouvrette roared back to the front. Dery got back past Theetge for second just before the second and final caution flew on lap 66. Bouvrette and Dery began pulling away when the green flag came back out, with the two former Série ACT champions going at it.
Dery finally got around Bouvrette with 25 laps remaining in the tribute to Jean-Paul Cabana. Bouvrette chased him the rest of the way but couldn’t get back by as Dery took the victory in the first ACT event at Ste-Croix since 2015.
Bouvrette and Theetge came home second and third. St-Albert, QC’s Alex Labbe and St-Edouard, QC’s Dany Trepanier completed the top-five, making it a clean sweep of former Série ACT champions. Nick Sweet, Martin Goulet Jr., Marc Begin, Mathieu Kingsbury, and Claude Leclerc also earned top-10 finishes.
The ACT Late Model Tour resumes its point-counting season at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway this Saturday, August 24 at 4:30pm. The Oxford Plains 150 is part of a huge “Night Before the 250” program that also includes the Tri-Track Track Open Modified Series, NELCAR Legends, Northeast Classic Lites, Oxford Street Stocks, and Wicked Good Vintage Racing Association. The pits open at 9:00am and the front gates open at 10:30am. Admission is $30 for adults, $15 for kids ages 6-12, and $65 for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids).
For more information, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, [email protected], or visit www.acttour.com.
AUTODROME CHAUDIERE
BACON BOWL 200 – AUGUST 17, 2019
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Pos., Start Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown, Laps
1. ( 3 ) Patrick Laperle ( 91QC ) , St-Denis, QC , 200 Laps
2. ( 4 ) Nick Sweet ( 40VT ) , Barre, VT , 200 Laps
3. ( 14 ) Jean-Francois Dery ( 21QC ) , Quebec, QC , 200 Laps
4. ( 7 ) Raphael Lessard ( 46QC ) , St-Joseph de Beauce, QC , 200 Laps
5. ( 17 ) Alexendre Tardif ( 21BC ) , Notre Dame des Pins, QC , 200 Laps
6. ( 13 ) Mathieu Kingsbury ( 9QC ) , Blainville, QC , 200 Laps
7. ( 9 ) Christophe Paquet ( 22QC ) , St-Raymond, QC , 200 Laps
8. ( 8 ) Alex Guenette ( 48QC ) , Terrebonne, QC , 200 Laps
9. ( 6 ) Dany Trepanier ( 19QC ) , St-Edouard, QC , 200 Laps
10. ( 2 ) Michael Lavoie ( 78QC ) , Chicoutimi, QC , 200 Laps
11. ( 11 ) Jonathan Bouvrette ( 41QC ) , Blainville, QC , 200 Laps
12. ( 12 ) Marc Begin ( 37QC ) , St-Philibert, QC , 200 Laps
13. ( 20 ) Simon Roussin ( 6QC ) , Quebec, QC , 200 Laps
14. ( 18 ) Steve Godbout ( 43QC ) , Quebec, QC , 200 Laps
15. ( 16 ) Patrick Boyer ( 13QC ) , Quebec, QC , 200 Laps
16. ( 21 ) Martin Goulet Jr. ( 83QC ) , St. Calixte, QC , 199 Laps
17. ( 10 ) Karl Allard ( 7QC ) , Levis, QC , 166 Laps
18. ( 1 ) Samuel Charland ( 41ON ) , Victoriaville, QC , 142 Laps
19. ( 19 ) Christopher Pelkey ( 64VT ) , Graniteville, VT , 122 Laps
20. ( 5 ) Martin Latulippe ( 84QC ) , Vallee-Jonction, QC , 106 Laps
21. ( 15 ) Jeff Cote ( 51QC ) , Beauceville, QC , 95 Laps
22. ( 23 ) Claude Leclerc ( 11QC ) , Lanoraie, QC , 93 Laps
23. ( 24 ) Jonathan Bergeron ( 10QC ) , St-Georges, QC , 89 Laps
24. ( 22 ) Sebastien Couture ( 03QC ) , Quebec, QC , 76 Laps
Lap Leaders: Samuel Charland, 1-17; Patrick Laperle, 18-19; Charland, 20-21; Laperle, 22; Charland, 23-45; Laperle, 46-47; Charland, 48; Laperle, 49-50; Charland, 51-63; Laperle, 64; Charland, 65-70; Raphael Lessard, 71-77; Charland, 78-105; Lessard, 106-107; Laperle, 108-142; Jonathan Bouvrette, 143; Christophe Paquet, 144; Bouvrette, 145-166; Laperle, 167-200. (18 lead changes among 5 drivers)
Time of Race: 1:22:45 Margin of Victory: 0.186 seconds
Cautions: 9 (laps 14, 34, 95, 107, 142, 166, 166, 174, 186)
Heat Winners: Nick Sweet, Martin Latulippe, Patrick Laperle
Consi Winners: Mathieu Kingsbury, Jean-Francois Dery
CIRCUIT RIVERSIDE SPEEDWAY STE-CROIX
JEAN-PAUL CABANA 125 – AUGUST 18, 2019
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown, Laps
1. ( 2 ) Jean-Francois Dery ( 21QC ) , Quebec, QC , 125 Laps
2. ( 1 ) Jonathan Bouvrette ( 41QC ) , Blainville, QC , 125 Laps
3. ( 3 ) Donald Theetge ( 80QC ) , Boischatel, QC , 125 Laps
4. ( 6 ) Alex Labbe ( 36QC ) , St-Albert, QC , 125 Laps
5. ( 10 ) Dany Trepanier ( 19QC ) , St-Edouard, QC , 125 Laps
6. ( 9 ) Nick Sweet ( 40VT ) , Barre, VT , 125 Laps
7. ( 4 ) Martin Goulet Jr. ( 83QC ) , St. Calixte, QC , 124 Laps
8. ( 7 ) Marc Begin ( 37QC ) , St-Philibert, QC , 124 Laps
9. ( 8 ) Mathieu Kingsbury ( 9QC ) , Blainville, QC , 124 Laps
10. ( 11 ) Claude Leclerc ( 11QC ) , Lanoraie, QC , 124 Laps
11. ( 14 ) Jeff Cote ( 51QC ) , Beauceville, QC , 120 Laps
12. ( 12 ) Karl Allard ( 7QC ) , Levis, QC , 91 Laps
13. ( 5 ) Alex Guenette ( 48QC ) , Terrebonne, QC , 65 Laps
14. ( 16 ) Olivier Labbe-Pelletier ( 110QC ) , Levis, QC , 51 Laps
15. ( 13 ) Remi Perreault ( 33QC ) , St-Paul-de-Juliette, QC , 50 Laps
16. ( 17 ) Jacques Poulin ( 57QC ) , East Broughton Station, QC , 1 Laps
DNS ( 15 ) Michael Hamel ( 5QC ) , Cowansville, QC
Lap Leaders: Jonathan Bouvrette, pole; Jean-Francois Dery, 1-53; Donald Theetge, 54-55; Jonathan Bouvrette, 56-100; Dery, 101-125. (4 lead changes among 3 drivers)
Cautions: 2 (50 [competition], 66)
Heat Winners: Jonathan Bouvrette, Jean-Francois Dery
