Donald Theetge Wins Fight for Serie ACT 250 Victory
Montmagny, QC – Donald Theetge of Boischatel, QC won a fierce battle with current Série ACT point leader Patrick Cliche to claim the victory in the Montmagny 250 at Autodrome Montmagny on Sunday, June 30. Theetge pocketed over $4,000 after stealing the win in the final ten laps.
Theetge and Cliche climbed through the field, from 13th and 15th respectively, during the early stages of the 250 lap event and used the same strategy of pitting for tires on the lap 139 caution. The two worked their way back through the field to setup a spectacular final 50 laps. For the second race in a row, Cliche led the most laps of the event but each one of them had Theetge on his rear bumper looking for any mistake or opening. Theetge pulled even with Cliche on the inside line several times, but each time Cliche would power back by on the outside.
With fifteen laps to go, the duo was battling heavy lap traffic when Theetge turned up the tempo. While coming up on a lap car entering turn one with just six laps to go, both drivers overdrove the corner causing an eight wheel slide. The pair gathered their cars back up for the drag race down the backstretch and Theetge finally got the advantage entering turn three. Cliche made several more attempts to get back under Theetge but to no avail.
Theetge claimed the win, while Cliche’s second unofficial keeps him in the point lead. Alex Labbe completed the podium with Jean-François Déry and Jonathan Bouvrette rounding out the top five. Dany Trepanier, Stephane Descoste, Justin Holtom, Etienne Cliche and Patrick Boyer all came home with top ten finishes.
The 250 lap event was completed in 2 hours and six minutes with just nine cautions. A total of 22 cars took the green flag with 9 of them finishing on the lead lap. It was the second event of the 2013 Série ACT season.
With his win, Theetge becomes the latest Bond Auto ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Qualifier. He joins Jimmy Hebert, Brian Hoar, Wayne Helliwell, Jr., Derrick O’Donnell, Jean-François Déry and Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. as drivers with a qualified spot in the Saturday, September 21 event.
The Série ACT will continue their season this Friday, July 5 with their lone trip to Autodrome Chaudiere in Vallee-Jct., QC for a 150 lap event.
Serie ACT 250 Unofficial Results
Autodrome Montmagny – Montmagny, QC
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Pos. (Start) Driver, Hometown, Laps Completed
1. (13) Donald Theetge, Boischatel, QC, 250 Laps
2. (15) Patrick Cliche, St-Jean-Chr., QC, 250 Laps
3. (14) Alex Labbe, St-Albert, QC, 250 Laps
4. (21) Jean-François Déry, Quebec, QC, 250 Laps
5. (6) Jonathan Bouvrette, Blainville, QC, 250 Laps
6. (5) Dany Trepanier, St-Edouard, QC, 250 Laps
7. (8) Stephane Descoste, Oka, QC, 250 Laps
8. (3) Justin Holtom, Ottawa, ON, 250 Laps
9. (12) Etienne Cliche, Vallee-Jct., QC, 250 Laps
10. (18) Patrick Boyer, Quebec, QC, 249 Laps
11. (17) Jacques Poulin, E. Broughton, QC, 249 Laps
12. (11) Claude Leclerc, Lanoraie,QC, 249 Laps
13. (9) Gaetan Gaudreault, Quebec, QC, 246 Laps
14. (22) #Christopher Bedard, Montreal, QC, 244 Laps
15. (20) Patrick Hamel, St-Croix, QC, 239 Laps
16. (4) Mario Gosselin, Lake Wales, FL, 239 Laps
17. (7) William Roberge, Pintendre, QC, 236 Laps
18. (10) Maxime Pelletier, Mascouche, QC, 232 Laps
19. (2) Steven Boissonneault, Lyster, QC, 192 Laps
20. (16) Marc-Andre Cliche, St Lambert, QC, 179 Laps
21. (1) #Martin Goulet, Mascouche, QC, 173 Laps
22. (19) Leo Poirier, Ottawa, ON, 66 Laps
Lap Leaders: Martin Goulet, 1-55; Steven Boissonneault, 56-72; Justin Holtom, 73-106; Jean-Francois Dery, 107-120; Donald Theetge, 121-140; Alex Labbe, 141-148; Dery, 149-174; Theetge, 175; Dery, 176-181; Patrick Cliche, 182-236; Theetge, 237; Cliche, 238-243; Theetge, 244-250.
Time of Race: 2:06:33
Margin of Victory: .544 seconds
Cautions: 9 (laps 62, 69, 139, 141, 146, 172, 174, 179, 183)
Heat Winners: Dany Trepanier, Jonathan Bouvrette, Donald Theetge
Sources: Série ACT PR