Christophe Boisclair flew to Chilliwack, B.-C., to race at the first round of the Western Challenge Championship. With a field of 32 drivers in Rotax Max senior, Boisclair was in hurry to see how competitive he could be against the local racers. On Saturday, with only 4 practice sessions before the first qualifying, he qualified 5th, which was ok for him under the circumstances. In the pre-final, he was fighting for the third place when he tried to overtake the driver in front of him. He overshot his braking point went off the track. He finished 13th. "On this track, the difference between the dry and wet conditions is huge. For example, the track at SRA is about the same length as in B.-C. In wet conditions, laptimes at SRA are about 8 seconds slower. Here in Chilliwack, the difference is about 16 seconds! There is no grip at all under the rain here. In the final race, I was happy to finish 4th after I started 13th", said Boisclair.

On Sunday, he qualified 6th, finished the prefinal in 5th place and was running 3rd until the last corner when Michael Hogg, tried a "do or die" pass. "This was a very risky passing attempt for Hogg. I tried to protect my position but Hogg keep control of his kart and just beat me at the finish line and left me out of the podium. It would have been very satisfying for me to leave Chilliwack with a podium, it was one the first race where I did everything by myself with no mechanic."

Boisclair will not race at the next event of the Western Challenge Championship because of a conflict with the Québec championship calendar but "if I can race in the last round in Edmonton, it will be a pleasure to go."

Picture: Christophe Boisclair (courtesy of Overdrive Motorsports)

Auteur: Patrick Moreau