Mechanical Failures Deny Alex Tagliani a Storybook Weekend at GP3R
Trois-Rivières, QC – Alex Tagliani showed race-winning speed in both the Radical Cup Canada and NASCAR Canada Series events at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, but mechanical failures in Sunday's feature races prevented what could have been one of the most successful weekends of the season.
Saturday was Tagliani's busiest day of the weekend as he competed in both series. The day couldn't have started any better, with the veteran driver claiming pole position in the Radical Cup Canada before converting it into a commanding victory in Race 1.
Tagliani then climbed into the No. 80 NASCAR Canada entry and fought his way to a third-place finish in the sprint race. A hard-fought battle in the closing laps secured another strong result and valuable momentum heading into Sunday's main event.
Sunday morning's second Radical Cup race featured the series' reverse-grid format, which places the driver who sets the fastest lap in the previous race sixth on the starting grid. After recording Saturday's fastest lap, Tagliani lined up on the outside of Row 3.
It didn't slow down Tag's pace, Tagliani charged from sixth to third on the opening lap, moved into second following a restart, and completed the pass for the lead in Turn 9. Once out front, he quickly established himself as the car to beat and appeared to be on his way to a second overall victory of the weekend.
With less than three minutes remaining, however, heartbreak struck when the left-front suspension failed, ending a dominant drive. "I'm super proud of the team. We started this program so late, but we've built a great group of guys and everyone is working incredibly hard," said Tagliani. "It's unfortunate that we had to discover some of the weakest points of the car during a race weekend. I truly believe the team deserved to come away with two overall Pro class victories this weekend.
"At least we were able to celebrate two Master class wins with Cédric Ohayon, and that says a lot about what this team has accomplished in its first year. Antoine Sénéchal was also having an outstanding race and showed tremendous speed before his own misfortune. As for our other drivers, this is their introduction to racing, and the team has done an excellent job helping them develop and progress."
The weekend concluded with the NASCAR Canada feature, where Tagliani started fifth on the grid. After navigating several restarts and battling inside the top five, he moved into fourth following the retirement of the No. 74 car before making a decisive pass for third in Turn 9.
With only a few laps remaining, Tagliani rapidly closed the gap to the No. 27 car and was on its rear bumper, preparing to make a move for second place heading into the back straightaway. Instead, another mechanical issue brought his race to an abrupt end. A brake line failure sent the No. 80 car straight into the wall, ending another podium-contending performance.
"It's a missed opportunity and a real shame for everyone on the No. 80 crew," Tagliani said. "We decided before the race to manage our pace and save our brakes for the end of the race, and that's exactly what we did. Looking at our brake pads afterward, we'd barely used them — which was exactly what we wanted, so I could go on the attack at the end. I was actually excited because the car was so strong under braking, especially where I needed it most to make passes late in the race. We call this unfinished business.
"These things happen in racing. We have a lot of work to do before Markham, but we've come back from adversity before, and I'm confident we'll come back even stronger."
Although the final results failed to reflect the team's performance, Tagliani leaves Trois-Rivières with plenty of positives. A Radical Cup victory, a NASCAR podium, the fastest lap in Radical Cup competition, and race-winning pace in both championships demonstrated the strength of the program. With valuable lessons learned and undeniable speed on display, the team now shifts its focus to Markham determined to turn that pace into victories.
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