Starting by giving away the punchline but, until you’ve visited GP3R, you truly don’t know what you’re missing.
My first time at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres was 2013. Alex was still running Indycar-cadidly, I didn’t really know much about the event….until I actually got there.
I’ve spoken many times about the fact that my love of racing came naturally; once I saw it on TV I was hooked. Like I said, I consciously knew very little about GP3R, but then I saw the Du Plessis Gate in person-memories of watching Formula Atlantic races came flashing back. I wish that I could remember the names of those that I watched, I could very well have watched Tag, Villeneuve, Carpentier, Almendinger, Empringham, Lazzaro, Valiente and not known it.
Every year since 2013 I have “pinch me” moments. Like, not only to I get to attend, I get to participate, and now, with multiple teams.
In 2025 the event provided us a dedicated Spotter’s Stand which is the best that we have on any road or street course.
I climbed the stairs at least 15 times through the weekend (60 steps up), enjoyed the hell out of it each and every time.
We just completed the 2026 GP3R weekend which was overwhelmingly positive with 2 exceptions:
- Suspension failure in Radical Race 2 when leading with less than 4 minutes to go
- Brake failure in NASCAR when we were challenging for 3rd place
Most importantly: Alex was ok after both failures.
The cars were quick. We won Radical Race 1. Leading Race 2 until the failure.
NASCAR-Alex and our crew cheif Don Thompson Jr. made a great call to change the car after qualifying-that meant we had to give up our starting spot in the sprint and had to start at the back. But the gamble paid off, the car was more suited to Alex’s style and we were able to make our way up to 3rd place in the sprint and the car had good pace in the main race.
Unfortunately, things fail from time to time. “That’s racing” is an oft used cliche which happens to be 100% true in this case.
So much of a race weekend is the engagement with our team as well as the fans. The NASCAR autograph session is incredible:
There are so many moments that happen-celebrities stop by to say hi, politicians address our drivers, getting to catch up with friends that haven’t been seen in a year.
It’s always very cool for me when a fan comes by with a team shirt bearing a CanTorque logo.
Once we get into the weekend my personal favourite is being able to sit in on data/video analysis with our drivers and engineers:
At the end of the day, I’m still a racer and a lot of the driving tips & instructions given in NASCAR and Radical still apply to what I’m doing in my kart; not mechanically, but the philosophy used to troubleshoot issues and work through problems is unbelievably valuable.
Many memorable moments happen away from the track.
Over the years, the fireworks show on Saturday night was legendary.
There was a public autograph session on Thursday in town.
If you’re downtown, whether at hotels or local restaurants, you’ll see many of the drivers. And, for the record, the food options and quality are world class. Of course, you can always find something quick, easy and affordable but if you want to have a nice meal Trois-Rivieres has what you need. Try Restaurant Le Grill on Rue des Forges-you’ll not be disappointed!
Having a quiet breakfast before a chaotic day. Even the conversation that happens while driving to the track is almost always a highlight and often hilarious.