The 2020 Tim Hortons' 2 Hours was the third round of the 2020 Championnat AXA Alpine season. It took place at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on July 29th, 2020.
Background
editThis race was the first held outside of France, the country where the competition and many of its teams operated out of. Therefore, many believed it would be an extreme test of the logistical prowess of the competition, especially with the quick turnaround time from the previous round. Because of the international travel and quick turnaround, many privateer teams in the Production class pulled out of this round, electing to stick with the ones in mainland Europe alone. The race date was announced on the first day of the season, allowing more time for teams to prepare for the race.
Entry list
editThe round at Gilles Villeneuve saw the largest entry list of any round yet. A total of 22 cars sat on the grid when the flag dropped, including eight in the LMP class, seven in the GT class, and seven in the Production class. Many low-budget France-based teams declined to participate in this round, including Silvestre, Equipe Vitesse, and Mountain Racing. However, the location drew many American and Canadian entries, as JDC MotorSports added an entry, alongside new entrants with Compass Racing and Multimatic Motorsports, among others.
Qualifying
editAs per usual, qualifying was commenced through a random drawing of lots, with entries being seeded by class. The #28 Alpine A430 of TDS Racing drew overall pole, flanked by the championship-leading #36 Signatech Alpine entry. Newcomer Team Speedcar drew the GT class pole, while Starworks Motorsport took class pole in Production. The Production class-leading #85 JDC MotorSports car drew last overall for the second consecutive race.
Qualifying results
editPole positions in each class are indicated in bold.
Race report
editThe race began at 14:00 (2:00 PM) local time, with an unchanged grid as every car passed pre-race inspection without issue. The TDS Racing car which started on pole had lost it by turn one, leaving the chapionship-leading #36 Signatech car to take the early lead. The Course de Dragon team was unable to replace any parts on their 1600S, which meant the car was essentially running its third race in less than a week. As a result, the car failed to run through the gears on the start, holding up a long line of Production cars and having to be wheeled to the garage without working past turn two. The car later returned to the race, but finished fifteen laps off the pace of the leading Production class cars. The GT-class pole-sitter retired with overheating issues after twenty minutes having only completed fifteen laps. After forty minutes, the series' first ever red flag was waved after a serious multi-car accident on the Casino Straight. While attempting to navigate lapped traffic, Loïc Duval misjudged the space between his A450 prototype and the GT4 car of Alexandre Prémat. Duval ran into the back of the grand tourer, causing it to careen across the track into the right rear of Tristan Vautier. Prémat struck the guardrail hard, tearing the front end off the car. Vautier's car spun back across the track, sending both himself and Duval's prototype into the opposite wall. All three drivers were able to walk away from the accident uninjured, although suffice to say the cars did not. This resulted in a 30-minute red flag to clean up the debris and remove the cars from the track. Not long after the green flag was waved once again, the #23 retired with fuel pressure problems. The Compass Racing car, which had jumped into the lead early in the race, held the lead throughout, taking home the GT-class victory. After just over 90 minutes, an oil line failure caused the OAK Racing entry also to retire. The Rebellion car, which took the lead via pit strategy just before the red flag, was able to hold off the Signatech charge and took home the overall victory. The second JDC entry took home the Production class victory, getting by Michael Valiante in the Starworks car on the final lap.
