Nissan Micra Cup makes racing dream affordable

Single marque series allows amateurs to compete and keeps the racing tight

David Miller
Published: May 18, 2016, 11:05 AM
Updated: May 24, 2016, 3:34 PM

Affordable dream

Have you ever wanted to go racing but couldn’t afford to? Nissan Canada’s Micra Cup series makes it an affordable dream. ▲

Race-specced Nissan Micras

The Micra Cup is a new racing venture initated in Quebec last year and now expanded to Ontario. The series uses race-specced Nissan Micras – the cheapest new cars available in Canada at $9,988 – outfitted by MIA (Motorsports in Action) based out of St-Eustache, Quebec. The Micra Cup car has been self-labelled: “the most affordable new race vehicle in Canada.” ▲

Proven concept

The Micra Cup series is similar in concept to the Honda/Michelin Challenge that ran from 1975-1992 with a brief comeback in the mid-2000s. The Honda/Michelin Challenge, which helped spawn a generation of Canadian racers, involved stock Civic hatchbacks and later coupes and attracted a grassroots movement of racers with more than 400 amateurs participating. Canadian racing legend Richard Spénard has raced in both the Honda/Michelin Challenge and the Nissan Micra Cup. ▲

Marketing tool

The Micra Cup is sponsored by Nissan canada and is promoted by automotive journalist Jacques Deshaies and sports director Gilles Villeneuve. Nissan uses the series as a marketing tool to support the Micra street car and the Nissan brand. ▲

Exposure to a new market

Putting a spec-series together creates exposure for the Micra to a whole new market and a return on investment that advertising simply cannot achieve on its own. It's tough to measure the exposure that the road Micra has received from racing thus far, but the series is gaining traction with promotions and visibility found at the dealership level. ▲

Chance for amateurs

For the drivers it’s not just that the series is affordable but that it is geared towards amateurs having competitive fun on track. This season will have close to 30 cars in the field and Nissan has stepped up its promotion to recruit drivers with various media spots including a booth at Toronto's Motorama custom car show. The field can be expanded to a maximum of 40 drivers. ▲

Transformation into a race-ready ride

MIA is in charge of the Micra’s transformation into a race-ready ride, which includes the removal of its road car seats, floormats, door panels and steering wheel. In its place, MIA installs a roll cage, racing seat, safety equipment and a Nismo suspension kit for a total cost of $19,988 ▲

Strictly stock engine

Each car is race-specced, but they all carry the same 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine found in the road car that's matched to a five-speed manual gearbox. The engine has 109 horsepower and 107 lb-ft of torque. Naturally, the brakes, suspension and exhaust are upgraded during the MIA transformation. ▲

Changes for 2016

The 2016 season sees the expansion of the racing series into Ontario. The first race of the season was at Calabogie Motorsports Park on May 14, with two other Ontario races to be held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport) in July and September. There are also changes to the way the season standings are run. As costs of transportation go up for many of the Quebec-based teams, the Micra Cup has made five races mandatory (Canadian Tire Motorsport Park X 2, Trois-Rivières , Mont-Tremblant in July and St-Eustache). For the overall drivers’ standings, drivers will use their top-12 race finishes in order to find out who's champion. ▲

Lessons from 2015

We spoke with Didier Marsaud, Director, Corporate Communications at Nissan Canada on this subject. “We learned a lot,” he said. “In the middle of last year, we created a weight minimum to not disadvantage heavier drivers. The total weight of the car including the driver has been set for 2016 at 2,400 pounds. In addition, we learned to better communicate with the drivers after receiving feedback from them, and this relationship shows as only three or four racers are not back from last year.” ▲

Expansion into Ontario

From a marketing perspective, the Micra Cup's expansion into Ontario makes sense. Thirty percent of its Micra sales come from Ontario and the province is a hotbed for many racing series including IndyCar, Pirelli World Challenge, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix, to name a few. According to Marsaud, Nissan received a lot of enthusiasm about its Ontario expansion from drivers, dealers, race tracks and racing fans. ▲

Calabogie race

Calabogie was host to the first weekend double-header of year two for the Nissan Micra Cup and the series' inaugural race in Ontario. The first race was won by Sherbrooke-native Kevin King of the Sorel-Tracy Nissan team; while Xavier Coupal took home the trophy on Day 2 for Albi Nissan. Coupal leads the driver standings with 76 points as he also finished second behind King in the first race. ▲

Plenty of action

The rain-stricken first race didn't have many major incidents beyond a few taps and the odd bad racing decision. The same couldn't be said for race two, as the combination of cold slick tires, a cold track and a more aggressive field collided into one of the more scarier crashes on track. There were separate incidents that occurred in the front and middle of the pack on the same turn on lap one that led to a few cars rolling and seven DNFs. Nobody was seriously hurt in the crashes. ▲

Diverse field of drivers

As you peruse the paddock on race day, you learn many different and interesting stories that have led its field of drivers to purchase a Micra Cup car and race in the series. The stories stretch from up-and-coming race car drivers to a Miss Canada Globe competitor to novice racing enthusiasts who just want to have fun. ▲

Long racing history

Nissan has a long history in racing that includes being a part of several rally driving championships and the World Endurance Championship. The Nissan Micra Cup series is another chance to show the Japanese automakers racing spirit. ▲

Idea catching on

Still in its infancy, the Micra Cup has caught the attention of many outside of Canada. It has garnered plenty of interest in Europe and South America, where those areas are considering its own racing series. ▲

Limited Edition road version

The Micra Cup has inspired a road version of the Micra Cup car. It will be called the Micra Cup Limited Edition with only 250 units to be made. It has 8-spoke, 15-inch alloys, along with a numbered plaque on the inside signed by 2015 champion Olivier Bédard. ▲

Next race

The next race will be at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant on the May 27-29 weekend. It's called the Spring Classic and will feature two races ▲

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