September 03, 2009
Published on tags: Superleague
Joe Consiglio is back. The Nordsjoen driver broke a two-race dry spell to regain control of his Championship campaign by winning the Canadian Grand Prix. The Maltese driver fended off the attacks of rival Janne Tanskanen, who kept piling the pressure until the very last corner of the race but had to eventually settle for 2nd. Dave Carr-Smith, who rejoined Woods Racing, completed the podium.

As the lights went green, it was evident the race was always going to be a close one. A few incidents marred the first laps, particularly a collision between debutant Lee Iden and Michelangelo Manrique, that resulted in retirement for both, as well as a few other getting caught out by the heavily bumpy track surface. Lapping also brought some difficulties, in particular as Rich Bayes, caught in a lead battle, was collected by Adam Rouse.

Towards the final part of the race, fatigue started to claim its toll on both men and cars. More mistakes from drivers led to several close calls, and the race registered the first brake failure related retirements of the season. Most notably, Ryan McConkey was involved in a spectacular crash at the hairpin, which fortunately he was able to escape from unscathed.

Janne Tanksanen did all he could to overtake Consiglio, but the Championship leader was able to keep his cool and come home a mere 4 tenths of a second ahead of the Finn. With the battle for the title still wide open, and the presence of talented drivers like Carr-Smith, Rouse and Wicks able to take points away from the contendents, the second half of the season will be a tough fight for the Crown.