A three-hour endurance race in the searing Texas heat.
CHILLS Lone Star Le Mans May 2017 Circuit of The Americas, Aus�n, Texas
SPILLS Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix July 2017
North America, with average lap speeds close to 130 mph and several breathtaking corners taken at 150 mph, with walls on both sides. Boulle qualified for the pair in eighth position overall; which means he would start the race. After staying clean through the first lap, he brought the car in, after two pit stops, totaling 1 hour and 40 minutes in the cockpit. Ostella took over to finish with the car, but as the race neared the end, rain hit portions of the circuit. Just after the first stop for fuel and tires, Ostella went out on wet tires, only to do a handful of laps before the circuit dried out quickly. With only minutes remaining in the race, rain began to fall on the far side of the circuit. Just at the end of the 176-mph back straight, Mosport’s turn No. 8 is taken in fifth gear. With only two minutes left to race, rain began falling again through this fast corner. The car slipped away from Ostella, flipping as it hit the wall at about 100 mph. It was an unfortunate ending to an outstanding weekend: Time and progress with the car meant several goals were accomplished.
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
As the year continued, de Boulle Motorsports’ progres- sion continued into the most prestigious category in IM- SA’s Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup: – Prototype or LMP2. The Prototype cars utilize Cadillac, Nissan, Mazda and Gibson engines with approximately 600 horsepower. These are the same cars that reach speeds of 200-plus mph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Despite no opportunity to test before the first race weekend, Nick Boulle joined PR1/Mathiasen Motor- sports with co-driver David Ostella at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, also known as Mosport. Mosport’s 2.5- mile circuit is known as one of the fastest tracks in
de Boulle’s foray into professional motorsports contin- ued in May with the Lone Star Le Mans race, held at Austin’s very own Circuit of The Americas. de Boulle Motorsports, Clover Partners and McFadden & Miller partnered in supporting Nick Boulle and IndyCar driv- er Stefan Wilson for the three-hour endurance race — in the searing Texas heat. After a strong opening stint by Wilson, Boulle took over for his stint of roughly two hours. After taking the lead with only 40 minutes left to race, a small mistake by the pit crew pushed the pair down the ladder. Before the end of the race, Boulle recovered to bring the car home in second position.
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