Three Canadian teams competing in the 2012-2013 Scion FR-S Tuner Challenge are prepping their customized sport coupes for tough challenges ahead. And Canadian tuner fans can follow all the action – and vote for their favourite custom FR-S – on Scion’s newly-tuned website for the competition: www.tunerchallenge.ca
The Tuner Challenge consists of eleven events, including the People’s Favourite – a popular vote challenge that started in early April and runs until mid-September. Your vote counts, so be sure to read about the teams and check out their progress. Then visit the People’s Favourite page on the Tuner Challenge site and help push your favourite Tuner Challenge team to victory.
The teams have already gone head to head on five challenges: Autocross, Driving Skills, Gymkhana, Drifting and Ice Racing. The Top Tuner team holds a solid lead with three wins, while VCMC and Swag Racing have each taken one challenge. Check out the webisodes to view exciting footage from the challenges and hear what the teams have to say.
But the contest is far from over. There are 11 contests, with one being the Media Challenge, taking place this July at iCar in Montréal. Three Canadian automotive journalists will take to the track in each team’s Tuner Challenge machine. The journalists will also take a stock FR-S to the track for comparison purposes, then score the cars for handling, power, technology, braking and other performance attributes.
Along with the People’s Favourite and Media Challenge are four more events:
- In Time Attack, the teams will take to a road course to attempt to clock the fastest time around the track.
- Drag Racing is a two-part challenge. First, the teams will compete to run the fastest quarter-mile. The two fastest teams will then go face to face in a street-style drag race.
- Endurance will test the overall performance, reliability and staying power of each car. The teams will compete in three events – Drifting, Time Attack and Drag Racing – all held on the same day.
- Show and Shine tests each team’s ability – with a chamois. The pressure will be on as they compete at a national auto show.
The Scion FR-S Tuner Challenge brings three teams from across Canada:
- Representing the Québec region, Team Swag Racing is led by Dany Bernier, also known as “Babu”. Dany is a well-known Québec personality and the morning man on Choi 98.1 Radio-X in Québec City. Babu has a long history in motorsports as a Touring Car driver and a professional drifter in the DMCC drifting series.
- Representing Ontario, team Top Tuner is led by Edmund Manasan. Edmund’s team is well known on the car show circuit. For years, Top Tuner has put out some of the most respected show cars in the country. To tackle the performance aspect of the Tuner Challenge, the team relies on the services of Can-Jam motorsports to prepare the car and of Sasha Anis, a successful CTCC Touring Car driver, the pilot of the car.
- Representing the West Coast, team VCMC is led by Richard Basford. Richard is a long time grassroots motorsports enthusiast. As an experienced autocross driver in the VCMC autocross series and a performance driving coach, Richard brings a calculated approach the competition. Team VCMC will also compete at Pike’s Peak in Colorado June 30. A legendary hill climb competition with a long tradition in the U.S., this daring race against the clock pits team against nature as they climb up a steep mountainside that will be the ultimate test for the Vancouver crew and their turbo charged FR-S.
Scion Canada is an active supporter of passions and performance on the track, with the Tuner Challenge bringing together some of Canada’s top talent to compete. The winner of the 2012 – 13 Scion FR-S Tuner Challenge will be awarded their modified team Scion FR-S race car along the bragging rights of being the Tuner Challenge Top Tuners
The newly redesigned Scion Tuner Challenge website has all the info – including standings, challenge reports and videos, future challenge descriptions, and more. Check it out: www.tunerchallenge.ca
