News

Sept 26, 2006:: Championship News - The Final Round # 12 NCKC at Karters Korners Sponsered by Karting Konnections.

The Rotax class provided its now traditional excitement for Ottawa’s spectators when the Green flag dropped on Sunday’s event. With the Championship title on the line, Alex Healy (PTM) came under heavy attack from Dave Laplante (Tony Kart). With only a hand full of points separating these two outstanding drivers, the tension experienced by these two teams was almost unbearable. They all had the same thing on their minds, " Winner Takes All!".

Alex Healy (PTM) was first in the qualifying heat, while Dave Laplante (Tony Kart) ended in fourth having experienced a transponder problem. In the Pre-final race, Alex Healy (PTM), starting on pole, was knocked off the track in turn one buy a mid pack driver who took to the grass on the inside to avoid another incident. When this driver returned to the asphalt before turn two, Alex is there, gets collected and makes a spectacular flip. When the dust settled, the PTM kart was laying on it's side with Alex still in the seat surrounded by his competitors. Red flagged by Race Director Kelly Mark Michaud, the restart led to another collision in turn two involving Dave Laplante (Tony Kart). Unfortunately, the damage to Laplante’s machine was significant and sent him to the side lines for the pre-final. After some confusion with the call on the flags in the second incident, the Race Director waved all points in the pre-final. This meant one race, no grace, winner gets the girl, or in this case, the trophy.

This is it! The Final is set to go with the same grid postions from Qualifing! The flag drops! Alex gets the hole shot! Dave makes short work of going from fourth to second as he hunts down Alex. There are some intense laps as Dave fights hard to get close enough to make a move on Alex. Alex (PTM ) holds on, pulls a slight gap, and wins the Championship to the cheers of the PTM team!

This Championship Win is the result of a real team effort. Our skilled Tuners and Track-Side Staff provided superb support for driver Alex. Phil Sommerard, owner of Pro-Tune Motorsports, congratulates the entire PTM team for their excellent performance.

Aug 30, 2006:: Driver News – Despite wet racing conditions at Round #10 of the NCKC series at Le Circuit, Quyon, the entire PTM team pulled together and fought hard throughout the weekend to consistently finish toward the front of the fields. Facing the demanding conditions head on, Alex Healy, in Rotax senior, qualified third, won the pre-final and led flag to flag in that final. Paul Lalonde, with a hard fought race, managed yet again to hold off Pierre Parisien for the win in Senior Heavy. William Lalonde, in Junior light, was very smooth and did an excellent job of avoiding all the spins to get on the box in second place. Pieter Van-Doorn, a regular in the the Rotax Senior class, jumps in a Honda for the first time and pulls off a second place in GT. Chorlotte (Creampuff) Lalonde, in her first rain race, just missed the podium by a kart.

Aug 26, 2006:: Driver News – Formula BMW Rookie Visits PTM – Canadian Formula BMW rookie sensation, Philip Major (Majorspeed) visits PTM (Pro-Tune Motorsports) for a fun day at the track. The young gun laid down some hot laps in the PTM Pr-Max (Rotax chassis) and in his second session was less than half a second off PTM Factory driver and friend Alex Healy’s track record.

Philip was very impressed with the chassis and said that it was “very effortless to drive and the brakes were totally sick!!”. If you are seventeen, “sick” means good. PTM and NCKC (National Capital Kart Club) would like to thank Philip’s Dad, Norm Major, and MuAnalysis for sponsoring round #10 of the series.

We had a great day and wish the Majorspeed team all the best as they are off to Mosport to do battle in the Formula BMW.

Philip Major is a 17 year old racer from Ottawa, Ontario. Philip was the youngest driver (at 16 years old) in the 2005 Honda/Michelin Challenge Series, where he finished 2^nd in the Rookie of the Year standings. Major’s first sedan victory was in the regional DAC “Trillium Trophy” GTD class in July 2005 at Shannonville. In 2003 and 2004, Major raced Go-Karts in Ottawa and in the Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship. Away from the track, Major enjoys Skiing, Tennis (certified Level 1 Instructor, Tennis Canada), X-Country Running (MV Runner-Ashbury College 2004-05), and Music (Concert Band Musician-Ashbury College). Major’s website is www.majorspeed.com.

Aug 22, 2006:: Event News: 1^st Annual Quyon Enduro. August 19^th was the First Annual Honda Enduro held at Le Circuit Quyon, Quebec. It was a 100 lapper, with two classes, Junior and Senior, minimum two drivers per kart. This event was hosted by Louis Gauthier (track owner) and sponsored by Tim Trudel of Trudel Racing Engines. It was a ton of fun and gave some of the drivers and tuners a chance to try some different iron and mix it up on the track.

Senior Category:

1^st place – Kelly Mark and Derek Michaud, 100 laps (KDM Racing)

2^nd place – Neil Vaughn and Alex Healy, 97 laps (Team PTM)

3^rd place – Al Fernie and John Spindler, 97 laps (Team PTM)

4^th place – Paul Lalonde and Phil Sommerard, 93 laps (Team PTM)

5^th place – Noel and Mike Price, 80 laps

6^th place – Terry and Brian McGonigal, 23 laps

Junior Category:

1^st place – Will Lalonde and Antoine Cremer, 98 laps (Team PTM)

2^nd place – Michael Valente and Carly Costello, 88 laps

Aug 14, 2006:: Team News – PTM has had a couple of outstanding weekends in the NCKC series. In Rotax Senior, the defending Series Champion, Alex (Skippy) Healy, set new track records. He led from flag to flag at Quyon, Quebec and Saint Lawrence Motorsports Park, New York, on his Pro-Tune Motorsports prepared Pro-Max/Rotax. The results vaulted him up the Championship leader board with 3 rounds remaining.

In Senior Heavy, Paul Lalonde broke a chain in the pre-final at Quyon and had to start from the back in the main. He put in a very solid drive to finish on the box in 3^rd. At Saint Lawrence Motorsport Park in the pre-final, Paul Lalonde qualified 2^nd in a very exciting 4 way battle. In the main he managed to get away clean and hang on for the victory! Paul is in 2^nd place in the Championship standing.

In Junior Light, Blaine Byron had his hands full with everyone trying to knock him off the box at both Quyon and Saint Lawrence Motorsport Park. The Junior Light class at NCKC is starting to look like a Craftsman Truck race, producing some of the best racing we have seen all year! Young Blistering Blaine Byron managed to fend them all off to take victories at both events.

Other PTM crew notables are 9 year old Charlotte Lalonde, who was 4^th in Novice in her 2^nd race ever, and William Lalonde, who was 6^th in Junior Light with some fantastic passing in the remaining 4 laps.

July 25, 2006:: Dealer News: In an effort to better serve the company’s rapidly growing customer base, PTM (Pro-Tune Motorsports) announces the addition of a new dealer. Veteran sprint racer Paul Lalonde, CEO of Corsa Karts Canada, has become an Authorized Dealer for PTM in Ottawa Ontario.

"The dual coast dealers will help get the product line to our customers that much faster,” stated Phil Sommerard, Owner and founder of PTM. “The PTM chassis and components are second to none. PTM makes and use’s the highest quality components in the industry."

“We’re so pleased to have Paul Lalonde as New Dealer and Director of the PTM Eastern official race team,”

explained Phil Sommerard. "The PTM East race team is growing fast with some great results. Visit us online at http://www.ptmcanada.com/ "

The team will offer race support on the entire family of PTM products; Pro-Max, Rush, and soon a Four Stroke Chassis to be called Diesel. While these chassis all come from the same PTM factory in Canada, they are different in many ways and developed by individual seasoned veterans well known in Canadian Racing.

PTM is very excited to have Paul onboard as a new dealer and part of the team, and look forward to a long and wonderful association with this winning combination!

PTM is currently looking to expand its dealer network into Quebec. For exciting dealership opportunities please email Phil Sommerard at sales@ptmcanada.com.

June 30, 2006:: Alex Healy, number 89, in a PTM kart, placed 12^th out of a field of 34 in the Rotax Max Senior 25 lap main event on Sunday, June 25^th at the Barrie Grand Prix. This was an excellent result against the best racers in the country. This was also Alex’s first race weekend in a PTM kart. Good job Alex!

June 21, 2006:: Pro-Tune Motorsports has been scouting the local talent in the NCKC Kart club and has signed Alex Healy. Alex will be onboard a PTM Pro-Max chassis in the Rotax Senior class for the remainder of the 2006 season.

PTM owner Phil Sommerard, has been tuning for Alex over the past month. They have already built a relationship together on the race circuit through tuning, racing, testing and practicing together. It has proven to be a winning combination.

Alex, now age 17, is off to a speedy start in 2006. He is currently “NCKC Fast Lapper” and last weekend at St Lawrence Motor Park in Morristown, NY, he qualified first, won the pre-final and ran away with the 16-lap feature against a very competitive field. Well done, Alex!

Alex began kart racing at the age of 14 by winning his first race and setting a track record in the process. The following year he won the Rookie of the Year award for the Junior Heavy four-stroke class. As a 16 year old, Alex moved to the faster two-stroke Rotax Max series and competed in the Florida Winter Series in Jacksonville, Florida against nationally ranked drivers. Later that year he won the Rotax Championship, a 12 race series in NCKC.

PTM is very excited to have Alex join our Team. Alex will be debuting the PTM chassis this weekend at the Barrie Grand Prix.

June 20, 2006:: Pro-Tune Motorsports is happy to announce that the PTM chassis has been approved for ROTAX and ASN sanctioned races in Canada. The chassis has previously raced in the SKUSA series in the USA with top 10 finishes and is soon to debut on the Canadian racing circuit.

The PTM chassis is designed and manufactured in Victoria, British Columbia by PTM owner Phil Sommerard. The chassis is tig welded and the kart is manually assembled to provide a top of the line race kart. Some features of this kart are its top quality 32 mil 4130 aircraft spec chromoly tube chassis, Brembo brakes, billet levers and pedals and removable front and rear torsion bars. The bright red chassis is complemented by PTM's unique kart graphics on Unico body work.

Come and check out these Karts in the showroom at our retail store in Carp/Ottawa.

June 19, 2006:: Please check the “Contact” page of this web site for dates that the store will be closed in order to attend race events. These are dates that the store would normally be open. We will endeavor to keep the “Contact” page updated regularly so that you are informed of the closures in advance. Voice messaging will also indicate if the store is closed on a day it would normally be open.

May 18, 2006:: Pro-Tune Motorsports store hours have now been posted on the “Contact” page of this web site. At this point in time, the hours we will be open are as follows: Wed. and Thurs. from 5pm – 8pm; Fri from 5pm – 9pm; and Sat. from 10am – 5pm. The store will be closed at all other times, but the telephone voice mail will be checked on a regular basis and calls returned as soon as we are available to do so. Please do not hesitate to call and leave a message. Requests will be accommodated outside the above hours as necessary. We hope these hours will fully accommodate your needs. Your feedback is appreciated.

May 15, 2006:: Pro-Tune Motorsports would like to thank all the many people who attended the grand opening of the retail Kart shop on May 13, 2006. Without you, of course, the opening would not have been the great success it was. It was nice to see such enthusiasm from the Ottawa area karting community. We look forward to seeing you often in the future.

May 08, 2006:: Pro-Tune Motorsports (PTM) is proud to announce the grand opening of their retail Kart shop on Saturday, May 13, 2006. The doors will open at 10am.

The store is located in the heart of downtown Carp, at 416 Donald B. Munroe Drive, and is only minutes from Karters Korners race track.

Phil Sommerard, owner of PTM, says their primary focus is to promote the PTM Chassis line and kart racing in the Ottawa area. The chassis is designed and manufactured in Canada by PTM.

This much needed retail store will sell PTM 125 Shifter and TAG karts, kart parts and accessories. PTM has developed business relationships with suppliers such as Motorquality, AGV, LGK Racing, Kart Parts Unlimited, Wild Kart, KG, Righetti Ridolfi, Shockwave. A new supplier just recently on board with us is K1 Race Gear. PTM is committed to supporting their product and those of their suppliers.

Success in racing takes a good work ethic, integrity and attention to detail. PTM will use these qualities to take karting in the Ottawa area to the next level.

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