There are all kinds of motorsport out there, both cheap and expensive. A couple of years ago, somebody at Nissan Canada looked at the little Micra and said "hmmm, that would make a good race car," and so the Nissan Micra Cup was born in 2014.
Fast forward to 2016 and zero hoots are given each time a press release about the series is put out there. We all think that it's as boring as watching paint dry, but that's not really the case.
About a week ago, something crazy happened, something that proves fun can happen in unexpected places. All seemed well at the start of a race in Calabogie, but chaos soon engulfed the battlefield of speed.
We can't see exactly what happens, but most of the field got caught up in the crash, with Micras tumbling and flying everywhere.
The good news is that no serious injuries were caused by this massive pile-up. If anything, it proves that racing should happen under controlled conditions and that a roll cage and a helmet could save your life. It's why all the boy racers at the Nurburgring are putting themselves in harm's way every time they lap the "Green Hell."
Nissan's peppy little race cars are built according to the FIA specifications. The Canadian dealer network organizes the one-make series consisting of five race weekends stretched out from May until late summer. Each weekend offers speed junkies two hours of track time in total, composed of a 30-minute trial, a 30-minute qualifying session, and two 30-minute races.
The coolest thing about the Micra Cup is just how cheap it is: $19,998. For that, you don't get a lot in the way of power; just a 1.6-liter four-cylinder mated to a six-speed manual. However, they have added a sports cold air intake, Nismo-tuned suspension kit, and a new exhaust system without a catalytic converter. To help with cornering, Pirelli track tires are used.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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