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Red Deer

Parker Thompson, clearly establishing himself as one of Canada’s young motorsport stars

Published

7 years ago

9 minute read

From Exclusive Autosport

RED DEER’S THOMPSON EXTENDS PRO MAZDA POINT LEAD AT ROAD AMERICA

Top-five finishes highlighted by late-race recoveries maintain momentum

 Canada’s Exclusive Autosport brought their USF2000 and Pro Mazda programs to the iconic Road America facility in late June, fueled by the momentum of strong outings during the month of May in Indianapolis. Championship leader Parker Thompson showed why he is considered a primary up-and-coming Canadian motorsports star, as he delivered a pair of performances that turned potential loss into huge gains in the fight for the title in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. The Red Deer, Alberta standout made late-race surges in both main events of the doubleheader on the four-mile track in Wisconsin, passing both of his primary championship challengers to extend his lead to 46 points with a pair of fourth-place finishes. Parker’s rookie teammate Antonio Serravalle, from Unionville, Ontario, made his debut at the challenging track and logged crucial experience, scoring a top finish of 12th.

“We had a bit of a difficult weekend in Pro Mazda, where I feel we ran into a little bit of bad luck,” offered Michael Duncalfe, Exclusive Autosport Team Principal. “However, we showed how strong the EA Pro Mazda car is and Parker showed how talented he is behind the wheel – overcoming adversity and charging through the pack to bring home two fourth place finishes, ultimately extending our championship lead. Antonio did a good job this weekend also. He was only able to complete one day of testing at Road America prior to racing here. That said, I think he did a really good job. Not only is this his first year in cars, he is having to learn every circuit for the first time.  Although we didn’t achieve the results we wanted to, he continues to develop at an incredibly rapid rate. I look forward to seeing him continue to develop as the season progresses.”

The Pro Mazda component of the MRTI schedule for Road America featured a Thursday-to-Saturday run, and both Thompson and Serravalle took to the track for practice and qualifying on the opening day of action.  Coming off a successful test at the track the week prior, both drivers had a baseline from which to improve. Thompson topped the Thursday practice session, and then qualified second for the first of two races. For Race 2, Parker was fifth in the order after a late red flag prevented him from making a run at the pole. Serravalle qualified 13th for both races.

At the start of Race 1, Thompson fell back to sixth position throughout a frenetic opening lap, and then went to work from there.  Parker had his primary title challengers directly in front of him, and eventually made his way past Juncos Racing’s Carlos Cunha for fifth. Thompson then chased down Rinus VeeKay for the remainder of the race, making a bold last lap pass in Canada Corner to take fourth. With the pass, Parker extended his championship lead by two points. Serravalle completed the race to gain much-needed track time at Road America, finishing 13th in the final tally.

The second race of the weekend featured chaos from the green flag. An incident in turn five on the opening lap could have easily put Thompson on the sidelines, as he was sandwiched by the RP Motorsports Racing drivers as everyone fought for racing room. Parker’s PM-18 emerged unscathed as the race went to a full course caution. On the ensuing restart, Thompson was again drilled by a competitor, who had been hit from behind, pushing him off-line in turn one.  Again, the Exclusive Autosport machine continued unaffected, lighting a fire under the 20-year-old, who had dropped to 13th. Parker began his march forward, reeling in and moving past his competition before setting up a pass on VeeKay for fourth.  Thompson closed on Harrison Scott for third over the final laps, but just ran out of time. That move extended his championship lead by another three points over VeeKay, while he added yet another point by turning the fast lap of the race. Serravalle turned in a clean race, finishing 12th.

Exclusive Autosport, which celebrates its Canadian ownership by referring to itself as the ‘Eh Team’ is now thrilled to be planning its only trip north of the border for their ‘home’ race.  Although the team is based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the Toronto Indy is their defacto home race and the event is already in the team history book as the site of their first Mazda Road to Indy win. Thompson swept both USF2000 races on the streets last year, and he’ll be focused on further extending his championship lead when the team arrives for the July 13-15 event. It will also be the home race for Serravalle, who lives just outside Toronto in the suburb of Unionville.

Exclusive Autosport is pleased to be able to partner with great companies, such as AERO™ Advanced Paint Technology (www.rethinkpaint.com), which is used on all their race cars.

 

EXCLUSIVE AUTOSPORT – DRIVER RESULTS AND QUOTES

PRO MAZDA – ROUNDS 8/9 – JUNE 21-24, 2018

ROAD AMERICA – ELKHART LAKE, WI

PARKER THOMPSON – #90

Qualifying 1: 2nd – 2:00.826

Qualifying 2: 5th – 2:00.386

Race 1: Start – 2nd / Finish – 4th

Race 2: Start – 5th / Finish – 4th

Parker Thompson Quote: “Looking back at our Road America race week gets me fired up. We had such a fast race car, and yet no results to show for it. Nothing feels worse as a racecar driver then when you have a car to win a race, and you come home without stopping in victory lane. Unfortunately, some of our troubles were out of our control, like a fluke red flag late in our second qualifying session. But it still feels all the same. I am proud of how we salvaged points though. We kept the big picture in mind, and when the going got tough, I managed to drive from dead last to fourth. I’ll be carrying that intensity into the most important race of the year for me, my home race on the streets of Toronto!”

ANTONIO SERRAVALLE – #91

Qualifying 1: 13th – 2:03.088

Qualifying 2: 13th – 2:02.554

Race 1: Start – 13th / Finish 13th

Race 2: Start – 13th / Finish 12th

Driver Quote: “I’m trying to learn these tracks with very little time to practice but Road America is almost double the length of a normal track and we just didn’t have enough time on this track to be super competitive there. I’m looking forward to my home track race in Toronto.”

 

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City of Red Deer

Council ends reduced fine option for early ticket payment, school and playground zones start at 7 AM

Published on January 15, 2025

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City Council approves first reading of updated Traffic Bylaw and General Penalty Bylaw

Red Deer City Council completed first reading of updated Traffic Bylaw (3707/2025) and General Penalties Bylaw (3036/A-2025) that will provide clarity and consistency in application of the bylaws as well as eliminate challenges in enforcement.

Key updates to the bylaws include:

  1. Ticket Pre-Payment:
    • Removing the option to pay a parking ticket early to receive a reduced fee from the General Penalty Bylaw and adding it to the Traffic Bylaw.
  1. School and Playground Zone Start Times:
    • Through investigating requests from schools to have school and playground zones start at 7 a.m., rather than 8 a.m., Administration determined that almost all school and playground zones in the city have students on the street prior to 7:30 a.m. To be consistent across the city, the start time is being moved to 7 a.m. providing an added measure of safety for all students.
  1. Salt on Sidewalks:
    • Removing the provision prohibiting the use of salt on sidewalks as this provision was rarely reported and it is difficult and costly to enforce.
  1. Permits:
    • More structure was added to the bylaw to clearly articulate conditions and requirements of Use of Streets Permits, as well as Excavation Permits and Alignment Permits.
    • Lastly, fees for closures impacting on-street and off-street stalls have been adjusted to reflect the actual revenue in each parking zone rather than the flat fee.
  1. Penalties:
    • Penalties have been reviewed and updated.
    • During the last bylaw adoption, the penalty associated with vehicles being towed due to snow or street sweeping operations was inadvertently missed. This penalty has been added back in at a slightly higher amount due to an increase in the cost to tow a vehicle through The City’s contractor. This prevents the costs associated with towing vehicles during these operations from being subsidized by the tax base.

“These updates streamline the bylaws to create clarity for residents and administration,” said Erin Stuart, Inspections and Licensing Manager with The City. “They also help to eliminate regulations that are challenging to enforce and bring penalties in line with other City Bylaws.”

Second reading of both bylaws is anticipated for January 27, 2025.

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City of Red Deer

City Council suspends payments on Westerner’s $19 million loan

Published on January 15, 2025

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Westerner Exhibition Association (WEA) loan agreement adjusted

City Council passed second and third reading of a loan amendment bylaw to suspend interest and principal payments related to a $19 million WEA loan with the goal to further support WEA’s financial sustainability.

The item was back in front of Council today after first reading occurred in December 2024, at which time Council expressed the need for a more detailed report on the impacts of WEA’s loan on the City’s financial position.

“Today’s decision is all about providing WEA additional time to achieve financial stability while recognizing its role in generating significant economic activity in the region. WEA hosts 1,500 events annually and welcomes 1.5 million visitors each year,” said Mike Olesen, Growth and Finance General Manager.

Between September 2021 and today, City Council has continued to adjust and respond to the evolving needs related to the loan agreement.

Recently, The City of Red Deer, Red Deer County, the Westerner Park Foundation and the Donald family each contributed $500,000 to the sustainability of WEA. Normally under the existing terms of the loan agreement and loan bylaw, this injection of cash would trigger a loan payment back to The City. However, the intention is to give WEA the time and funds to recover and reach sustainability and today’s decision to suspend interest and principal payments on the $19 million loan responds to this need.

With these adjustments to the conditions of the loan, WEA must still pay the loan in its entirety by the end of the loan’s term. This decision has an impact on the City’s financial position in the short term, but as WEA ‘s financial performance stabilizes, payments on the loan are anticipated to return. This is some of the additional information provided to City Council today.

“To reiterate, this does not mean that the $18.7 million remaining debt is forgiven, but rather that The City must temporarily report a change to our financial statements to better reflect the real value of the loan at a point in time,” said Mike Olesen, Growth and Finance General Manager.

“Westerner has a three-year business plan, and its success is contingent on the changes made today, and the involvement and contributions of partners, including the Province. We still need to continue to recognize the realities and time it takes to recover being a major agriculture society and event centre in our Province and region,” said Tara Lodewyk, City Manager. “The Westerner is working hard to make positive changes that improve its financial situation and the experience for our community. We can all help. It is as easy as choosing to attend one of the many events at the park, and we encourage our citizens to do just that.”

With today’s decision, loan payments will be paused until April 1, 2027, enabling WEA to focus on its recovery plan. This suspension aligns with ongoing financial contributions and recovery planning efforts by The City, Red Deer County, the Province of Alberta, and other stakeholders.

During this period, Westerner Exhibition Association will present annual financial updates to City Council.

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