The Nissan Sentras were hardly the stars of the paddock. Among the rows of race trailers lined up behind the scenes at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, there were mechanics swarming over Ferrari race cars and small junior-F1 open-wheel race cars. Over the din of the race-track environment, you couldn’t even hear the little Sentras idling. When one of the Ferrari Challenge 488 race cars barked to life, everyone within 500 feet had to turn and see what that eight-cylinder gunshot was. But when the humble Sentras took to the track, they became the crowd favorite.
This year the Nissan Sentra Cup supplants the Nissan Micra Cup. Nissan no longer sells the Micra, so the longer, lower, and more powerful Sentra becomes the new base of the one-make spec series. The Sentra Cup race cars are all based off the base-trim Nissan Sentra S manual. They’re converted into race cars by Motorsports in Action, in Saint-Eustache, Quebec, and the cost of the race car is $39,990, including the cost of the $20,000 donor car.
Our intrepid editor Jonathan Yarkony drove the race car himself and found it to be a very exciting package. The conversion includes uprated brakes front and rear from the Nissan parts bin. The fronts are sourced from the outgoing Nissan 370Z Nismo, and the rears are discs and calipers from the Nissan Sentra SV. Coilover suspension is also added, but the 149-hp 2.0L I4 remains 100-per-cent stock, other than a cold-air intake and performance exhaust.
2022 Nissan Sentra Cup at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Photo by Clayton Seams
2022 Nissan Sentra Cup at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Photo by Clayton Seams
2022 Nissan Sentra Cup at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Photo by Clayton Seams
2022 Nissan Sentra Cup at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Photo by Clayton Seams
2022 Nissan Sentra Cup at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Photo by Clayton Seams
For 2022, the Sentras are racing alongside the older Micras. The Micras are slower than the Sentras, so the two are divided into classes. The Sentra’s lower centre of gravity also makes for less dramatic crashes. The tippy Micras would bounce around like ping-pong balls, and, like an excited puppy, struggled to keep four points of contact with the ground.
I took to the grandstands to watch the Sentra (and Micra) Cup race on the hairpin of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The Grandstand was some 2.7 km from the starting line, so when the green flag dropped there, it took some considerable time before the headlights of the first Sentra came buzzing into view. Compared to the Ferrari 488 Challenge cars we saw in the round before, the Sentras appeared to be coming down the back straight at a walking pace, all 149 hp trying its very best. But where the Ferraris and open-wheeled cars tip toed through the hairpin, careful to not glance another car, the Nissans came barreling through, elbows out.
2022 Nissan Sentra Cup at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Photo by Clayton Seams
It seemed the the stickered-up Sentras were swapping positions every lap, and the identical power of the cars meant that the group stayed bunched up and the leaders never really had a chance to run away. In simpler words, it was brilliant racing. The crowd on the grandstands cheered louder for the Sentra race than for the Ferrari or Formula 1600 (open-wheel) race. At one point, a crash resulted in a hood flying open, and the driver still kept racing with the hood covering most of the windshield. You just don’t get that in a Formula One race.
The other thing you won’t find at a Formula One (yet) is women on the podium. Sunday’s race found two women in the winner’s circle. Valérie Limoges came third in the Sentra Cup; and Marie-Soleil “Sunny” Labelle came in third place in the Micra series.
2022 Nissan Sentra Cup at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Photo by Clayton Seams
Labelle is just 18 years old, and has been racing for three years. Before the Micra Cup, she competed in shifter karts. She had never once driven or raced on Circuit Gilles Villenueve before, but nonetheless showed she is a threat to contend with. “It’s been a very steep learning curve from karts to production cars,” she said. In the future, she looks to race in “any series,” whether it’s open-wheel or production-based like the Sentra or Micra Cup.
More than just a marketing exercise, Nissan is showing its commitment to fostering Canadian motorsports with its participation and support for the Sentra and Micra Cup. Not only is it exciting racing to watch on Canada’s premiere circuits, but it’s also a gateway for young drivers like Labelle to enter the world of wheel-to-wheel car racing and prove their worth in competition. Next time you’re at an event where the Nissans are racing, skip the Ferraris — this is where it’s at.
Keyword: I'd rather watch Nissans race than Ferraris—here's why