BEACHBURG — Always looking for a challenge and an opportunity to broaden his horizons, Beachburg native Nathan Blok is pleased to announce that he will be racing select races in the IMSA Cooper tires Prototype Lites powered by Mazda series.
IMSA Lites is part of the Mazda Road to the 24 ladder system and grooms drivers for future IMSA Weather Tech SportsCar Championship competition in the Prototype and Prototype Challenge classes.
The Mazda Lites series is separated into two classes, Lites 1 (L1) and Lites 2 (L2). The L1 cars utilize a 2.0 liter MZR engine that puts out 230 HP. The L2 cars use a production based 2.3L Mazda engine that delivers about 200 hp. Both classes utilize the Elan DP02 chassis on Cooper Tires. These race cars weigh less than 1,200 lbs and have huge tunnels for plenty of downforce. The cars are designed to FIA F3 crash standards.
Blok has signed with Performance Tech Motorsport based out of Florida, USA. Before joining the Weather Tech and Prototype Lites Championships, Performance Tech was a mainstay in PC and GT2 competition in the American Le Mans Series. The team won the IMSA Prototype Lites L1 Driver Championship in 2009, the final Prototype Lites round of the 2010 season at Road Atlanta and the Privateer Cup as the top-finishing privateer team at the 2008 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
“I am very excited to take a step up the ladder in my racing career by competing with such a successful team like Performance Tech Motorsport,” Blok said. “Coming off an exciting and title winning season in F2000 Canada, I learned a lot and I am ready for the challenge the Prototype Lites has to offer. I am really grateful for the continued support of Tenaquip, Aurora Tools, Zenith Products, Aikenhead’s Drug Store, LAD’s Auto Recylers, Woody’s MVR, H and H Constructions, Sunsign Graphics, MacMillan Transmission, Belder Tools as well as my new partner Plastiglas.”
The first weekend of May, Blok was in Palm Beach, Forida where he tested the Tenaquip/Aurora Tools/Zenith Safety Products Prototype Lites car. This was his first and only opportunity to test and practise prior to the July 8 to 10 race weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville.
For information on Nathan Bok and sponsorship visit www.nathanblok.com or contact Steve Blok at (613) 582-3867.
Nathan Blok Quick Facts: Nathan Blok is a 22-year old racer from Beachburg and he is the 2015 F2000 Canada Champion and is the two-time Formula Tour 1600 Series Champion. Blok has been racing for 16 years beginning in karting and earned his first victory in cars in 2010 with a 1st place finish in the Ontario Formula Ford Challenge race at Calabogie, Ontario. He holds the F2000 track record at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly know as Mosport), the F1600 track record at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and he is the youngest driver to win at the Trois-Rivieres GP.
Away from the track, Blok holds a 1st Degree Black Belt in Karate, and has currently graduated on the Deans List from the Manufacturing Engineering Technology course at Loyalist College (Belleville, Ontario).
The Series: IMSA Cooper tires Prototype Lites powered by Mazda series is part of the Mazda Road to the 24 ladder system and grooms drivers for future IMSA Weather Tech SportsCar Championship competition in the Prototype and Prototype Challenge classes.
The series is comprised of a six event, double-header format and competes at Watkins Glen, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Trois-Rivieres, Virginia, Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta.
