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OpenRoad selects Remo Ruscitti to compete in the 2017 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada

OpenRoad Auto Group on May 10, 2017

May 10, 2017 (Richmond, B.C.) – OpenRoad Auto Group is pleased to announce that Remo Ruscitti has been selected to join OpenRoad Racing as their new head driver for the 2017 GT3 Challenge Canada. The 23-year-old race car driver from Burnaby, B.C. was chosen based his outstanding performance during a recent shootout at Area 27 Motorsports Park in Osoyoos, B.C. where he competed against four other young Canadian race car drivers and won. 

“We’ve had our eye on Remo for some time now and we think that he’s got a chance to become one of the best professional race car drivers in Canada,” said Christian Chia, President & CEO of OpenRoad Auto Group. “We’re thrilled to bring him on board and look forward to a successful racing season ahead!”

Ruscitti succeeded in becoming OpenRoad’s top pick despite competing in unfavourable weather conditions over the course of two days at Area 27 in Osoyoos, B.C., proving to the OpenRoad team that he’s got what it takes to come out a winner.

“It was a challenging shootout but it worked out in my favour and I’m beyond excited and humbled to have been chosen to race and represent OpenRoad Racing and Porsche Centre Langley in 2017,” said Ruscitti. “I can’t thank Christian and his team enough for this opportunity and I’m eager to hit the track with them again later this month.

The 2017 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada will be OpenRoad Racing’s fourth season competing in the national motorsports competition. In 2014, OpenRoad won the championship with their former race car driver, Scott Hargrove followed by a second place win in 2016.

Ruscitti’s first race will take place at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Ontario on May 18th followed by five consecutive races across Canada, including the Honda Toronto Indy as part of the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada. OpenRoad Racing’s technical support partners for 2017 will once again be Matt Hardiman and Bestline Auto Tech.

Ruscitti has been racing since he was just eight years old. He has proven his talents on and off track and is an extremely hard working, determined athlete. His accomplishments to date include placing third in the 2016 Six Hours of Watkins Glen; fifth in class at the 2015 Rolex 24Hrs of Daytona PC; 2014 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Race Winner; 2014 IMSA Prototype Lites Race Winner; 2014 Highest Finishing Rookie in ST Category; 2013 Pirelli World Challenge Rookie of the Year; and placing third overall at the 2013 Pirelli World Challenge Championship. Ruscitti looks forward to returning to Mosport for his first race with OpenRoad. It’s a track he’s had great experience with, and where he’s already claimed three professional wins.

For more information about Remo Ruscitti, visit www.remoruscitti.com

ABOUT OPENROAD RACING
Founded in 2004, the OpenRoad racing team is spearheaded by Christian Chia and his two brothers – all of whom are race car drivers themselves and have competed in races all over the world. Their race history includes winning the championship at the 2014 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Challenge Canada and then winning second place in 2016 with Scott Hargrove; the 2014 Asia GT3 Challenge, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia (2010-2012);  and the Asian Formula Renault Challenge (2004-2008); Macau Grand Prix, Macau GT Cup (2008). For more information, visit the OpenRoad Racing Team website.

ABOUT OPENROAD AUTO GROUP
OpenRoad Auto Group is B.C.’s largest automotive dealership group with over 1,000 associates representing 18 quality automotive brands at 22 full-service car dealerships. Established In 2000, OpenRoad Auto Group offers car buyers and owners an experiential automotive retail service. With sales and service in multiple languages, OpenRoad Auto Group encourages a car buying experience based on openness, participation and expertise. OpenRoad is proud to be one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies, a CADA Laureate, and the recipient of multiple Canadian Best Employer Awards. openroadautogroup.com

MEDIA CONTACT

Tanis Sullivan
604-230-8008
tanis@tanissullivan.com

5 reasons why treating your winter tires as all-seasons is dangerous.

OpenRoad Auto Group on April 9, 2017

Looking for new tires or tire storage? Shop online here!

Tires and Tire Storage

After a typically rainy and extremely snowy Lower Mainland winter, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and warmer temperatures are finally here to stay.

Although temperatures are now reaching 15 degrees Celsius, it is not uncommon to see cars in the Lower Mainland still fitted with their winter tires.

If you are one of these individuals, here are a few reasons why you need to swap to your summer or all-season tires immediately.

1. Winter tires are made for a lower temperature range than all-season or summers tires

Many drivers think that they can save money by riding their winter wheels all year round. Surely if a tire that can handle tough winter conditions can handle warmth, right?

Unfortunately this is completely wrong. All tires start life with differently engineered rubber compounds, each designed for specific temperature ranges.

Winter tires are designed to have flexible tread below the freezing mark. Compared to summer compound tires, which have a lot of smooth tire blocks for maximum surface area grip, winters have a lot more sipes and softer compound tread blocks.

These flexible heavily siped blocks are designed for gripping onto uneven snowy or icy surfaces and not for consistently dry and warm pavement.

2. Your winter tires will wear much faster above 7 degrees Celsius

As the aforementioned sipes and tread blocks come into contact with the dry and warmer spring pavement, heat is created as the rubber blocks are compressed.

Why? Because the sipes rapidly open and close as they come into contact with the dry pavement with no snow or ice to cool them down. And too much heat is the worst enemy of a tire.

3. You will not be able to stop your car as quickly

By design, compared to a good all-season tire, a winter tire will have 2-3 times as many tread blocks. On dry and warm pavement though, this flexible-by-design construction can make stopping distances significantly longer.

Regardless of the type of tire, too much heat makes a tire’s tread blocks too flexible. The tire will have a squirmy or greasy feel because it is literally chemically dissolving.

At over 30 degrees Celsius, the winter tires’ rubber will start to marble. A dangerous situation as little rubber balls are formed and will spin under the wheel.

A 2012 Consumer Reports study found that winter tire equipped cars (in spring/summer conditions) needed one-and-half to two car lengths more stopping distance! The hotter the ambient temperature, the longer the stopping distance. A potentially dangerous scenario.
 

4. You will not be able to control the car as well

A winter/summer tire comparison study done by Continental Tires found that there is around 15 per cent less steering precision when using winter tires during warm spring/summer temperatures.

The same study found that in summer conditions, winter tires reached their critical limits below 70 km/hr during an avoidance maneuver. By contrast, the same maneuver is unproblematic even at 80 km/hr when equipped with summer tires.

5. You will be spending more money on fuel

Due to the softer and stickier rubber compound, winter tires have a much higher rolling resistance.

Rolling resistance is defined as the energy that is lost when the tire is rolling. The main reason for loss of energy is the constant deformation of the tire.

The level of wear on winter tires is high at warm times of the year and the rolling resistance is 15% higher than that of summer tires.

Final Tip

When you are swapping your tires, be sure to take a look at the amount of tread left on your winter tires. For the best traction in snow, tire manufacturers recommend a minimum tread depth of 6/32 of an inch.

For comparison, most tires come with new with about 11/32 to 12/32 of an inch tread depth.

If you do not have the recommended amount, now is a good time to plan ahead to save money for new winter tires well in advance of the next winter season.
 

B.C. dealership looks south to pump up supercar sales

OpenRoad Auto Group on April 4, 2017

Written by Albert Van Santvoort  (April 4, 2017)
 

B.C.’s largest automotive dealership group has taken over the only supercar dealership in Washington state.

The term “supercar” defies easy explanation but is usually applied to powerful elite sports cars or grand tourers, often from high-end makers such as Ferrari (Nasdaq:RACE) or McLaren, which appeal to vehicle enthusiasts and collectors with very deep pockets. 

While Craig Stowe, founder of the Luxury and Supercar Weekend, dubbed Vancouver North America’s supercar capital in 2016 for having the highest number of supercars per capita, sales growth may have peaked.

Scotiabank’s (TSX:BNS) Global Auto Report released last month said luxury car sales in B.C. have grown 25% this year. But it warned that growth would moderate as B.C. provincial activity softens.

“I think certainly the growth trajectory has slowed,” said Dimitri Kotsalis, area general manager for OpenRoad Auto Group. “We’re not going to see the kind of increases we’ve seen in that last eight or 10 years. I think we’ll continue to see steady, slower growth but there’s still room to push the needle a little bit further in Vancouver.”

Expected slower growth in B.C.’s luxury and supercar market is causing OpenRoad Auto Group to look south. The group recently bought a Bentley, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce (LON:RR) dealership in Bellevue, Washington.

Washington provides a newer market for the supercar industry, which has only recently started to develop significantly in that state.

OpenRoad saw Washington’s aging population with growing disposable incomes as a market it couldn’t pass up.

Despite the threat of increased trade barriers from the new U.S. president, Kotsalis is optimistic about the stability of the market based on the early days of the new administration.

“So far, what we’ve seen in early days is that the market continues to perform and seems like quite a stable market,” said Kotsalis. “Whether there will be any effect in the future remains to be seen, but for now we’re surely comfortable.”

Supercar sales in B.C. grew at five times the pace of all new car sales in 2016. That has not eaten into new car sales from lower-end brands, Kotsalis said, because supercars are usually bought in addition to, rather than instead of, other vehicles.

Blair Qualey, president and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of BC, said low import taxes in Canada have contributed to Vancouver’s success in the supercar industry.

Countries like Malyasia and Indonesia have high import taxes to promote sales of domestic car brands. China and Hong Kong have luxury sales taxes that apply to supercars. Canada has neither.

“The supercar retail industry has been swinging way above [its] weight for some time now in the Lower Mainland.” 

 

To view the original article, visit:

https://www.biv.com/article/2017/4/bc-dealership-looks-south-pump-supercar-sales/