The scene was set for a great final race at the Eurasia Cup Invitational on Saturday night, part of the Edmonton Indy race weekend. Lac La Biche drivers Brad Musat and Peter Seifert made the trip to Edmonton with high expectations of podium finishes, but they both had to settle for less.
Seifert didn’t even see the starting line, as pre-race complications caused him to pull out of the race before it began.
“It’s really disappointing, that’s all there is to it,” said Seifert, who was supposed to drive local race veteran Ken Staple’s car after Staples was injured in a race crash several weeks ago.
“I had just bought a new engine and I didn’t get it until Wednesday,” Staples said. “When we tried to install the engine we realized it would need significant modifications and we just ran out of time.”
Musat on the otherhand, did get to start the race but sadly didn’t get to finish it. He had a terrific qualifying run on Friday, coming in just a few seconds slower than some of the NASCAR drivers that would be competing at one of the main events on Sunday.
“I was feeling great, we were very fast this year and I put very high expectations on myself,” Musat said.
He began Saturday’s race in fourth position and stayed there for the majority of the race. Near the last third of the race, Musat’s #59 Ford Fusion attempted to pass a blue Porsche to secure a third place spot when disaster struck on turn 12 of the Municipal Airport track. Musat swerved to avoid a previous collision, and that in turn caused him to hit another driver head-on.
“I swerved to avoid one car and couldn’t avoid the other one,” Musat said. “The car was pretty damaged, my steering column snapped in two, and I knew the race was over.”
Thankfully, Musat was not seriously injured in the crash having only some soreness in his neck and back.
“It is my pride that hurts the most,” Musat said.
An initial diagnostic on his damaged car also seemed to be positive, as the crash caused only minor exterior and interior damage. But, the disappointment over not finishing the race was evident from his pit crew, as the whole team believed this would be the year that Musat challenged for top spot.
“We’re all upset, you train all year for this and one little thing happens and it’s over—but that’s racing,” Musat said.
ROAD TO REDEMPTION?
Although neither Lac La Biche racer came away from Edmonton satisfied, there may be a chance for both drivers to enact some revenge on the Edmonton circuit in the form of two newly announced races at the Edmonton Municipal Airport track August 10 and 11, as well as a race at the beginning of September.
“We didn’t know there would be any more chances here, I’m definitely coming back to race, as long as this car isn’t too damaged,” Musat said.
Staples and Seifert will also hopefully make the trip back to Edmonton to compete in the upcoming races.
“If we can get that car going, you better believe we’ll be there,” Staples said.
As long as both cars are ready to go, both drivers will continue to race and compete for podium glory in Edmonton.
“Regardless of what happened here, we’ll still be racing and we’ll be ready for the Eurasia Cup next year,” Musat said.
The Edmonton Indy weekend featured several race categories including IZOD Indy Car Series race. An International event that brought over 20,000 spectators to Edmonton. Musat and Seifert raced in the Northern Alberta Sports Car Club’s Eurasia Cup Invitational, while other drivers competed in the Star Mazda Championships, the Firestone Indy Lites and the Canadian Tire NASCAR series.
It was Brazilian racer Helio Castroneves who beat out Canadian favorite Alex Tagliani the competition and took the podium in the IZOD Indy race.
