Where Engineering Meets Adrenaline

At Solidxperience (SXP), the parent company behind Mecanica and Solidxperts, the connection between engineering and racing is not just metaphorical, it is literal. As proud affiliates of Xtreme Motorsports, SXP’s brands don’t just put their names on cars, we put people on the grid.

The team is led by Alex Habrich, SXP’s President and Founder, who is just as comfortable in a race suit as he is in a boardroom. His son, Michael Habrich, a PDM and 3DEXPERIENCE specialist at Solidxperts, shares the same passion. Together, they campaign in the Super Production Challenge (SPC) series, racing Nissan 370Zs alongside teammates who either own or rent their rides through Xtreme Motorsports.

For five seasons, they have been competing across Canada, with the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières (GP3R), a tight, high-speed street circuit in the heart of Quebec, standing as one of the biggest dates on the calendar. While NASCAR draws the international crowds, for SPC racers, GP3R is pure, unfiltered motorsport.

Close-up of several yellow Grand Prix 3R 2025 corporate lounge passes laid out on a countertop, along with black lanyards and branded pens.

Friday – The Heat of the Night

The weekend began under a sweltering Quebec heat wave, with track temperatures climbing past 30°C and feeling closer to 35°C thanks to overheating cars, melting asphalt, and cloudless skies. Morning practice took place under these scorching conditions, giving drivers and crews an early taste of the challenge ahead.

Scenic view of the illuminated Trois-Rivières city entrance arch at twilight, with streaks of car lights on the road and a stone tower on the left.

By evening, the Friday night race was ready to go. The sun dipped, but the heat lingered in the air and radiated from the pavement. The GP3R street circuit became a tunnel of speed with bright curbs flashing past, exhaust crackles echoing between grandstands, and the smell of hot brakes heavy in the air.

Evening shot from a shaded grandstand of multiple race cars lined up on the starting grid at GP3R, with spectators watching from the foreground.

Midway through the race, disaster struck for the team. Alex Habrich (Solidxperts car #75) and Louis Pallay (Mecanica car #57) were caught in the aftermath of a stopped car, with poor visibility leaving nowhere to go. The collision sent both cars tumbling down the order, and Pallay’s damage was race-ending.

White Mecanica Nissan 370Z race car with visible front-end damage parked in the paddock under bright lights after the race.          Close-up of a purple Solidxperts Nissan 370Z race car with neon green wheels, showing rear-end damage sustained during the race.

But the night was not without triumph. Alexandre Fortin (Solidxperts-sponsored car #32) charged to the front and held it, taking a first-place finish under the lights.

Friday Results:

  • 🏆 1st – Alexandre Fortin (#32, Solidxperts-sponsored)
  • 10th – Eric Chaput (#72, Mecanica)
  • 11th – Ludovic Sabourin (#78, Mecanica)
  • 12th – Michael Habrich (#89, Solidxperts)
  • Alex Habrich – Back of pack after collision
  • Louis Pallay – DNF

Saturday – High Stakes, Hard Hits

Saturday’s SPC race unfolded under the heat of the weekend’s main day, the grandstands packed and the air buzzing with anticipation. The stakes were high and so was the risk.

Michael Habrich fought his way into 7th place and looked set for a solid finish when, late in the race, a mechanical failure under double-yellow forced him out, dropping him to 24th in the official results. Moments earlier, Ludovic Sabourin’s day had ended in a crash, another reminder of GP3R’s unforgiving nature.

A driver in a racing suit prepares inside a dark blue Solidxperts Nissan 370Z with neon green wheels in the paddock area during the day.

The rest of the team battled for every inch, bringing their cars home in respectable mid-field positions.

Saturday Results:

  • 7th – Eric Chaput (#72, Mecanica)
  • 11th – Alex Habrich (#75, Solidxperts)
  • 12th – Alexandre Fortin (#32, Solidxperts-sponsored)
  • 13th – Louis Pallay (#57, Mecanica)
  • 24th – Michael Habrich (#89, Solidxperts, after mechanical issue)
  • Ludovic Sabourin – DNF

Sunday – Closing with a Podium

By Sunday, the heat had baked into the circuit. Mechanics hustled in the pits, drivers sought every bit of shade they could find, and the final race loomed as one last push.

Eric Chaput rose to the occasion, securing a third-place podium finish after three days of intense competition. Alex Habrich kept himself in the fight, finishing 7th, while Alexandre Fortin added another solid 12th-place result.

Unfortunately, Michael Habrich’s Saturday failure could not be repaired in time, leaving him unable to start, and Louis Pallay faced another DNF with mechanical issues.

Sunday Results:

  • 🏆 3rd – Eric Chaput (#72, Mecanica)
  • 7th – Alex Habrich (#75, Solidxperts)
  • 12th – Alexandre Fortin (#32, Solidxperts-sponsored)
  • 16th – Ludovic Sabourin (#78, Mecanica)
  • Louis Pallay – DNF
  • Michael Habrich – DNS

Driver-by-Driver GP3R 2025 Recap

Driver Car # Friday Saturday Sunday
Alexandre Fortin (Solidxperts-sponsored) #32 🏆 1st 12th 12th
Eric Chaput (Mecanica) #72 10th 7th 🏆 3rd
Ludovic Sabourin (Mecanica) #78 11th DNF 16th
Alex Habrich (Solidxperts) #75 Incident – Back of pack 11th 7th
Louis Pallay (Mecanica) #57 DNF 13th DNF
Michael Habrich (Solidxperts) #89 12th 24th* DNS
*Mechanical failure under double-yellow

Beyond the Checkered Flag

The 2025 GP3R weekend was not just another race. It was a celebration of motorsport at its most intense. For drivers and fans alike, the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières is more than a fixture on the calendar. It is a living, breathing spectacle that takes over the city. The streets transform into a technical, high-speed circuit lined with grandstands, banners, and the constant soundtrack of revving engines echoing off concrete barriers.

Group of spectators standing under a tented corporate lounge, looking out toward the racetrack with cars passing in the background.

For the Super Production Challenge, GP3R is one of the crown jewels of the season. The series is built on fierce, multi-class competition. Drivers in different categories share the same track, trading positions lap after lap, and battling not just for outright wins, but for valuable points in their class standings. It is bumper-to-bumper racing that rewards precision, strategy, and mechanical resilience as much as outright speed.

A boy looks at the engine bay of a blue Solidxperts Nissan 370Z while a purple Solidxperts 370Z is parked nearby in the paddock at night.

The weekend’s sweltering heat wave pushed those limits further. Inside the cars, drivers endured cockpit temperatures soaring far beyond the already blistering trackside readings, forcing them to balance aggression with self-preservation. Crews worked relentlessly in the paddock, turning wrenches in the heat, patching up damage from the inevitable scrapes with walls and competitors, and keeping cars in fighting shape for the next green flag.

For Xtreme Motorsports, the results were a mix of triumphs and setbacks. Victories on Friday, a podium on Sunday, and the constant grind of overcoming mechanical issues shaped the weekend. Beyond the stats, there was a sense of shared resilience. Teammates celebrated each other’s wins, commiserated over DNFs, and looked ahead to the next race with the same determination that had brought them to GP3R in the first place.

Racing driver Alex Habrich signs posters at a long autograph table while fans, including a young girl, line up during the Grand Prix 3R event.

Racing driver Michael Habrich signs posters for a young boy wearing ear protection, with other fans gathered around the autograph tent.

Racing drivers sit at an autograph table under a canopy during GP3R, smiling and interacting with fans standing in line.

In the end, that is what makes weekends like this unforgettable. It is not just the podium finishes. It is the atmosphere in the paddock, the handshake between rivals, the roar of the crowd as the leaders dive into turn one, and the satisfaction of knowing you gave everything you had against some of the best competition in Canadian motorsport. For the SPC, for GP3R, and for the SXP family, 2025 will be remembered as a year of heat, hard-fought battles, and the unshakable spirit that defines racing.

For more information about the races, the tracks, and for more event coverage, check out: