Daytona Beach, Florida - The levels of risk and reward will be amplified for all drivers in the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin during Rounds 7 and 8 on July 31-Aug. 2 at Trois-Rivières, Quebec.

This is one of two events on tight, unforgiving street circuits on the schedule for the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned Single-Make Series in 2015. Mistakes can be costly, as concrete barriers line the 10-turn, 1.5207-mile (2.433 km) temporary street circuit that hosts the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières (GP3R).

But it's also not easy to pass on the tight circuit. So drivers who approach overtaking with a skilled mix of aggression and rhythm can climb to the top of the running order.

Rounds 7 and 8 will take place Saturday, Aug. 1 and Sunday, Aug. 2 during the popular, historic GP3R event, the only series races in Quebec. Round 7 is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. (ET) Saturday, with Round 8 at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Both races are 45 minutes.

On-track action starts Friday, July 31 with practice at 2:20 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. Qualifying is scheduled for 9:10 a.m. Saturday.

The Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin is in its fifth season in 2015, producing intense, exciting competition for semi-professional and aspiring professional drivers in the world's most produced and iconic race car, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned championship is one of 20 global Porsche single-make Cup Racing series and is the perfect platform for aspiring drivers to ascend to the highest levels of GT competition, such as the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

Racing is divided into two classes - Platinum Cup, featuring the 2014 and 2015 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, which is based on the seventh, and current, generation of the street car; and Gold Cup, which is comprised of the previous iteration (model years 2010-2013) of the race car. A Masters Championship also is conducted in the Platinum class. Each class is awarded with its own podium at the end of every race and individual champion at the end of every season. Points are awarded by finish in class.

The careful balance between caution and aggression needed to succeed at GP3R is a mirror of the differing strategies among the contenders for the Platinum Cup championship with just four rounds remaining in the season.

Chris Green, from Montreal, leads the Platinum Cup standings with 108 points in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche. Green won the opening two rounds of the season, in mid-May at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), and has settled into a podium rhythm in the ensuing events, with two second-place and two third-place finishes. He leads second-place Daniel Morad by 15 points.

Series veteran Green is taking a measured approach as he aims for his first Platinum Cup championship. That strategy betrays Green's desire to lead every session, but he knows consistency could be the best pathway to the title.

Trois-Rivières should be a good circuit for Green to pile up points and possibly a victory. He won one of the two rounds at GP3R in 2013 and 2014.

Meanwhile, Morad and fellow title contenders Marco Cirone and Scott Hargrove can go for broke at GP3R. Green leads Morad by 15 points, Cirone by 20 and reigning Platinum Cup champion Hargrove by 30. So it's win or bust time for all three.

Morad, from Thornhill, Ontario, showed his skill on a street circuit earlier this season by producing a magisterial drive to victory in a downpour on the streets of Toronto in the No. 22 Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports entry. The win came just one day after he was collected in an accident in the previous round - a perfect illustration of the pendulum swing of risk and reward of street-circuit racing.

Cirone, from Toronto, is dominating the Platinum Masters class with five victories in six starts and is third in the overall Platinum Cup standings with two podium finishes in the No. 88 Mark Motors Racing Porsche.

Two-time defending Platinum Masters champion Cirone also is coming off a very strong performance in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama races on July 10-12 at CTMP. He finished fourth and third overall in two rounds.

Hargrove, from Surrey, British Columbia, has been in win-only mode since he made his 2015 series debut in Round 3 in mid-June at Toronto. So far, he has three victories and one second-place finish in the No. 25 OpenRoad Racing Porsche and must continue to stand on the top step of the podium to have any shot at repeating as champion.

Three other drivers who could contend for podium positions in Platinum Cup are Harry Steenbakkers, Tim Sanderson and Etienne Borgeat.

Steenbakkers, 17, from Ottawa, continues to build a very strong rookie season in the No. 78 Mark Motors Racing Porsche. He tied his season-best finish of fourth in Round 6 earlier this month at his home track, Calabogie Motorsports Park, and continues to push veteran teammate Cirone.

2014 Gold Cup champion Sanderson, from Pickering, Ontario, has become a consistent top-five finisher in his first season in Platinum Cup. He won and finished second last year in Gold Cup at GP3R and finished a 2015 season-best third overall on the street circuit at Toronto in the No. 07 Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports entry.

Etienne Borgeat, from Montreal, has enjoyed success in the past at GP3R.

Borgeat, from Montreal, returns to the series with Quebec-based GT Racing after missing Rounds 5 and 6 at Calabogie. He finished fourth overall last season in Round 8 at GP3R and third in a race there in 2013.

That strong performance in Quebec is nothing new for series veteran Borgeat, who has developed a habit of clutch drives at home. He won all three Quebec-based rounds of the series in 2012.

Rookie Orey Fidani leads the Gold Cup championship with 104 points, eight points ahead of Quebec resident Martin Harvey.

Fidani, from Woodbridge, Ontario, has one victory and four runner-up finishes this season in the No. 13 Pfaff Motorsports entry. Much like Cirone, he also performed well at the GT3 USA event earlier this month at CTMP, finishing third in one race.

Martin Harvey, from Berthierville, Quebec, has produced a strong season in Gold Cup with two victories.

Harvey, from Berthierville, Quebec, is enjoying his finest season since the inaugural year of the championship in 2011. He swept both rounds on the street circuit in mid-June at Toronto and relishes the challenge of racing in close quarters between concrete walls in the No. 08 Wingho Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.

But it's safe to say Fidani and Harvey may be looking over their respective shoulders at series rookie Michael de Quesada, third in the Gold Cup standings with 88 points.

De Quesada, 15, from Odessa, Florida, earned his first two career victories by sweeping Rounds 5 and 6 earlier this month at Calabogie in the No. 24 Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports entry.

His drive in Round 5 was especially impressive, as he lost a 20-second lead due to an unscheduled, mid-race pit stop to repair an electronic problem yet still rallied to beat Shaun McKaigue to the line by 11.75 seconds.

De Quesada steamrolled the field in Round 6, building a lead of 38 seconds before cruising to victory.

Schedule
Practice 1: 2:20-2:50 p.m. (ET), Friday, July 31
Practice 2: 5:20-5:50 p.m., Friday, July 31
Qualifying: 9:10-9:40 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1
Round 1 (45 minutes): 3:10-3:55 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1
Round 2 (45 minutes): 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 2

Race Coverage
Live timing: All on-track sessions at scoring.imsa.com
Twitter: Live text commentary from all sessions at @IMSALive

For more information about Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin, visit www.imsa.com, follow hashtag #GT3CAN @IMSA on Twitter or IMSA on Facebook.

Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin

The Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin enters its fifth season in 2015 ready to produce more intense, exciting competition for semi-professional and aspiring professional drivers in the world's most produced and iconic race car, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned championship is one of 20 global Porsche single-make Cup Racing series and is the perfect platform for aspiring drivers to ascend to the highest levels of GT competition, such as the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

Racing is divided into two classes - Platinum Cup, featuring the 2014 and 2015 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, which is based on the seventh, and current, generation of the street car; and Gold Cup, which is comprised of the previous iteration (model years 2010-2013) of the race car. A Masters Championship also is conducted in the Platinum class. Each class is awarded with its own podium at the end of every race and individual champion at the end of every season. Points are awarded by finish in class.

ABOUT IMSA

The International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) was originally founded in 1969 with a long and rich history in sports car racing. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, as well as four single-make series: Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama; Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin; Ferrari Challenge North America; and Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America. IMSA - a company within the NASCAR Holdings group - is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership enables selected TUDOR Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.