Daytona Beach, Florida - Francesco Policaro attended an Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin event in 2014 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, cheering for Platinum Masters champion Marco Cirone, a good friend.

But the experience was completely different when he went to Rounds 3 and 4 of the championship this June in Toronto.

Last year, Policaro watched the races as a fan. This year, he stood a few meters from the podium, beaming with the glow of victory reflected on rain-soaked streets under gray, leaden skies.

Policaro, general manager of Porsche Centre Oakville in Oakville, Ontario, celebrated proudly on behalf of his entire dealership as Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports driver Daniel Morad stood atop the podium after a superb drive to victory in a driving rainstorm in Round 4.

It was the first victory in the series for rookie standout driver Morad and for Porsche Centre Oakville, located just 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Toronto. Morad's win so far has been the highlight of the dealership's fruitful first season of involvement in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned Single-Make Series.

"Probably the most pleasant surprise is the different emotions you carry with you through the course of a weekend," Policaro said. "It is a completely different experience having a horse in the race, especially the race weekend at Toronto Indy when Daniel stood on the top step of the podium. It was pretty awesome.

"I never really expected that emotion. Now I know why people become addicted to it and addicted to winning."

The satisfaction of victory - and its positive trickle-down effect on all areas of the dealership - is one of the many benefits Porsche Centre Oakville has enjoyed this season since it allied with longtime series standout Alegra Motorsports and Toronto-area driver Morad.

Policaro's family founded a dealership in 1979 that grew into an award-winning automotive retail group in the Brampton and Oakville, Ontario, area today featuring eight automobile franchises embracing eight brands. Porsche Centre Oakville opened in September 2013, with Francesco Policaro as general manager.

Porsche's successful racing heritage forms a thick strand of the marque's DNA, attracting customers. So Policaro knew, even before the dealership opened, he wanted to integrate a motorsports program into the store's marketing and customer interaction efforts.

The dealership sponsored track days for customers at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and also hosted an award-winning Porsche viewing party for the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans. But the intense work involved in building, opening and establishing Porsche Centre Oakville required complete focus from Policaro and his entire staff, so he envisioned the dealership would wait to start its racing program in 2016.

That plan changed to a faster lane when Morad and Policaro met just a few weeks before the 2015 season started in mid-May.

Former world karting champion and international junior open-wheel series driver Morad, from the Toronto suburb of Thornhill, sought to return to racing this season for the first time since 2011. He already had contacted series powerhouse Alegra Motorsports, based in Tampa, Florida, on a cold call about the prospects for a ride.

Morad and Alegra owner/driver Carlos de Quesada quickly made a deal for the 2015 season. Morad also had met Policaro around this time and provided the networking combustion for the potent mix of Porsche Centre Oakville and Alegra Motorsports, introducing Policaro to de Quesada.

The partnership fused quickly and seamlessly. Alegra and Porsche Centre Oakville became the newest power couple in the series, fielding full-time Platinum Cup cars for Morad and series veterans Tim Sanderson and Chuck Harris, and a Gold Cup car for rookie Michael de Quesada.

"We felt that giving ourselves a couple of years in operations would then allow us a little more time to devote to motorsport," Policaro said. "So that was the plan. When I met Daniel and learned more about him, his intentions and the type of person that he is, most importantly, and also speaking with Alegra and understanding the de Quesada family and their reputation and the type of people they are, it just seemed to be a good fit.

"So although it wasn't necessarily something we planned for this year, it was one of those opportunities that came up that everything looked and felt right. So we decided to jump in."

Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports has become one of the most visible teams in the championship with the striking, metallic liveries on the cars of Morad and Harris and a very active social media presence on Facebook and Twitter. The team's professionally produced event recap and motorsports-themed videos have received more hits on YouTube than any other videos posted by the dealership, Policaro said.

Winning also has helped raise the dealership's profile. Morad won Round 3 in Toronto and is second in the Platinum Cup championship standings with two rounds to go, 11 points behind longtime series standout Chris Green of Pfaff Motorsports.

Sanderson has won two rounds in the Platinum Masters class. De Quesada, the 15-year-old son of team owner Carlos de Quesada, is storming through a scorching summer streak of four consecutive Gold Cup victories and is second in the standings, eight points behind leader Orey Fidani of Pfaff Motorsports.

Involvement with Alegra in the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin also has provided other benefits besides trophies for the Porsche Centre Oakville showroom.

Morad is working for Porsche Centre Oakville as a brand ambassador, interacting with customers at the dealership during the week and conducting track days when he's not racing.

"He's getting involved with customers face to face," Policaro said of Morad. "We've seen it's been well received."

Two Porsche Centre Oakville technicians also work with the race team on weekends, sharpening their skills in the high-pressure, results-driven world of racing. And Alegra has moved its season base of operations to a section of the Porsche Centre Oakville facility, with the race team crew working almost side by side with the Porsche dealership mechanics.

"One thing that's very surprising is internally the morale and the excitement that is generated with our own staff," Policaro said. "We're engaged in all aspects. It's been very important, and we see it as something we'd like to get more and more involved with as time goes on.

"It all proves the point that it's important for Porsche Centre Oakville to be involved. And not just to support Porsche Canada's initiatives but also to give our customers what they want and to give our fans and enthusiasts what they want, which is involvement in motorsport."

The final two races of the 2015 Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin, Rounds 9 and 10, are scheduled for Aug. 28-30 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

For more information about the series, 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 is in its fifth season in 2015, producing 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.