Montreal, Quebec - Scott Hargrove edged Daniel Morad for the Platinum Cup pole Friday, setting a big stage for more fierce competition between the Canadian stars Saturday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama.

2014 Platinum Cup champion Hargrove, from Surrey, British Columbia, was quickest at 1 minute, 39.521 seconds in the No. 28 OpenRoad Racing Porsche. Morad, from Toronto, qualified second overall at 1:39.547 in the No. 17 Porsche Centre Oakville/Alegra Motorsports Porsche.

This event, supporting the Canadian Grand Prix Formula One race, is the first combined race between the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama and the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.

"I just barely was able to go P1 before we came in for a pit stop," Hargrove said. "I came in, and we improved the car a little bit. I think I could have improved significantly on my lap, but there were some yellow flags on the final corner at the end of my quickest lap. So that was a little disappointing.

"But I'm still thrilled to be on the pole in Montreal and looking forward to getting the OpenRoad Porsche back in victory lane."

Hargrove and Morad already have established a spirited rivalry through the first two rounds of the season. Morad won Round 1 on May 21 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) by .308 of a second after a thrilling duel. The two drivers collided while jousting for the lead on Lap 1 of Round 2 on May 22 at CTMP, eliminating both from the race.

Platinum Cup championship leader Zach Robichon, from Ottawa, qualified third today at 1:40.243 in the No. 78 Mark Motors Racing Porsche. Marco Cirone, from Toronto, was fourth at 1:40.591 in the No. 88 Mark Motors Racing Porsche and the quickest Platinum Masters qualifier.

Etienne Borgeat, from Montreal, rounded out the top five on his home track at 1:41.363 in the No. 2 GT Racing Porsche.

Martin Harvey, from Berthierville, Quebec, won the Gold Cup pole at 1:44.424 in the No. 08 Wingho Racing Porsche.

Round 3 starts at 4:30 p.m. (ET) Saturday, a 30-minute race running concurrently with Round 5 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.

Drivers from the Canadian series took four of the top six spots in qualifying on the 13-turn, 2.71-mile (4.361 km) circuit. The combined field of 36 cars created a fun challenge for all competitors to find clear track for a quick lap during the 30-minute qualifying session.

"We all knew it was going to be difficult to get some clear track going into qualifying, but I came out of the pit lane really slow and tried to make sure we had a bit of a gap to the Gold cars before we got on it," Hargrove said. "I think everybody was on the same page, so that actually worked out really well for us at the front to get some clear track for a while. To be honest, I didn't really have many laps where I was affected by the traffic."

Said Harvey: "You have a lot of traffic. The big thing is to control the traffic. It's very tough. After two laps, we lost a few people and fell back behind the Platinum guys and pushed, pushed, pushed. After eight laps, we were P1 and stopped and saved the tires for tomorrow. It was perfect."

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

POST-QUALIFYING QUOTES:

SCOTT HARGROVE (No. 28 OpenRoad Racing, Platinum Cup pole): "We all knew it was going to be difficult to get some clear track going into qualifying, but I came out of the pit lane really slow and tried to make sure we had a bit of a gap to the Gold cars before we got on it. I think everybody was on the same page, so that actually worked out really well for us at the front to get some clear track for a while. To be honest, I didn't really have many laps where I was affected by the traffic. It was more about just focusing on my driving and figuring out what the car needs to go quicker. I just barely was able to go P1 before we came in for a pit stop. I came in, and we improved the car a little bit. I think I could have improved significantly on my lap, but there were some yellow flags on the final corner at the end of my quickest lap. So that was a little disappointing. But I'm still thrilled to be on the pole in Montreal and looking forward to getting the OpenRoad Porsche back in victory lane."

MARCO CIRONE (No. 88 Mark Motors Racing, Platinum Masters top qualifier): "It bunched up quite quickly, and I found that I had to let off a few times to get enough room to try to get a good lap. But there's a lot of cars in the field, which is a good thing. But for qualifying it can affect you. I think I still did a pretty decent time, in row three (overall). I have to be happy with that. The car was amazing, thanks to the Bestline crew. Thanks to Mark Motors for participating and allowing me to drive their car. Tomorrow is a different story. I'm in row three, and anything can happen."

MARTIN HARVEY (No. 08 Wingho Racing, Gold Cup pole): "You have a lot of traffic. The big thing is to control the traffic. It's very tough. After two laps, we lost a few people and fell back behind the Platinum guys and pushed, pushed, pushed. After eight laps, we were P1 and stopped and saved the tires for tomorrow. It was perfect. The car is perfect. You look at both series, the Canadian guys are in the top two (overall). It's perfect for us. Very good."

Schedule

Round 3 (30 minutes): 4:30-5 p.m. Saturday, June 11
Round 4 (30 minutes): 10-10:30 a.m. Sunday, June 12
Driver Autograph Session: 11:15-11:45 a.m. Saturday, June 11, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge combined paddock, near the Olympic Rowing Basin

Race Coverage

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

About Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama

The Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama enters its sixth season in 2016 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, and the new Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport. 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 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Racing in the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama is divided into three classes - Platinum Cup, featuring the 2014-16 model Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, which is based on the seventh, and current, generation of the street car; Gold Cup, which is comprised of the previous iteration (model years 2010-2013) of the race car; and the Silver Cup class consisting of competitors in the new Cayman GT4 Clubsport. 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 and owns a long and rich history in sports car racing. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and the Mazda Prototype Lites Presented by Cooper Tires, as well as four single-make series: Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama; Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama; Ferrari Challenge North America; and Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America. IMSA - a company within the NASCAR family - 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 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. For more information, visit www.IMSA.com, www.twitter.com/IMSA or www.facebook.com/IMSA.