By: Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama
October 2 2016
Morad Clinches North American Cup; Mosing, de Quesada Win Titles
Braselton, Georgia - The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama season came full circle Friday as Jesse Lazare claimed the Round 16 win at Road Atlanta in the season finale.
Lazare's victory by .413 of a second over Zach Robichon mirrored his win in Round 1 at Sebring International Raceway in March where he led from flag-to-flag. Today's victory was the exclamation point on his Platinum Cup championship-winning season.
"Honestly, this feels absolutely amazing because I didn't do it alone," Lazare said. "I feel so great for the team that has put in so much work
all year. I've put in a lot of hours myself. It's amazing the result we achieved."
Jeff Mosing, from Austin, Texas, clinched the Platinum Masters championship in the No. 01 TOPP Racing Porsche. It is his fourth championship in three years.
Series rookie Michael de Quesada, from Tampa, Florida, earned his first career championship, winning the Gold Cup class in the No. 31 Alegra Motorsports Porsche.
Robichon, from Ottawa, Ontario, earned his first podium finish in the USA series after winning two races en route to a third-place finish in the Ultra 94 Porsche Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama Platinum Cup championship in the No. 78 Mark Motors Racing Porsche.
Daniel Morad, the Canadian series champion from Toronto, finished third in the No. 17 Porsche Centre Oakville/Alegra Motorsports Porsche. The finish secured his reign as the inaugural IMSA North American Cup champion.
"Coming in to the season, we were looking at the Canadian championship and were excited there was a combination of two races with the Americans," Morad said. "We wanted to show them what we could do, and I think we pretty much did that.
"Even within the American series, the Canadians pretty much dominated. At the end of the year, we decided why not go for the North American Cup? It was in reach. Went to Texas, got two second-place finishes. Came here, won and finished third. We did what we needed to do."
Will Hardeman, from Austin, Texas, finished fourth today in the No. 19 Moorespeed Porsche. The fourth-place finish came after earning a career-best second place Thursday in Round 15.
Andrew Longe, from Naples, Florida, rounded out the top five in the No. 47 Wright Motorsports Porsche. He finished third in the championship behind Lucas Catania, from Cazenovia, New York. Just three points separated the two.
Charlie Putman, from Casper, Wyoming, earned his first win of his partial season with a Platinum Masters class victory in the No. 40 Atlanta Motorsports Group Porsche. De Quesada won the Gold Cup class race.
Lazare, from Montreal, started Round 16 from pole. He had a clean start and rocketed toward Turn 1 of the 2.54-mile, 12-turn circuit. Robichon got a good jump from the third starting spot and took second position from Morad in Turn 1.
After one lap, Lazare led by .684 of a second. Five minutes in to the race that gap grew to 1.655 seconds. Fast-forward five minutes later, and it was up to 2.665 seconds.
"Having pole was key," Lazare said. "This really isn't a track with a lot of places to pass, so having that advantage is vital here."
Morad stayed with Robichon through the first few minutes, but Robichon slowly pulled away from his fellow Canadian.
With 28 minutes remaining, Eduardo de Leon, from Mexico City, spun in Turn 7 in the No. 12 JDX Racing Porsche. Joe Catania, from Cazenovia, New York, couldn't avoid making hard contact with de Leon. The incident brought out a full-course caution.
The field bunched together and tried to keep heat in the Yokohama tires with cooler air and track temperatures than Thursday as the safety crews worked to clean the track.
Racing resumed with 17 minutes remaining. Lazare once again had a solid start, but this time Robichon kept him in close reach. Lazare never built more than a .724-of-a-second lead.
"My car was perfect, and to see Zacharie Robichon in my mirrors at the end was really impressive on his part because I really was at my best," Lazare said. "I'm happy for him. He's come a long way this year, and he's going to be one heck of a driver."
The white flag came out with Lazare leading by .403 of a second. But as Robichon challenged him at every turn, Lazare's experience kicked in, and he held on for his 12
th victory of the season. His 12 victories set a record in Platinum Cup for most wins in a season.
Platinum Masters
Putman used a mix of skill and a bit of racing luck to earn his first class victory of the season. It was his second podium finish of the season. He finished second in Round 11 in late August at VIRginia International Raceway.
Marco Cirone, from Toronto, was on his way to a weekend sweep in the No. 88 Mark Motors Racing Porsche. Four-time reigning Canadian Platinum Masters champion Cirone started on pole and was laying down consistent laps for the majority of the race to stay in front of Mosing, who was in second.
But Cirone and Mosing spun in different corners on the same lap, with seven minutes left. They both continued, but their miscues opened the door for Putman to take advantage.
Putman kept it on the track and coasted to the victory.
"Yesterday I was a victim of bad happenstance," Putman said. "There was a guy that lost a little control, and the racing gods gave it back to me today. I got to pass from third to first in the same turn with both guys going off on their own accord. I had a lot of fun racing with the guys."
Fred Kaimer, from Austin, Texas, finished second in the No. 23 NGT Motorsport Porsche. David Baker, from Colleyville, Texas, rounded out the podium in the No. 56 TOPP Racing Porsche. Both Kaimer and Baker had two podium finishes on the weekend.
Gold Cup
De Quesada earned his sixth win of the season and clinched the championship. But it wasn't easy.
Sebastian Landy, from Great Falls, Virginia, started from the Gold pole with de Quesada directly behind him.
De Quesada made an early pass for the class lead, but Landy wasn't deterred. Landy was glued to de Quesada's every move and closed the gap to less than a car length just before the caution came out.
The caution gave Landy an opportunity at the restart. De Quesada had a clean restart, and Landy got back to work looking for an opening. He found it with 12:40 left in the race.
The two worked back and forth. With four minutes remaining, de Quesada pulled alongside Landy in Turn 10. They made side-to-side contact, and de Quesada took the inside line and retook the lead.
Landy stayed tight to the back bumper of de Quesada, but time was not on his side. De Quesada held on for the victory and the championship.
"It means a lot," de Quesada said. "We had a great start to the season. We had a good race in Laguna and then after that we had some tough times. We had to really dig deep. I had to look at myself and ask what I was doing wrong. I had to make myself better. We were able to get just enough points to keep us in the lead, and a win today is a great way to cap it off."
Landy finished second in the No. 49 TPC Racing entry. The finish helped secure the Gold Team Championship for TPC Racing.
Phil Bloom, from New York, rounded out the podium with a third place finish in the No. 11 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Bloom also earned the Yokohama Hard Charger Award, presented to the driver who advances the most positions throughout the race.
The race will have a delayed television broadcast Oct. 15-16 on Sinclair Broadcast Group affiliates in major United States markets.
POST-RACE QUOTES
JESSE LAZARE (No. 21 Kelly-Moss Road and Race, winner): "Honestly, this feels absolutely amazing because I didn't do it alone. I feel so great for the team that has put in so much work all year. I've put in a lot of hours myself. It's amazing the result we achieved. I'm happy to do this for Jeff Stone's 50th birthday and for his wife, Ekram, who is going through a lot. I really love her. I'm really excited to hopefully keep going for next year." (What was the difference from yesterday?): "Having pole was key. This really isn't a track with a lot of places to pass, so having that advantage is vital here. And honestly my car was perfect, and to see Zacharie Robichon in my mirrors at the end was really impressive on his part because I really was at my best. I'm happy for him. He's come a long way this year, and he's going to be one heck of a driver."
ZACH ROBICHON (No. 78 Mark Motors Racing, second): "Yesterday was too bad. I think we had a shot for the win. For whatever reason, there's something with these guys that when they set up the car with old tires, we're unstoppable. Yesterday we proved that. We were the quickest car after 10 laps, and if I wouldn't have made a really stupid mistake, dropping a wheel and losing my splitter, we could have caught Daniel (Morad). Today with the new tires, I knew that it takes me a little bit longer for my tires to come in. I didn't want that yellow. I actually started catching (Jesse) before that yellow, and the caution let his tires come back to life. On the restart, you saw it again. The first few laps I couldn't keep up, but then I had the pace. I'm happy with everything. It's his third time here; it's my first year. And honestly I would have never imagined this could happen with the start of the week that we had. But congrats to Jesse. He was perfect. I tried to make him make a mistake, and then I made one. He was better today, but not by much."
DANIEL MORAD (No. 17 Porsche Centre Oakville/Alegra Motorsports, third): "This year has been a great year. I have amazing sponsors. Porsche Centre Oakville and Alegra Motorsports have been great and supported me all year. Without them I wouldn't be in this position. Coming in to the season, we were looking at the Canadian championship and were excited there was a combination of two races with the Americans. We wanted to show them what we could do, and I think we pretty much did that. Even within the American series, the Canadians pretty much dominated. At the end of the year we decided why not go for the North American Cup? It was in reach. Went to Texas, got two second-place finishes. Came here, won and finished third. We did what we needed to do. We got a ton of race wins, a lot of points and a lot of memorable times. Michael de Quesada won the Gold Cup, so it was an amazing effort all the way around from Alegra Motorsports. Four championships in one year."
JEFF MOSING (No. 01 TOPP Racing, Platinum Masters Championship Winner): "The series is awesome. Even though I had the championship clinched coming into today, I still wanted to get out there and race. These Porsche's are so much fun to drive. I appreciate the support of IMSA, Porsche and Yokohama for putting on such a great series. To win another Masters' championship in a new car is an honor. I was hoping to finish in the top five overall. We'll get a new car for next year and keep trying to do better."
CHARLIE PUTMAN (No. 40 Atlanta Motorsports Group, first, Platinum Masters): "Yesterday I was a victim of bad happenstance. There was a guy that lost a little control, and the racing gods gave it back to me today. I got to pass from third to first in the same turn with both guys going off on their own accord. I had a lot of fun racing with the guys."
MICHAEL DE QUESADA (No. 31 Alegra Motorsports, first, Gold Cup, Gold Cup Champion): "It means a lot. We had a great start to the season. We had a good race in Laguna, and then after that we had some tough times. We had to really dig deep. I had to look at myself and ask what I was doing wrong. I had to make myself better. We were able to get just enough points to keep us in the lead, and a win today is a great way to cap it off."
PHIL BLOOM (No. 11 Wright Motorsports, Yokohama Hard Charger Award): "I saw Eduardo (de Leon) get loose around the apex, and I just thought, 'Please let him lock up his brakes and stay put.' He wiggled a little bit, but I had just enough room to get by, and then I watched it in my rearview mirror. This is the best racing I've ever done. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else this year. I've done a couple of races in Conti and it's great, but this is great racing. It really makes you up your game. I had some low points in the season, and then things just started to click. I can't thank Wright Motorsports enough for all of their work."
About Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama
The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama enters its 12th season in 2016 as one of Porsche's 20 single-make Cup Challenge series in the world. The series produces 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.
Racing is divided into two classes - Platinum Cup, featuring the 2014-2016 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, which is based on the current 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.
For more information about Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, visit www.gt3cupchallengeusa.com, follow hashtag #GT3USA @IMSA on Twitter or IMSA on Facebook.
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.
Canadians In BOLD