Scott Hargrove (c) claimed another win in the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge.
Toronto, Ontario - In a race in which it seemed no one wanted to keep the lead, Scott Hargrove was the last man standing and expanded his championship lead in the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin.
Hargrove, 19, from Surrey, British Columbia, won Round 5 of the season Saturday, July 19 in the No. 69 OpenRoad Racing Porsche GT3 Cup car on the Streets of Toronto. The victory was his fourth in five starts this season for Vancouver-based OpenRoad Racing.
"Four wins in five rounds now, so it's been a phenomenal year, and we are going to try and keep this going," championship leader Hargrove said.
Round 6 is scheduled for 1:20 p.m. (ET) Sunday, July 20 on the Streets of Toronto. Hargrove leads Chris Green, 98-84, in the championship after five rounds.
Marco Cirone, from Toronto, finished second Saturday on his hometown track in the No. 88 Mark Motors Racing Porsche, 6.702 seconds behind Hargrove. It was the first overall podium finish of the season for Cirone, who expanded his Platinum Masters (drivers 45 and older) championship lead.
Santiago Creel, from Mexico City, placed third overall in the No. 60 Wright Motorsports entry. It was the first Canadian series start for Creel, a regular in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.
Platinum Masters podium finishers (from left): Perry Bortolotti, Marco Cirone, Andre Belzile with Porsche Cars Canada CEO Alexander Pollich
Platinum Masters competitor Perry Bortolotti, from Kanata, Ontario, placed fourth overall in the No. 84 Mark Motors Racing Porsche.
Jerimy Daniel, from Candiac, Quebec, placed fifth overall in the No. 75 TRC Porsche that competes in the Gold Cup (2010-2013 car models) championship. The result tied the best overall finish this season by a Gold Cup driver, as Daniel also was fifth in Round 2 in May at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario.
Daniel and Tim Sanderson are tied, 84-84, atop the Gold Cup standings after this event.
Hargrove and championship rivals Green and Spencer Pigot each led and then lost the front spot during the 36-minute race, shorted from the scheduled 45 minutes due to track repair after a previous race in another series.
Green led the first five laps in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche after earning his second pole position of the season earlier this morning. But Green slid sideways into the wall in Turn 8 on the sixth lap, shortly after light rain started to fall around the 11-turn, 1.75-mile temporary street circuit. Hargrove zoomed past into the top spot while Green dropped in the running order.
Montreal resident Green continued but finished 12th, his first result outside of the top two this season.
Hargrove then led the next seven laps before spinning in Turn 8, handing the lead to Pigot. Hargrove recovered quickly from the spin to take second.
Championship leader Hargrove trimmed Pigot's lead from 1.714 seconds to .833 of a second during the next six minutes. Then Pigot, from Orlando, Florida, suffered a tough break as he sought his first victory of the season in the No. 21 Alegra Motorsports Porsche.
A belt broke on Pigot's car, causing his engine to overheat and fluid to trail from his car. Pigot slowed, handing the lead back to Hargrove, also his rival in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires junior open-wheel series.
Pigot was forced to the pits, out of the race in 15th place.
Hargrove admitted he nearly spun in the fluid from Pigot's car, but he kept control over the final five laps to earn the wild victory.
"I just got into the wall a little bit and then coming into the brake zone I just locked up the rear tires, and once that happens you are just along for the ride," Hargrove said. "I got away with it, but of course I lost the lead and then Spencer had his problem, and it was a little hairy with the antifreeze coming out all over the track and following right behind him."
Gold Cup podium finishers (from left): Tim Sanderson, Jerimy Daniel, Ilker Starck with Porsche Cars Canada CEO Alexander Pollich
Daniel earned his third Gold Cup victory of the season after starting from the class pole. But the win didn't come without strong resistance from Sanderson.
Sanderson, from Pickering, Ontario, pulled to within .768 of a second of Daniel with 15 minutes left in the race in the No. 07 Alegra Motorsports/Northwest Atlantic Motorsports Porsche. But Daniel gradually eased away over the closing laps, leading Sanderson to the finish by 2.720 seconds.
"We had really good strategy, and I only ran two laps in qualifying that gave me the second position, and I had really good tires for the race," Daniel said. "Even at the last lap, my Michelin tires were really good."
Silver Cup podium finishers (from left): Keith Bass, Chuck Harris
Ilker Starck, from Toronto, finished third in Gold in the No. 48 SCB Racing/Downtown Porsche entry.
Chuck Harris, from Tampa, Florida, continued his perfect record in Silver Cup (2005 ½-2009 model cars) with his fifth victory in the class this season in the No. 50 Alegra Motorsports 911 GT3 Cup car. Teammate Keith Bass, also from Tampa, Florida, was second in the No. 49 Alegra Motorsports entry.
For more information on the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin, visit www.imsa.com and @IMSA on Twitter with the hashtag #GT3CAN. Live commentary for both races will be provided on Twitter at @IMSALive.
ROUND 5 POST-RACE QUOTES:
SCOTT HARGROVE (No. 69 OpenRoad Racing, winner): "I got a good restart and was able to get by Chris Green, and we had some really close racing. There was less than an inch between me and him and our fenders, so that was lucky that I got through that without contact. I just got into the wall a little bit and then coming into the brake zone I just locked up the rear tires, and once that happens you are just along for the ride. I got away with it, but of course I lost the lead and then Spencer (Pigot) had his problem, and it was a little hairy with the antifreeze coming out all over the track and following right behind him. But it was a good race and good for Open Road Racing. It's good to be here with Porsche, and these Michelin tires worked really well for the whole race. Four wins in five rounds now, so it's been a phenomenal year, and we are going to try and keep this going."
MARCO CIRONE (No. 88 Mark Motors Racing, second; first, Platinum Masters): (Was your strategy to hold steady and to avoid the melee and just churn out laps?): "I didn't have a very good qualifying. We were in sixth place when the race started, and it seemed like the five guys in front of me were just battling, and I just managed to stay behind them and be as cautious as I could because I saw everyone was being aggressive up there. But I got luck and managed to get by a couple of guys, and then it kind of spaced out a little bit, and I was able to keep up a pretty good pace. I was really lucky to get that second place because a couple of my other competitors had some misfortunes out there. Sorry for them, but I will take the second place, and I am very happy. My thanks to Mark Motors for giving me the opportunity to be here, and Porsche and IMSA. And the tires ... the Michelins were wonderful, and I hardly noticed any change." (What does it mean to you to be on the overall podium at your home race?): "It means a lot! I am really, really happy to have done well in front of my family and friends, and I love Toronto and have lived here most of my life. It was a great pleasure to be up here with Scott (Hargrove) and Santiago (Creel)."
SANTIAGO CREEL (No. 60 Wright Motorsports, third): "This is my first time here in Canada racing, and my first time with Michelin tires and my first time on a street circuit. We did well in the race and being behind and trying not to commit errors, which was the key factor." (How tough was it to adjust to a circuit you have never been to, and a street circuit for the first time?): "Well, my first practice I was in 14th place, but then I saw ways I could go faster. And by the race I was in third."
PERRY BORTOLOTTI (No. 84 Mark Motors Racing, second, Platinum Masters): "It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately Turn 1 was a little hectic with Carlos (de Quesada). I don't know what happened there, but we ended up touching wheels and I shot him into the wall, which is unfortunate for him. It knocked my toe out, so I struggled the rest of the race. I just tried to stay in touch with the top runners there, but it was a struggle. Good day overall, though. I can't complain. The car is in one piece, so it was a good day. I've raced all over the world, and this is one crazy racecourse, I'll tell you that. It's really bizarre. There is very little room for error. It's a big balls track. There's no doubt about it."
ANDRE BELZILE (No. 93 GT Racing, third, Platinum Masters): "I really enjoyed the track. It's a really tight track. There are a few corners that really require you to be content in the car. The car is doing really great. Unfortunately in this race I was kicked in the back in corner 3, so that almost ended my race. But I came back, and I guess I'm about one lap down, unfortunately. But I guess others had an even worse race than I did, so I came out third."
JERIMY DANIEL (No. 75 TRC, first, Gold Cup): "I had a little advantage maybe due to my experience here with Star Mazda, but I know some of the other drivers have done this, too, so it's fairly equal. It was a really good track, even with the rain. We had really good strategy, and I only ran two laps in qualifying that gave me the second position, and I had really good tires for the race. Even at the last lap, my tires were really good. So I had fun, and that's the important thing!"
TIM SANDERSON (No. 07 Alegra Motorsports/Northwest Atlantic Motorsports, second, Gold Cup): "Great day, but we didn't quite have enough for Jerimy (Daniel) today. He drove a great race and got me at the start. Our car ran really well. The Racing for Joanne's House GT3 Cup car was awesome. The guys had it prepared beautifully. Tomorrow's another day, and we will get back out there and try it again. The track is a little slippery. He (Jerimy Daniel) ran four laps in qualifying and I ran 15, so I think he had a bit more rubber than I did at the end. But we will see what happens tomorrow when we are all on fresh tires."
ILKER STARCK (No. 48 SCB Racing/Downtown Porsche, third, Gold Cup): "It was a great race being at the home track in Toronto. It was fantastic being at home and at least placing third. Of course, we tried to make it further up the podium, but we had a good car and everything worked pretty well for us after having a rough start Friday in practice."
CHUCK HARRIS (No. 50 Alegra Motorsports, first, Silver Cup): "It was awesome! It was my first time on a street course, and it was really, really fun. The car ran great, and the tires held up really well. I was very glad the rain held off. It kept trying to rain, but we got lucky. It got a bit slippery in places but not enough to slow us down too much. It was a good day. I am very happy to have the car in here without meeting the walls up close!"
KEITH BASS (No. 49 Alegra Motorsports, second, Silver Cup): "I love the track; I love Toronto. It's a beautiful track, and it's a lot of fun. Once you get used to the track, it's really a ton of fun."
Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin
The IMSA Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin produces intense, exciting competition for semi-professional and aspiring professional drivers in one of the world's most successful and iconic race cars, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. The series is one of Porsche's global single-make Cup Challenge 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. The 10-round series races in 2014 at four classic Canadian road and street courses, providing thrills for drivers and fans.
IMSA
The International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) is the sanctioning body of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, the road-racing series resulting from the merger of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón and the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. 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 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 United SportsCar Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.