Daytona Beach, Florida - The Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama starts its sixth season on Castrol Presents The Victoria Day SpeedFest Weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) with a new look, in more ways than one.

Two 45-minute races will take place for Canada's top sports car series May 20-22 at CTMP. Round 1 starts at 2:45 p.m. Saturday, May 21, with Round 2 at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, May 22. Practice and qualifying take place Friday, May 20 on the 10-turn, 2.459-mile (3.957 km) course.

The first major change for the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned Single-Make Series is a switch to Yokohama tires. [MJ1] [PK2] The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama series has competed on Yokohama tires since 2009, and the move to Yokohama by the Canadian series will allow both championships to race simultaneously on the same track for the first time, in June at Montreal and in July at Watkins Glen.

Another change is the return of the Silver Cup class for the first time since 2014, this time featuring the new Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport race car. The Silver Cup Cayman cars will race simultaneously with Platinum Cup and Gold Cup classes in Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars at both events at CTMP and also at series events in Toronto and Trois-Rivières, Quebec.

It's also guaranteed there will be new driver champions in the Platinum Cup and Gold Cup classes.

Chris Green broke through with his first Platinum Cup championship last season in a Porsche fielded by Toronto-area powerhouse Pfaff Motorsports. Green, from Montreal, launched his title-winning campaign with two victories on Victoria Day Weekend at CTMP.

But Green is racing only a partial season in the championship in 2016. So a queue of contenders has formed to succeed him, led by young stars Daniel Morad and Scott Hargrove.

Morad, 26, from Thornhill, Ontario, finished second in the Platinum Cup standings last season as a rookie, just five points behind Green. He returns for a second consecutive season with reigning Platinum Cup Team Champions Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports.

Hargrove, 21, from Surrey, British Columbia, won the Platinum Cup championship as a rookie in 2014 and won seven of the last eight races of the 2015 season after missing the Victoria Day Weekend rounds at CTMP. He returns this season in the No. 28 OpenRoad Racing Porsche for a third straight season.

The two races at CTMP will be part of a whirlwind month of action for Hargrove. He competed in Indy Lights open-wheel races May 13-14 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and will return again to race May 27 in Indy Lights action on the IMS oval, sandwiching his trip to CTMP between those races.

Other top contenders in the Platinum Cup class include three-time reigning Platinum Masters champion Marco Cirone of Toronto, who will contend regularly for overall podium positions in the No. 88 Mark Motors Racing Porsche. Platinum Masters standout Tim Sanderson, from Pickering, Ontario, also returns in the No. 07 NW Atlantic Motorsports Porsche. Series veteran Etienne Borgeat, from Montreal, returns in the No. 2 GT Racing Porsche after racing a limited schedule in 2015.

Four Platinum Cup newcomers also will grab attention.

Orey Fidani and Michael de Quesada both are climbing to Platinum Cup this season after waging an intense fight for the Gold Cup title last year as series rookies. Fidani prevailed by just two points, 170-168.

Fidani, from Etobicoke, Ontario, will continue with Pfaff Motorsports in the team's No. 13 Porsche.

De Quesada, 16, from Tampa, Florida, will try to show the speed in the No. 16 Alegra Motorsports Porsche that he displayed while winning the last six Gold Cup rounds of the 2015 season. De Quesada also is competing in Gold Cup this season in the USA series, where he leads the standings after the first four rounds.

Valerie Chiasson will make her series debut at CTMP as the first full-time female competitor in the history of the championship. Touring car veteran Chiasson, from Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, will step up to drive the No. 27 Porsche Prestige entry.

Zach Robichon, from Ottawa, joins Mark Motors Racing in the team's No. 78 Porsche as Cirone's teammate.

Series veterans Martin Harvey and Shaun McKaigue look to be the top returning drivers in the Gold Cup class. Harvey, from Berthierville, Quebec, will drive his Wingho Racing entry. 2011 Gold Cup champion McKaigue, from Gilford, Ontario, returns for another season in a Fiorano Racing Porsche.

Bruno Chapinotti, from Bowmanville, Ontario, also will begin his second season in the series and his Gold Cup championship quest in the No. 03 Downtown Porsche entry.

Series newcomer Gerald Panneton, from Terra Cotta, Ontario, leads the charge in the Silver Cup class in the new No. 57 Cayman GT4 Clubsport car fielded by Pfaff Motorsports. Toronto-based SCB Racing also is returning to the series after a one-year hiatus with two Silver Cup entries, for series veteran Andrew Danyliw of Toronto and newcomer Jordan Redlin, from Aldergrove, British Columbia.

The Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama 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, and the new Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport. The 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.

CTMP is the only circuit that hosts two event weekends for the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama. The final two rounds of the 12-round series take place during the Chevrolet Silverado 250 weekend on Sept. 2-4. The series also races in Montreal; Watkins Glen, New York; Toronto and Trois-Rivières, Quebec.

Schedule

Practice 1: 8:40-9:20 a.m. (ET) Friday, May 20
Practice 2: 12:40-1:20 p.m. Friday, May 20
Qualifying: 4:15-4:35 p.m. Friday, May 20
Round 1 (45 minutes): 2:45-3:30 p.m. Saturday, May 21
Round 2 (45 minutes): 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Sunday, May 22

Driver Autograph Session: 11:15-11:45 a.m. Saturday, May 21, Yokohama Tire Service Center in paddock

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 Yokohama, visit www.imsa.com, follow hashtag #GT3CAN @IMSA on Twitter or IMSA on Facebook.

Helping Hands

Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama teams, drivers and officials encourage donations for the Alberta Fires Appeal through the Canadian Red Cross by visiting redcross.ca. Canadian residents also can text FIRES to 45678 to make a $10 donation to the Alberta Fires Appeal through the Canadian Red Cross.

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 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.

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.

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.

Updated - Storyline To Watch This Weekend

l Scott Hargrove sandwiches sports cars at CTMP between races at Indy. 2014 Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama Platinum Cup champion Scott Hargrove, from Surrey, British Columbia, is racing in a Porsche this weekend at CTMP just a week after he competed in the Indy Lights road course race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and less than a week before he races in the Freedom 100 Indy Lights race on the IMS oval Friday, May 27. Hargrove, 21, is a throwback – he’ll race anything, anywhere, any time.

l Lady and gentleman, start your engines. Valerie Chiasson, from Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, is the first female driver to race a full season in the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama. She will make her series debut this weekend in a Platinum Cup class car fielded by Porsche Prestige of Montreal.

l Morad looks to top step: Former standout Canadian open-wheel driver Daniel Morad revived his racing career last season by finishing second in the Platinum Cup class, just five points behind champion Chris Green. Morad, from Toronto, enters his second season with Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports as the top returning driver in the series. He also produced an impressive drive in an Alegra Motorsports Prototype during his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut in mid-March at the prestigious Twelve Hours of Sebring, as he is making a name for himself and finding a home in sports car racing.

l New machinery. The Silver Cup class returns this year after a one-year hiatus, this season featuring the new Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport car. This will be the first time any car besides the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car has raced in the series, and the Platinum Cup and Gold Cup classes with the 911’s will race simultaneously on track with the Silver Cup Caymans.

l The young gun. Michael de Quesada is climbing to the Platinum Cup class with Alegra Motorsports as a 16-year-old, a year after he finished second in the Gold Cup class by just two points as a rookie. De Quesada, from Tampa, Florida, also is leading the Gold Cup standings this season in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.

l Fast cars. The Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama features the fastest, most powerful machines of any sports car series in Canada. It’s the only Canadian series with International Motor Sports Association sanction.