June 12 2016
Montreal, Quebec - Montreal was well represented on the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama podium Sunday after Round 6, with the two top steps going to hometown boys Jesse Lazare and Chris Green.
Lazare took a 1.552-second victory in the No. 21 Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche over Green in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche at Circuit Gilles Villenueve, sweeping the weekend in Platinum Cup and inching closer to first in the points standings.
The two were a perfect representation as the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama and Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama series clashed for the first time in the same event, which supported the Canadian Grand Prix Formula One race. Lazare is the only Canadian-born driver running full time in the USA series. Lazare, 21, and Green, 32, grew up running the same karting tracks and competed against each other for the first time in March at Sebring International Raceway.
"It's amazing what the guys from Canada have done this weekend, especially the guys from Montreal," Green said. "I'm obviously very happy to make it on the podium today. Everybody's here this weekend and it's just such a special environment, and I hope the Porsche series comes back again next year."
Andrew Longe, from Naples, Florida, earned his first podium finish of the season with a third-place finish in the No. 47 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Longe's teammate McKay Snow earned his season-best finish, taking the checkered flag in fourth position in the No. 63 Wright Motorsports Porsche.
Lucas Catania, from Cazenovia, New York, rounded out the top five in the No. 26 NGT Motorsport Porsche, holding on to the Platinum Cup driver championship lead.
Jeff Mosing, from Austin, Texas, was the top Platinum Masters finisher in the No. 01 TOPP Racing Porsche. Sebastian Landy, from Great Falls, Virginia, won the Gold Cup class in the No. 49 TPC Racing Porsche.
Lazare started on pole for class and second overall behind eventual race winner Scott Hargrove after posting the second-quickest lap in Round 5 on Saturday. Spotty rain fell at the start, which included three laps behind the Safety Car while the circuit dried, adding an extra element to the combined race.
Lazare lost a position to Daniel Morad on the first lap, and he also was passed by Canadian competitor Zach Robichon before taking back third overall exiting the hairpin. The two would continue to go back and forth.
"At the beginning I had to be a little bit more conservative because the rain was heavy," Lazare said. "I've already had a bad race in Sebring, so I couldn't risk a DNF. So I needed to get through the first few laps. The car came in, and then we were just boogying."
Lazare and Robichon raced side-by-side again exiting Turn 14 onto the front straight, with Robichon taking third again before making contact with Morad running in second. Robichon was assessed a drive-through penalty, moving Lazare into second and Green into third overall, where they would finish, completing the Montreal one-two finish.
"I had a good race with Jesse," Green said. "I was quick at the start and let the other guys scrap their way out and make some room for Jesse and I to make our way through the field. All in all, it was a good day."
Platinum Masters
Mosing recovered from a tough Round 5 Saturday to find the top step of the podium for the third time this season, after sweeping Rounds 3 and 4 in late April at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
The win helped close the gap to the Platinum Masters championship points lead, held by Fred Poordad, winner of Round 5 in Montreal.
Mosing's TOPP Racing teammate David Baker, from Colleyville, Texas, joined him on the podium with a second-place finish in the No. 56 Porsche. It was Baker's second podium of the season.
Fred Kaimer, from Austin, Texas, followed up his second-place finish in Round 5 by rounding out the Platinum Masters podium in third place in the No. 23 NGT Motorsport Porsche.
Gold Cup
Landy earned a hard-fought victory in the Gold Cup class against Michael de Quesada.
The two have battled all weekend, splitting the victories for the two rounds. De Quesada started from pole for the class. Landy hounded him through the race, waiting for his time to strike.
"I felt like everything went right," Landy said. "I had a great race with Michael, probably one of the best races I've ever had since I started driving. He made me work for every single inch and gave me just enough room every time we got close. It was really great racing."
Landy made the pass and used lapped traffic to help seal the victory, his second of the young season. Landy was also the Yokohama Hard Charger Award winner, an award given to the driver who advances the most positions throughout the race.
"It was good, clean racing," de Quesada said. "Sebastian made a pass, and I tried to guard it, but I had to go through the runoff so I didn't hit him coming out. That gave him a little bit of a gap. I caught him toward the end of the race but got held up by a Platinum Car. He got around him, and I think I would have had a chance if I could have gotten around him quicker, but it just didn't play out."
De Quesada, from Tampa, Florida, finished second in the No. 31 Alegra Motorsports Porsche. Landy's TPC Racing teammate, Michael Levitas of Baltimore, finished third in class in the No. 36 Porsche.
Up Next:
Round 7 and 8 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama championship will be June 30-July 2 at Watkins Glen International. It will be the second and final combined event with Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama.
ROUND 6 POST-RACE QUOTES
JESSE LAZARE (No. 21 Kelly-Moss Road and Race, winner): "At the beginning, I had to be a little bit more conservative because the rain was heavy. I've already had a bad race in Sebring, so I couldn't risk a DNF. So I needed to get through the first few laps. The car came in, and then we were just boogying. We set the fastest lap and track record, so I'm really happy about that. If there was more time, maybe I could have closed in a little bit, but the car was great, the team was great, and I'm looking forward to the next weekend. I'm so happy all my friends and family came, my sponsors. It was just a great weekend."
CHRIS GREEN (No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports, second): "It's amazing what the guys from Canada have done this weekend, especially the guys from Montreal. I'm obviously very happy to make it on the podium today. I had a good race with Jesse (Lazare). I was quick at the start and let the other guys scrap their way out and make some room for Jesse and I to make our way through the field. All in all, it was a good day. Congrats to Jesse. He was very very quick today as well as Scott (Hargrove), who won the Canadian series. The Pfaff Motorsports guys gave me an incredible Castrol car today, and I'm just incredibly happy to do this in front of my home crowd, my family, my wife, my parents, my in-laws. Everybody's here this weekend and it's just such a special environment, and I hope the Porsche series comes back again next year."
ANDREW LONGE (No. 47 Wright Motorsports, third): "The race was great. We were dealing with some tricky conditions. It's something special to be on the podium in GT3 Cup but even more special here at the Grand Prix weekend. So a huge thank you to Wright Motorsports for the amazing car they put together and all of my sponsors."
JEFF MOSING (No. 01 TOPP Racing, first Platinum Masters): "It had been awhile since I had an incident that prevented me from racing, and coming up here to a new track I was really excited to get out there after working out on the simulator and getting to know the track. We didn't have much time to set the car up, so the whole weekend has been a learning experience. I was gutted yesterday when I only got a lap in before having to come in. Hats off to Todd (Oppermann) and the guys at TOPP Racing for getting the car back together for me so we could go back out and race today. Conditions were a little sketchy, different in different corners, so it added an extra element - as if the track wasn't intimidating enough. It was really nice to get a finish and a win for the team."
DAVID BAKER (No. 56 TOPP Racing, second Platinum Masters): "First of all I have to give the folks at Apex Capital for giving me such a great car, Porsche Motorsports, Yokohama and of course the TOPP Racing team. What a fabulous crew. They got the car set up nice this weekend. We're new to this track, so it was a big learning experience. All in all, good race."
SEBASTIAN LANDY (No. 49 TPC Racing, first Gold Cup, Yokohama Hard Charger Award winner): "I felt like everything went right. I had a great race with Michael (de Quesada), probably one of the best races I've ever had since I started driving. He made me work for every single inch and gave me just enough room every time we got close. It was really great racing. Hats off to TPC Racing. The car was the best it had been all weekend. Really really happy to get the win, especially for Forto Strong Coffee. It's the Forto-fueled 49 car."
MICHAEL DE QUESADA (No. 31 Alegra Motorsports, second Gold Cup): "We got off to a great start. The weather was switching up on us, so that made it a little bit more tough. It was good, clean racing. Sebastian (Landy) made a pass and I tried to guard it, but I had to go through the runoff so I didn't hit him coming out. That gave him a little bit of a gap. I caught him toward the end of the race but got held up by a Platinum Car. He got around him and I think I would have had a chance if I could have gotten around him quicker, but it just didn't play out."
MICHAEL LEVITAS (No. 36 TPC Racing, third Gold Cup): "TPC gave me a great car. I didn't have a great qualifying and was put in the position where it could get ugly, and I wanted to make sure it didn't get ugly. I knew the boys, the young guys, would be up front battling it out up there, and that's pretty much how it worked out. It was a great race."
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