By: Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama
September 27 2016
Daytona Beach, Florida - The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama series is returning to Road Atlanta for the first time since 2014 with a two-round season finale Sept. 28-30 that will decide two 2016 champions.
Competitors in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, one of Porsche's 20 single-make global Cup Challenge series, have completed 14 of their 16 races for the 2016 championship. Jesse Lazare, from Montreal, claimed the Platinum Cup Championship after sweeping the last two rounds, in mid-September at Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
But it will all come down to the final two races on the 12-turn, 2.54-mile circuit at Road Atlanta to crown the remaining champions. The field is set at 28 cars, the largest U.S. standalone grid since the season opener in March at Sebring International Raceway. The series will run alongside the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's Petit Le Mans presented by Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort.
Round 15 is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29. The season finale will start at 9:10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 30. Both races are 45 minutes. There will be two practices Wednesday, Sept. 28, with qualifying at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Racing in the series is divided into two classes - Platinum Cup, featuring the 2014-2016 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, which is based on the current seventh 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 is also 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.
Jeff Mosing, from Austin, Texas, has been at the top of the Platinum Masters standings for most of the season in the No. 01 Porsche fielded by TOPP Racing. Mosing, also a standout in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, earned his first overall podium finish this season in GT3 USA after placing third in Round 11 at VIRginia International Raceway.
Mosing is locked in a tight Texas battle for the Platinum Masters title with Fred Poordad, from San Antonio, who drives the No. 20 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Mosing leads Poordad, 255-240.
David Baker, from Colleyville, Texas, also is a threat for regular podium finishes in the Platinum Masters class. Baker drives the No. 56 TOPP Racing Porsche. He is third in the points standings with 191.
Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Canada by Yokohama Platinum Masters champion Marco Cirone also will make a strong case for podium finishes. Cirone swept the first two rounds in March at Sebring International Raceway.
The Gold Cup class championship also will be decided at Road Atlanta.
Michael de Quesada, from Tampa, Florida, has led the Gold Cup class in his first season in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama since sweeping the opening weekend at Sebring in the No. 31 Alegra Motorsports Porsche. De Quesada leads Sebastian Landy, from Great Falls, Virginia, by 15 points.
Landy earned two, hard-fought victories at the last event at COTA in the No. 49 TPC Racing Porsche, including a last-lap pass to take Round 14.
Philip Bloom, from New York, is third with 198 points in the No. 11 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Bloom is in his first season in the series.
Overall podiums are still up for grabs despite Lazare locking up the championship. Lazare has 11 wins this season in the No. 21 Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche, a series record.
But the journey to the top step won't be easy. 2016 Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama Platinum Cup Champion Daniel Morad, from Toronto, will be back to challenge his fellow Canadian in the No. 17 Porsche Centre Oakville/Alegra Motorsports Porsche. The two had fierce battles in both Rounds 13 and 14, with Lazare prevailing in both.
Morad is a leading contender for the inaugural IMSA North American Cup, awarded to the driver who scores the most points overall in competition in the USA and Canada championships.
Second place in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama Platinum Cup standings is also up for grabs in a heated battle between Lucas Catania in the No. 26 NGT Motorsports Porsche and Andrew Longe in the No. 47 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Catania, from Cazenovia, New York, leads, 199-198, over Longe, from Naples, Florida.
Other Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama regulars joining the U.S. series for the finale include Zach Robichon of Mark Motors Racing, Shaun McKaigue of Fiorano Racing and Orey Fidani of Pfaff Motorsports.
Follow IMSA on Facebook and @IMSA on Twitter with the hashtag #GT3USA for updates on the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama. Live timing for every race is available at IMSA.com, with live streaming video of all races at IMSA.tv.
Schedule
Practice: 12-12:40 p.m. (ET) and 4:20-4:50 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28
Qualifying: 9-9:20 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 29
Round 15 (45 minutes): 2:15-3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29
Round 16 (45 minutes): 9:10-9:55 a.m. Friday, Sept. 30
Race Coverage
Live timing: All on-track sessions at scoring.imsa.com and on the official IMSA App for iOS, Android and Windows
Live streaming: All on-track sessions will be broadcast on imsa.tv.
TV: Delayed television coverage will be provided Oct. 15-16 on major network affiliates in numerous U.S. markets by Sinclair Broadcast Group, and the broadcast will be available on YouTube after it airs on television.
Twitter: Live text commentary from all sessions at @IMSALive
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 Cup 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