Chris Green and JF Laberge Each Register a Victory at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park's 2013 ALMS Weekend
Drivers Cirone and Bortolotti on Masters' Podium for Both Races
(firmenpresse) - MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 07/22/13 -- Editor's Note: Photos for this release will be available on the Canadian Press picture wire via Marketwire.
The Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin participants punctuated the end of an eventful first day at the Mobil 1 Sportscar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with an action-packed first race that ultimately showcased the talents of Pfaff/Alegra Motorsports veteran Chris Green, and series newcomer Victor Carbone, as they landed on the top and bottom step of the podium this afternoon.
"Pretty awesome today," exclaimed Green who hails from Montreal, QC. "I was fortunate enough to pull away in the beginning. Just kind of had a brain fade while I was out there, locked up a wheel and created a flat spot on my tire, and I went in to maintenance mode after that. But the Pfaff, Castrol and Alegra guys did a great job today, and the win was really for them."
Green's teammate Carbone, who comes from the open-wheel ranks, stepped into the car formerly run by Spencer Pigot and proved that he was more than competent to take the reins and keep up the "good work," with a solid third-place finish in his first event in the series, despite a few bumps and a short learning curve along the way.
And while the dynamic duo made a great statement on the podium regarding the agility and ability of the 911 GT3 Cup car, it was rookie and current series points leader David Ostella that added the punctuation.
The 21-year-old from Maple, Ontario started the race in seventh position for SpeedMerchants, and once the checkered flag dropped, began a hard charge to the front. Passing one car each lap, he quickly wound his way to second place and locked in behind Green, where he held on through two caution periods to take home second place.
GT Racing's JF Laberge demonstrated why the Montreal native captured the Platinum Championship last season, by pushing from a last-place starting position on the grid due to a late tire change following qualifying, all the way to sixth place as the chequered flag fell.
As the series reaches its halfway point in the season, the Gold Cup competition has not waivered one inch, as the "Three Amigos" of Carlos de Quesada, Martin Barkey and Tim Sanderson continue to check their mirrors and heat up their Michelins as they battle for the Series Championship.
Once again, it was Pfaff/Alegra on top with de Quesada taking the top trophy back to the trailer at the end of the day.
"It was good," de Quesada said. "The car was handling well thanks to my crew. Sanderson was doing a wonderful job, but his tires fell off and I was able to stay ahead. Overall, it was a great race. Everything was right there and Barkey (Martin) was doing a great job. Hats off to these guys; it was great racing!"
With only nine minutes left in competition, a full-course caution was issued as the No. 08 entry of Martin Harvey and Wingho Racing made contact in Turn 3 and ultimately forced the competition to close under yellow flag conditions.
The incident took place right in front of Sanderson, who swerved to avoid contact and spun out, only to continue and concede a position to Barkey.
Race one endured two full-course caution periods: the first for the No. 59 entry of Jim Hoddinott, who had contact on lap 10 and brought out a three-lap yellow for course clean-up. The second incident ensued from the contact by Harvey and lasted from lap 24 to the chequered flag on lap 27.
Mark Motors Racing landed two drivers on the Platinum Masters podium. Marco Cirone in the No. 88 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car earned his fourth win of the season to regain the points lead from Anthony Mantella of SpeedMerchants, who had a great battle with Cirone's teammate Perry Bortolotti, but was ultimately unable to catch him, conceding his podium hopes.
Cirone's teammate Perry Bortolotti rounded out the Platinum podium for the second time this season to give Mark Motors Racing a boost in the team standings. Bortolotti held off a charging Mantella to take the third place position.
In Gold Masters, Carlos de Quesada in the No. 50 entry for Pfaff/Alegra Motorsports took the top step on the podium, accepting his trophy from Bibendum of Michelin, but he was unable to take the category points lead from Tim Sanderson.
A smooth start and caution-free sprint made for a quiet race control room during Race Two at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Drivers kept the competition fierce, but clean, and 2012 Platinum Champion JF Laberge led the field in a dynamic 2013 comeback to take the top step of the podium for the first time this year.
Laberge stole the lead immediately from Montreal native and pole sitter Chris Green on the first turn of the first lap. And until the final turn of the final lap, it appeared GT Racing would take two spots on the podium.
"I'm really happy," Laberge said. "Team worked really hard on the car. We had a crash yesterday and we had to start from the back of the pack and we had an amazing car. We were able to climb back and today were able to prove that we did have the best car on the track. We were just managing the race at the front and not going too crazy and I'm just super happy."
The victory was Laberge's first since sweeping Calabogie in 2012.
Laberge's teammate - and Masters contender - Etienne Borgeat started from sixth position and chipped away to third place before overextending his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry while exiting Turn 5 on the last lap. Borgeat lost a position after the bobble and decided to make an opportunistic move to regain his position in Turn 9 that ultimately caused him to lose traction pushed him back to an 11th place finish.
Although Borgeat didn't have the finish he aimed for, it appears the top two finishers from 2012 are back in contention. Both GT Racing drivers were unhappy with their performance in rounds one and two of the season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for Victoria Day and had high expectations for this weekend.
SpeedMerchants' David Ostella repeated his second place finish from the day before and repeated his charge from a seventh place starting position to keep company with the top contenders. He was able to preserve his Michelins for a late push on Lap 31 and made a pass on Green in Turn 10 with just two laps remaining to capture second. Ostella remains the series points leader after rounds five and six, with a total of 104 points.
The Pfaff/Alegra entry of Green held firm to the second place position until the very end, proving that his Porsche 911 had the grip and set-up to not only keep him in contention, but dominate the front of the field.
While Platinum Cup drivers duked it out, the Gold Cup competition was what one driver referred to as "the best of the season." Although Carlos De Quesada ran away with the victory, Tim Sanderson and Martin Barkey nipped at his heels and fought hard for their podium finishes.
De Quesada's first win of the 2013 season was extra special, as his podium festivities spontaneously broke into a birthday celebration. He improved from 13th starting position to finish 10th overall today by turning precision laps and keeping his eye firmly on the Platinum freight train. So much so that he set a new race lap record for the Gold Cup class with a time of 1:23.233.
The hard battle ensued behind him, with Sanderson and Barkey continually swapping positions throughout the race. Nearly three quarters into the race, an incident with a Platinum entry ultimately bumped Barkey back and allowed Sanderson and Fiorano Racing for Joanne's House to take the higher honors on the podium.
All three top Gold Cup finishers are also the Masters Gold Cup winners.
While the Mark Motors Racing teammates of Marco Cirone and Perry Bortolotti enjoyed solid podium finishes in Saturday's race feature, they upped their game today to finish one-two at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The ever-steady and always competitive Cirone claimed his fourth win of the season and Bortolotti took home his second silver medal.
The SpeedMerchants entry of Anthony Mantella overcame the challenges of an ever-changing circuit today to round out the top three steps on the Platinum Masters podium.
All three drivers spoke well of each other's clean racing performance this afternoon and expressed their enjoyment of the level of talent displayed by all of the series competitors.
Round seven and eight of the 2013 season take place at Trois-Rivieres in Quebec August 9-11. For event information, entry lists and spotter guides visit the series website. Live updates will be provided on Twitter at (at)GT3Canada and photos from the event will be posted to our Facebook page.
For more information on the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin, visit on Facebook and (at)GT3Canada on Twitter.
Contacts:
Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd.
Patrick Saint-Pierre
Cell: 647 531 2992
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Datum: 22.07.2013 - 09:00 Uhr
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