Morad widens Championship lead with victory in Race 10; Shawn McKaigue battles back in
Gold Cup with consecutive wins
TROIS-RIVIÈRES, QC, Aug. 15, 2016 /CNW/ - The 2016 Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama continued this past weekend with Rounds 9 and 10 taking place at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières in Quebec. Daniel Morad was able to expand on his very narrow three point lead coming into the weekend to a 13 point lead with a second place finish in Round 9, held on Saturday, and a dominating win in Race 10 on Sunday.
"The Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières is always an exciting stop for the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama and this year was no different," said Alexander Pollich, President & CEO Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd. "After the first race on Saturday the series was neck and neck with Daniel Morad leading Scott Hargrove by only one point. With the series lead wider now after two eventful races the final two races on Labour Day weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park will surely be the most anticipated of the season."
In the first race, held on Saturday, August 13, Scott Hargrove, in the No. 28 OpenRoad Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, was able to pass pole-sitter Daniel Morad, in the No. 17 Porsche Centre Oakville/Alegra Motorsports Porsche, on the second lap. As Hargrove finished the race with a 1.944 second lead over Morad the entire race was a tight battle between the two series leaders. A single point separated Hargrove (154 points) and Morad (155 points) for the series lead.
"I had to give it 110 percent the whole race to be able to hold that lead," said Hargrove, "The car was just phenomenal in the race compared to how we had it earlier in the weekend. I'm excited to hopefully get the OpenRoad car back in the championship lead."
Rounding out the top five in the platinum class, which consists of 2014-2016 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, was Chris Green in third in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche, Etienne Borgeat in fourth in the No. 2 GT Racing Porsche, and Tim Sanderson in the No. 7 Porsche Centre Oakville/Alegra Motorsports Porsche.
Tim Sanderson was also the top Platinum Masters finisher, marking his third consecutive Platinum Masters victory, and slightly edged out second-place finisher Marco Cirone in the No. 88 Mark Motors Porsche by .552 seconds. The Platinum Masters class is contested by drivers 45 and older in Platinum Cup cars.
Shaun McKaigue in the No. 34 Fiorano Racing Porsche won his fourth Gold Cup race, which consists of 2010-2013 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. McKaigue and Martin Harvey were evenly matched throughout the race and drove competitively but made contact slightly in the race. McKaigue recovered quicker and took the lead with Harvey continuing close pursuit, although the race officials penalized Harvey for incident responsibility allowing McKaigue to win comfortably.
In the second race, held on Sunday, August 14, the path toward the Platinum Cup championship became smoother for Daniel Morad after a victory, his fourth of the season, in Round 10.
The finishing position of Scott Hargrove (8th) in the No. 28 OpenRoad Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car (8th) does not give the race justice as it was a tight race right through to the last lap. As Hargrove was chasing Morad and approached Turn 6 slight contact was made to Martin Harvey in the No. 08 Wingho Racing Porsche, causing him to spin. The incident allowed Morad to pull away during the closing laps, giving him an 18.254 second lead over Chris Green who finished second in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche.
"The team gave me an amazing car, a perfect car," said Morad. "Yesterday we missed a little bit. We just kept calm and made a fine adjustment, dialed that thing to perfection. I couldn't have done it without those guys."
At the end of the race Zach Robichon in the No. 78 Mark Motors Racing Porsche claimed a tight third, finishing 1.726 seconds behind Green. Etienne Borgeat, from Montreal, completed a solid event with his second fourth-place finish of the weekend in the No. 2 GT Racing Porsche. Tim Sanderson, from Pickering, Ontario, rounded out the top five in the No. 07 Porsche Centre Oakville/Alegra Motorsports Porsche and completed a sweep of the Platinum Masters class for the weekend.
Three-time reigning Platinum Masters champion, Marco Cirone, brought the No. 88 Mark Motors Racing Porsche to the finish line second in the Platinum Masters.
Shaun McKaigue battled out a fifth Gold Cup race victory in the No. 34 Fiorano Racing Porsche defeating Martin Harvey in the No. 08 Wingho Racing Porsche. Despite Harvey being involved in the incident with Hargrove near the end of the race, he still managed to finish and earn a respectable second place finish in the Gold Cup.
The final two rounds of the 12-round Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama are scheduled for September 2-4 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) in Bowmanville, ON.
For more information on the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama, visit www.imsa.com and @IMSA on Twitter with the hashtag #GT3CAN. Live commentary for both races will be provided on Twitter at @IMSALive.
For high-resolution images, contact Paul Kelly at [email protected].
SOURCE Porsche Cars Canada
Image with caption: "Rounds 9 and 10 of the 2016 Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama were held on Saturday and Sunday at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières. (CNW Group/Porsche Cars Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160815_C6277_PHOTO_EN_752949.jpg
Image with caption: "On Saturday, in Round 9 of the 2016 Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama, Scott Hargrove (centre) was able to hold off Daniel Morad (left) and Chris Green (right), who finished in second and third respectively. (CNW Group/Porsche Cars Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160815_C6277_PHOTO_EN_752957.jpg
Image with caption: "On Sunday, in Round 10 of the 2016 Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama, Daniel Morad (centre) widened his series title lead. Chris Green (left) and Zach Robichon (right) finished in second and third respectively. Daniel Morad now has a 13 point lead in the series. (CNW Group/Porsche Cars Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160815_C6277_PHOTO_EN_752955.jpg
Daniel Ponzini, Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd., 905-694-9959, [email protected]
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