Rounds 6 and 7 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama will take place Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28 on the 11-turn, 3.4-mile mile circuit at Watkins Glen International. The historic circuit in the picturesque Finger Lakes region of upstate New York features fast, flowing sections and iconic turn complexes, such as The Ninety, The Esses and The Boot.
The race for the Platinum Cup Drivers Championship couldn’t be any closer through five rounds. Young stars Angel Benitez Jr. and Colin Thompson are tied atop the standings with 76 points, with Michael Lewis third with 72.
Benitez, from Valencia, Venezuela, has won three of the first five rounds this season in the No. 05 Formula Motorsport/Avid Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car as he seeks his first season title. He won the latest round, May 24 at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn. The series veteran may have one advantage over Thompson and Lewis at The Glen: He knows the route to victory lane. Benitez won one of the two rounds last June at the track.
Thompson, from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, is looking for his first victory of the season in the No. 14 Kelly Moss/Porsche of Bucks County entry. Thompson has been a model of consistent speed, with three second-place finishes in five starts this season. He also dominated a recent Porsche Club of America event at The Glen, which will give him valuable insight about racing lines and setups at the historic track.
Lewis, from Laguna Beach, California, has adjusted quickly to the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama in his first season in the series after spending the last three years in elite European junior open-wheel championships. He swept both races in early May at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in the No. 98 Competition Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian entry.
A handful of other drivers should challenge for the Platinum Cup (2014 model cars) podium in both races at Watkins Glen.
Sloan Urry, from Park City, Utah, has three podium finishes this season in the No. 20 JDX Racing Porsche and is fourth in the standings with 62 points. Runaway Platinum Masters (drivers age 45 and older) championship leader Kasey Kuhlman, from Cincinnati, finished third overall in Round 4 of the season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in the No. 15 Wright Motorsports entry.
Christina Nielsen, from Aarhus, Denmark, finished second at Lime Rock Park in the No. 25 NGT Motorsport entry for her first career podium in the series. Nielsen is racing in North America for the first time this season after competing in various open-wheel and Porsche series in Europe and the Middle East.
Nielsen and Platinum Masters driver Charlie Putman also will perform double-duty in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen IMSA TUDOR United Sports Car Championship event Sunday, June 29, both in the GT Daytona class. Nielsen is co-driving an NGT Motorsports Porsche, with Putman co-driving a Fall-Line Motorsports Audi.
The Platinum Cup Team Championship remains taut. Just 20 points – one race worth of points – separate the top six teams. At the top, Formula Motorsport/Avid Motorsport leads Kelly Moss/Porsche of Bucks County, 81-78.
Racing for Drivers and Team championships remain just as tight in the Gold Cup (2010-2013 model cars) class.
Fred Poordad, from San Antonio, Texas, leads the Drivers Championship with 80 points in the No. 02 Competition Motorsports 911 GT3 Cup car. But Patrick-Otto Madsen, from Boca Raton, Florida, is right behind at 78 points in the No. 99 ANSA Motorsports Porsche. Poordad has one Gold victory this season; Madsen has two.
2009 Gold Cup champion Melanie Snow will make her first Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama start of the season in the No. 57 Wright Motorsports Gold Cup entry. Snow, from Lehi, Utah, also will give Wright Motorsports a boost in the Team Championship. Snow and Kristin Treager, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, will form an all-female two-car lineup for powerful Wright Motorsports in Gold Cup.
Just 10 points separate the top three teams in the Gold Cup Team Championship – ANSA Motorsports, Competition Motorsports and Wright Motorsports – entering Watkins Glen.
Practice at Watkins Glen starts at 9:40 a.m. (ET) and 1:20 p.m. Thursday, June 26, with qualifying at 9:35 a.m. Friday, June 27. Two 45-minute races are scheduled. Round 6 of the season starts at 3:10 p.m. Friday, with Round 7 at 6:45 p.m. Saturday, June 28. For live updates, follow @IMSALive on Twitter.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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