Pfaff Motorsports may need to build a new trophy cabinet after the season-ending Rounds 9 and 10 of the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin on Aug. 28-30 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The team, based in the Toronto suburb of Woodbridge, Ontario, can win four championships this weekend in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned Single-Make Series – Driver and Team Championships in both Platinum Cup and Gold Cup.
Pfaff veteran Chris Green leads the Platinum Cup Drivers Championship, and series rookie Orey Fidani tops the Gold Cup Drivers Championship. Pfaff, led by team manager Steve Bortolotti, also is out front in the Team Championship in both classes.
Winning all four championships would be a stunning achievement for Pfaff, which has a rich history fielding race teams in Canadian series but is in just its second full season as a solo entrant in the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin.
Just one solo team has swept driver and team titles in the same season in the five-year history of the series, SpeedMerchants in 2012 with drivers J-F Laberge in Platinum and Bruce Gregory in Gold.
Rounds 9 and 10 will take place Saturday, Aug. 29 and Sunday, Aug. 30 during the popular NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at CTMP. Round 9 is scheduled for 2:50 p.m. (ET) Saturday, with Round 10 starting at 4:15 p.m. Sunday. Both races are 45 minutes.
On-track action starts Friday, Aug. 28 with practice sessions from 1-2 p.m. and 3-3:45 p.m. Qualifying is scheduled from 8:55-9:15 a.m. Saturday on the daunting, 10-turn, 3.957-km (2.459 miles) circuit.
The Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin will finish its fifth season at CTMP, producing 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. The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned championship is one of 20 global Porsche single-make Cup Racing series and is the perfect platform for aspiring drivers to ascend to the highest levels of GT competition, such as the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.
Racing is divided into two classes – Platinum Cup, featuring the 2014 and 2015 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, which is based on the 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.
Green, from Montreal, leads Daniel Morad by 11 points, 140-129, entering the final two rounds. Green must score at least 30 points – a combined finish of third and fourth – to clinch his first Platinum Cup title in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche.
The odds favor Green based on his recent track record at CTMP. He won twice to open the 2015 season on Victoria Day Weekend, and he produced three second-place and a third-place finish in four starts in 2014 with Pfaff.
“CTMP is always very good to me, and having won the first two rounds this season has been a boost, as it has helped solidify our championship standings,” Green said. “The general feeling is fantastic. We have done what we need to do to open up a comfortable gap in point this season, and with all the hard work and efforts of the entire Pfaff organization and the motorsports program, I am going to do what is necessary to bring home the drivers’ points championship.
“Everything else beyond that is the cherry on top.”
A title would mark the joyful pinnacle of a three-season journey filled with victory and heartbreak for Green. He has won nine races since 2013 in Platinum Cup. But he has finished second in the standings each of the last two years, six points behind David Ostella in 2013 and 22 behind Scott Hargrove in 2014.
“I believe you create your own fortune or luck as a result of hard work and preparation,” Green said. “We have all that in place and have a great car to definitely allow myself as a driver to be confident to do what we set out to accomplish this upcoming weekend.”
Series rookie Morad, from Thornhill, Ontario, will need to go for broke in the No. 22 Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports Porsche. Morad also might pray for rain, as his sole victory in 2015 came in a dominant drive during a downpour in June at Toronto.
Reigning Platinum Cup champion Hargrove, from Surrey, British Columbia, missed the first two races of the season but must be considered the favorite for victory this weekend in the No. 25 OpenRoad Racing Porsche. He has won five of his six starts this season, including the last four races.
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| Marco Cirone is trying to clinch his third consecutive Platinum Masters championship this weekend at CTMP. |
Marco Cirone, from Toronto, will try to clinch his third consecutive Platinum Masters championship in the No. 88 Mark Motors Racing Porsche. Cirone leads 2014 Gold Cup champion Tim Sanderson by eight points, 156-148.
Cirone can win the championship with two finishes of at least third place. He swept the Platinum Masters class in the opening two rounds of the season at CTMP.
Sanderson, from Pickering, Ontario, enters the weekend with momentum in the No. 07 Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports Porsche. He earned his second class victory of the season in Round 8 on Aug. 2 at the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivières.
Fidani, from Woodbridge, Ontario, must hold off the charging Michael de Quesada to earn his first Gold Cup championship in the No. 13 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche. Fidani is eight points ahead of de Quesada, 136-128.
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| Michael de Quesada, 15, enters the season-ending event this weekend on a four-round winning streak in Gold Cup competition. |
De Quesada, 15, from Odessa, Florida, enters the season finale on a torrid streak. He has won four consecutive races, including his first career victory in Round 5 in early July at Calabogie Motorsports Park in the No. 24 Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports Porsche. He became the youngest winner in series history in any class with that victory.
Fidani must score 33 points to seal the title, as de Quesada will have the edge in any tiebreaker due to his four victories this season. Fidani has one victory – in his series debut on Victoria Day Weekend at CTMP.
“I’m feeling great, well rested,” Fidani said. “And I’m excited to get this one underway, win it and take home the championship to finish off the season. It’s a relatively close battle, and it’s going to be a good run for the championship.
“I’ve learned a lot throughout the season. You need to be smart and strategic, in a sense. Have patience but still be aggressive and play it smart.”
The Team Championship races are tight between rivals Pfaff Motorsports and Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville. Pfaff leads, 140-138, in Platinum Cup and 136-128 in Gold Cup.
Schedule
Practice 1: 1-2 p.m. (ET) Friday, Aug. 28
Practice 2: 3-3:45 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28
Qualifying: 8:55-9:15 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 29
Round 9 (45 minutes): 2:50-3:35 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29
Round 10 (45 minutes): 4:15-5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30
Driver Autograph Session: Noon-12:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30, Victory Podium
Race Coverage
Live timing: All on-track sessions at scoring.imsa.com
Twitter: Live text commentary from all sessions at @IMSALive
For more information about Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin, visit www.imsa.com, follow hashtag #GT3CAN @IMSA on Twitter or IMSA on Facebook.
NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
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.
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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