Canadian teenager Jesse Lazare parried intense pressure from championship leader Colin Thompson over the closing laps to earn his first career Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama victory Saturday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Lazare, 17, from Montreal, outran Thompson to the line by .173 of a second in the No. 31 Door Doctor/Moorespeed Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to win Round 10 of the season. He became the second-youngest overall winner in the 10-year history of the Porsche single-make series and the youngest Canadian driver to stand atop the podium.

"It was a long race," Lazare said. "I took out the lead early, and my plan was to get a good gap and maintain it. No mistakes, keep looking forward, and that's it - keep pushing. I love this track, been here many times. It was basically the first car track I ever raced on. I know the tricks, I know the spots to pass, and I know the spots I can get passed, and I had a great time."

Platinum Masters podium finishers (from left): Jay Patel, Kasey Kuhlman, David Calvert-Jones

Thompson, from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, padded his points lead to 152-138 over Angel Benitez Jr. with his second runner-up finish of the weekend in the No. 14 Kelly Moss/Porsche of Bucks County entry.

Benitez, from Valencia, Venezuela, finished third in the No. 05 Formula Motorsport/Avid Motorsport Porsche.Michael Lewis, from Laguna Beach, California, placed fourth in the No. 98Competition Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian entry. Christina Nielsen, from Aarhus, Denmark, rounded out the top five in the No. 25 NGT Motorsport 911 GT3 Cup car.

Sloan Urry, the winner of Round 9 on Friday, finished eighth Saturday in the No. 20 JDX Racing entry after spinning out of fourth late in the race.

Lazare started from the pole and led every lap. He maintained a steady lead of about one second over Benitez during the first half of the 45-minute race.

Gold Cup podium finishers (from left): Michael Levitas, Jeff Mosing, Patrick-Otto Madsen

But Benitez started to pour on the pressure late in the race as he and Lazare started to navigate lapped traffic. Benitez pulled to within .504 of a second with 13 minutes remaining, and the reduced pace due to traffic helped Thompson and Urry pull to within one second of Lazare, forming a four-way pack for the lead with 10 minutes left.

Benitez drove up to Lazare's bumper with seven minutes remaining, trailing by just .154 of a second. But he went wide in Turn 1 with about four minutes left, opening the door to second place for Thompson.

Urry also fell out of contention for victory with less than two minutes remaining with spin into the wall with less than two minutes remaining.

Gold Masters podium finishers (from left): Michael Levitas, Jeff Mosing, Mark Llano

The duel for the top step of the podium heated from a simmer to a boil between Lazare and Thompson on the final lap. Thompson looked inside and outside in a few of the corners on the challenging track, but Lazare remained unflappable all the way to the checkered.

Kasey Kuhlman, from Cincinnati, was the top finisher in the Platinum Masters (age 45 and older) class for the eighth time this season in the No. 15 Wright MotorsportsPorsche. Jay Patel was second in Platinum Masters in the No. 00 Dempsey Racing Porsche owned by actor andTUDOR United SportsCar Championshipdriver Patrick Dempsey, while David Calvert-Jones rounded out the Platinum Masters podium in the No. 12 Competition Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian entry.

Jeff Mosing, from Austin, Texas, completed a sweep of the Gold Cup (2010-13 model cars) and Gold Masters divisions with his victory in the No. 01 Topp Racing entry after a spirited battle for the entire race with Michael Levitas, who ended up second in Gold Cup and Gold Masters in the No. 35 TPC Racing Porsche.

Yokohama Hard Charger Award winner Mark Llano

Patrick-Otto Madsen finished third in Gold Cup in the No. 99 ANSA Motorsports 911 GT3 Cup car. Mark Llano finished third in Gold Masters in the No. 24 NGT Motorsports entry, his second podium finish of the weekend and his career. Llano also won the Yokohama Hard Charger Award for finishing 18^th overall after starting 26^th.

Rounds 6, 11 and 12 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama will take place Aug. 9-10 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Round 6 was rained out May 24 at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut.

For more information about Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, visitwww.gt3cupchallengeusa.com, follow hashtag #GT3USA @IMSA on Twitter or IMSA on Facebook.

ROUND 10 POST-RACE QUOTES:

JESSE LAZARE (No. 31 Door Doctor/Moorespeed, winner): "It was a long race. I took out the lead early, and my plan was to get a good gap and maintain it. No mistakes, keep looking forward, and that's it - keep pushing. I love this track, been here many times. It was basically the first car track I ever raced on. I know the tricks, I know the spots to pass, and I know the spots I can get passed, and I had a great time."

COLIN THOMPSON (No. 14 Kelly Moss/Porsche of Bucks County, second): "It was an unusual start, but it benefitted us. The front row was kind of all over the place, I guess head-battling each other. Angel (Benitez) took off a little more, and that, of course, was our line. Once we crossed the start-finish line, we all scattered, and I was able to grab three spots right off the bat, which is really difficult to do here and at any track, really. From there we just holding off Sloan (Urry) and hunting down Angel. There was a long stalemate in the middle of the race. Toward the end, Angel made a pretty big mistake going into (Turn) 1. He missed the apex, and I was able to scootch inside of him. From there I was just hunting down (Jesse) Lazare. I actually had no idea it was the last lap until the last two corners of the last lap. But Lazare had a really fast car. He was on his game, and he deserved that win."

ANGEL BENITEZ JR. (No. 05 Formula Motosport/Avid Motorsport, third): "I think we had a good pace at the start. Pretty much our tire pressure went too high at the end and the car started sliding on me in the last four laps. It was hard to try and keep the guys behind me. But that's racing. Sometimes you bet on something and it works out and sometimes it doesn't. We were expecting to have a longer race and that's just what happened. So we're happy to have the third place and still working for the championship."

KASEY KUHLMAN (No. 15 Wright Motorsports, first, Platinum Masters): "The Masters win feels really good today, but even more the sixth place overall. I hung with the lead pack and was closing on them in the end. I had the fastest lap of the race. It was a new lap race record for me and I'm really happy about that. The car today was awesome and I can't thank Wright Motorsports and the crew enough. It was a great weekend and I'm looking forward to Road America."

JAY PATEL (No. 00 Dempsey Racing, second, Platinum Masters): "It was a good start to the race. The team told me to stay low going into the second turn, and I stayed low and I got out in front of a couple of cars. A few got by me in (Turn) 3, but the goal was to stay focused and reel them back in. As the race progressed, that's what I did and worked on my technique and cornering ability of the car into each turn. I stuck with it and ended up here!"

DAVID CALVERT-JONES (No. 12 Competition Motorsports, third, Platinum Masters): "It was a tough race. The car was great. The guys from Competition Motorsports gave me a really good car after I crashed it badly in practice. The start was really hectic. I avoided some big contact, which was good. Two laps in, I got hit when we had that Safety Car. So I had to restart and chase them down. Caught up to the next group, I was running the same lap times as the leaders, so I was running really well and felt really comfortable in the car. I went to lay a pass on a guy going into (Turn) 2 side-by-side, and he just came down into me and spun me around. So I had to start again and chase them all down. But again a big thank you to everyone at Competition Motorsports for a great car and to Wheels Up, a great sponsor. I'm looking forward to Road America."

JEFF MOSING (No. 01 Topp Racing, first, Gold Cup, Gold Masters): "This has been a picture-perfect weekend so far. I'm really thanking my lucky stars to this point. Again I got a clean start and put some cars between me and (Michael) Levitas. There are really fast guys in this class, and I really don't want to mix it up with them. They ended up having to scruff while I just put my head down and put down good laps; that's all I did. But hats off to Todd and Paul at Topp Motorsports for getting the car upright for me."

MICHAEL LEVITAS (No. 35 TPC Racing, second, Gold Cup, Gold Masters): "Wow, what a race. Team TPC just handed me such a great car. I had so much to deliver. All I know is Patrick (-Otto Madsen) was giving me a great race, and he has been giving me great races all season long. And all the teams here, it wouldn't be any good without the great competitors. And I tell you what all I had to do was eat up the leader's time, but the Platinum guys got in the middle, and my throttle hung up. I knew (Jeff Mosing) had an issue because I saw him bobble. We were just trying to buy out each other's time off, so it was a great race."

PATRICK-OTTO MADSEN (No. 99 ANSA Motorsports, third, Gold Cup): "This weekend was especially tough for me because both Michael Levitas and Jeff Mosing both had a little more pace than I did, so I was really struggling to keep up with them. Levitas got me good, a little bump and little love tap into the sweeper there, so he got past me. But thinking championship, bringing her home in a second and third place in the weekend is pretty good, and I'm pretty happy about that. Special thanks to ANSA Motorsports and Jose Collado, my crew chief, for preparing an excellent car for me."

MARK LLANO (No. 24 NGT Motorsport, third, Gold Masters, Yokohama Hard Charger Award winner): "I have to tell you, it was an awesome morning. The competition is just insane. The car setup was just perfect, and the Yokohama tires were just like glue on the track. The more I pushed, it seemed like the more the tires were gripping. I just have to thank NGT for getting everything together and all the fans. I saw a bunch of veterans outside of Turn 5. They had an American flag and would put it in the air every time we came by. That just gave me more motivation. I'm very thankful for the series and for all those involved."

Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama

The IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama enters its 10^th season in North America as the one of Porsche's largest single-make Cup Challenge series in the world. The series produces intense, exciting competition for semi-professional and aspiring professional drivers in one of the world's most successful and iconic race cars, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Racing is divided into two classes - Platinum Cup, featuring the new 2014 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, which is based in on the current seventh generation of the street car, and Gold Cup, which is comprised of the previous version (2010-2013) of the race car. The series is the perfect platform for aspiring drivers to ascend to the highest levels of GT competition, such as the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. The series races at classic American road courses, providing thrills for drivers and fans.

IMSA

The International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) is the sanctioning body of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, the road-racing series resulting from the merger of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón and the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. IMSA also sanctions the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, as well as four single-make series: Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama; Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin; Ferrari Challenge North America; and Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America. IMSA 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 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.

(IMSA PR)

 International and American riders competing in this weekend’s GEICO Motorcycle U.S. Round of eni FIM World Superbike Championship, and AMA Pro Racing support classes will be further protected by Airfence deployed by the Roadracing World Action Fund (RWAF).

“We’re pleased to provide soft-barriers to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for this weekend’s World Championship event,” said John Ulrich, founder and president of the Roadracing World Action Fund. “a total of 96 sections of RWAF-owned soft-barriers, about 2,880 linear feet, were shipped to Monterey for installation in time for the green flag to wave.”
 
The Airfence technology is an invaluable safety feature for motorcycle racers. It serves to alleviate potential incidents and allows riders to go all out in their pursuit of victories and championships.
 
The Roadracing World Action Fund is a charitable organization whose mission is to help prevent race track injuries and has deployed these barriers, known as Airfence, at road and dirt track events nationwide. The inflated barriers are positioned in front of walls and other trackside obstacles to reduce the force of impact in the event of a rider crash.
  
Gill Campbell, CEO/general manager of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca said, “We are very grateful to the Roadracing World Action Fund for working with us to enhance rider safety at this event.”
 

Though the sun never quite poked through and light showers fell intermittently through the afternoon, seven race groups ran 30-minute timed races on Saturday at GingerMan Raceway for round seven of the SCCA Northern Conference Majors Tour.

Sloan Urry drove away from the field Friday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park to earn his first victory of the season in Round 9 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama. Urry, from Park City, Utah, beat championship leader Colin Thompson to the checkered flag by 12.966 seconds on the 10-turn, 2.459-mile circuit. It was the largest margin of victory this season in the series, one of 19 global Porsche one-make championships.  

I'm just so happy right now," Urry said. "It's amazing to be at the top of the podium. We've been working so hard to get here. It's where you always want to be. Last year I had a couple of wins, so I knew I had it in me. It was just a matter of time for me and JDX to start clicking, and we're here now."  

Christina Nielsen, from Aarhus, Denmark, finished third in the No. 25 NGT Motorsport Porsche. It was the second podium finish of her rookie season.

"It was an unexpected race," added Nielsen. "We weren't quite there with the car. It didn't quite fit my driving style, but overall we kept pushing because you never know what happens in racing, and today was our luck. It's always important to keep trying no matter what. That's what we did today. I finally had some luck. Lime Rock was my first podium this year, and I feel like it was fully deserved. I had the speed there, and it was nothing to do with luck. It was just our commitment that really showed through. But this time, we had a bit of luck, but we also didn't make any mistakes that cost us anything, and that's why we are on the podium today. It's great to have a second podium this year, and we got some good points for the championship."

Michael Schein, from New York, placed a season-best fourth in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports entry. Kasey Kuhlman, from Cincinnati, rounded out the top five in the No. 15 Wright Motorsports entry and was the leading Platinum Masters (age 45 and older) finisher for the seventh time this season.  

 "I didn't have what I thought, personally, what it took to run with the very front of the pack, but I was pretty quick and I could kind of hang on to the tail end," stated Kuhlman. "That's what I tried to do, just hang on, put in some consistent laps and not make any mistakes. You could see that others had misfortune, and I picked up three spots, so it ended up being a good points day for me. Good result, and I'm happy."

Urry started fourth and passed pole sitter Jesse Lazare for the lead between Turns 8 and 9 with 33 minutes remaining in the 45-minute race. He then gradually pulled away and cruised to the finish in the No. 20 JDX Racing Porsche, earning his third career victory in the series. 

 "It's interesting to see the outcomes when I've been to a track before," Lazare commented. "I'm happy to prove to myself that I can compete with these guys on more of an equal playing field. I've been able to use my experience that I have on this track from the past and bring it to this race. It feels nice to be upfront, and I'm happy for my sponsors because they're based out of Canada, garaga Door Doctor." 

Thompson, from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, increased his championship lead to 12 points over second-place Angel Benitez Jr. with his sixth podium finish of the season in the No. 14 Kelly Moss/Porsche of Bucks County entry. He took over second place with 12 minutes remaining when Benitez served a drive-through penalty for earlier contact that shoved Lazare into the tire barrier in Turn 3.  

 "You can't complain about moving up five spots in any race, especially at a track like this one," stated Thompson. "We didn't have the fastest car out there, but we just ran a smart race. Others made big mistakes that cost them, and we just capitalized on everything we could. At the end of the day, it's all about the championship and points, and second place is solid points."

Lazare, from Montreal, continued after the incident with Lazare and finished 25^th in the No. 31 Door Doctor/Moorespeed Porsche. Benitez, from Valencia, Venezuela, ended up sixth in the No. 05 Formula Motorsport/Avid Motorsport car.  

David Calvert-Jones was the second finisher in Platinum Masters in the No. 12 Competition Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian entry.

 "We had a pretty good start," Calvert-Jones added. "I was following Kasey Kuhlman around and being pretty tight with him, and I had Santiago Creel behind me. He tried to put a few moves on me early down the back straight, but I was able to pull away from him. I made one little mistake on lap five and spun out, and Creel got past me. Luckily I was able to reel him back in but just didn't have enough to get anyone else. I was doing the same lap times as the guys up front but was just too far back. Other than that one mistake I feel like I drove pretty well and am happy with the race. Thanks to Competition Motorsports, all the team and crew for giving me a good car and our great sponsor Wheels Up."

Charlie Putman placed third in Platinum Masters in the No. 40 Dempsey Racing entry owned by actor and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship driver Patrick Dempsey.  

"From where I was, it was a clean race," said Putman. "It doesn't always happen that way, but it was a really nice race. There was a lot of traffic, a lot of nose-to-tail racing for a long time. There were a lot of cars running together, so sneaking out a pass was difficult. You had to wait for the guy in front of you to make a mistake. It was just solid, solid, hard driving the entire time."

Jeff Mosing, from Austin, Texas, won the Gold Cup class (2010-2013 models) in the No. 01 Topp Racing 911 GT3 Cup car and also was the top finisher in Gold Masters. 

 "It's been an absolutely amazing day," added Mosing. "We've done really well in this series with the Porsche and we're actually on pole for the Conti race tomorrow. I really love this track. It used to be one of my top three tracks, but I guess I wouldn't do it service if at this point I didn't call it my favorite track. The race was good. I avoided the first turn incident that I have typically seen in the past and I think my opponents had to deal with it momentarily and dice it up. That allowed me to just hot lap and bring it home."

Patrick-Otto Madsen placed second in the No. 99 ANSA Motorsports Porsche.

"I had a tough, tough race today," Madsen commented. "First of all, my cool suit didn't work. At the beginning, (Michael) Levitas got a tow on me on the backstretch there, took me on the outside and put me to third place. Unfortunately for him he had a broken throttle cable and pulled in. That put me back to second place. I drove my heart out to catch (Jeff) Mosing, but between the Platinum cars trying to get by and everything else, I lost some pace. It was a tough race,so I am happy to bring it in second place."

He was followed by Kristin Treager in the No. 52 Wright Motorsports entry.

 "I had a fantastic start," stated an elated Treager. "That seems to be my strong point. I am super-excited about a podium finish. This is my first time at this track, and I love it. The high speed seems to suit me well. I like these fast, high-speed tracks, and I am pretty dang happy!"

Oscar Arroyo was the second-finishing Gold Masters driver in the No. 89 JDX Racing Porsche.

"It was a very tough race," stated a tired Arroyo. "This track is so fast. At the beginning, there were many accidents, and you need to be very smart in order to not crash. The (Turns) 5A and the 5B in the first lap is very crazy because you need to take care about everything. The rest of the race was very competitive. It's very hard to pass other competitors, but the track is great. The speed is marvelous. The cars are great, and everything was nice today."

Mark Llano earned his first career Gold Masters podium finish in the No. 24 NGT Motorsport entry.  

"Unbelievable race," added Llano. "It was hot and it was tight, but it was just incredible, an incredible race. I am very excited to be able to get my first podium, especially at such a tough track like this. I do want to thank NGT and the crew for being with me from day one. They gave me an incredible car today, especially when you consider this is my backup car. I couldn't do it without them and the incredible people around me."

Jay Patel won the Yokohama Hard Charger Award, finishing 14^th after starting 21^st in the No. 00 Dempsey Racing Porsche.  

"At the start of the race, I was focused on the cars in front of me. In Turn 1, there were a couple of cars that went off, and I decided to go to the inside of a car that spun in front of me," stated Patel. "After that, I saw a couple of cars battling and I got into a good battle with Jeff Mosing for a good while. Eventually I got by him, and the race just sort of came to me toward the end. I just have to stay aware of things that are happening in front of me. My team helps me out, keeping me informed and out of trouble, and when you can do that you can get good results." 

The second 45-minute race of the weekend - Round 10 of the season -- will start at 10:10 a.m. Saturday. The race will be streamed live at FansChoice.TV, and live updates will be provided @IMSALive on Twitter.  

This weekend the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge visit the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Ontario, Canada for the Mobil 1 Sportscar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance.

Saturday, July 12
The weekend kicks off today with the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge two-hour, 30-minute race streaming live on IMSA.com at 1:15 p.m. ET.

Qualifying - TUDOR United SportsCar Championship qualifying will be streamed live on IMSA.com beginning at 5:20 p.m. ET.

Sunday, July 13
GT Daytona, GT Le Mans and Prototype classes of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship will be in action on Sunday in a two hour and 45-minute race on the 2.45-mile circuit. The field takes the green flag at 2:05 p.m. ET live on FOX Sports 1.

(IMSA PR)

Kenton Koch, of Glendora, California, led Saturday’s Round Seven SCCA Pro Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires race from start to finish, as part of the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Nathanial Sparks, of Spanish Fort, Alabama, and Patrick Gallagher, of Thornville, Ohio, completed the podium, in that order. 

(AMA Pro Racing PR)

 After a messy qualifying session,Performance Tech Motorsports captured the pole position for Round 7 of the Cooper Tires Prototype Lights Powered by Mazda on Friday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, as Hayden Duerson took the top spot.

"It feels like a long time coming this season," Duerson said. "We've been so competitive so many times and have had such bad luck. From last race having the suspension go to the race before that having caught fire. It's just great for the Performance Tech team; I've been wanting this all season. Hopefully we can turn it into a win tomorrow."  

Drivers were forced to turn their hot laps quickly as nearly 10 minutes of the 20-minute session was wiped away by an early red flag. Situation aside, Performance Tech's rising stars found themselves on the top of the time charts in qualifying. Rookie Duerson landed the first pole position of his career in the series, followed by Robert Alon, who had his best qualifying efforts of the season landing in fourth.

"Turned out better than I expected," Alon said. "As usual, Performance Tech obviously knows what they are doing. The No. 10 car kind of popped on me on my hot lap. But regardless I think we did all right in the end."

Craig Duerson was hot on Alon's heels in fifth place, winning the pole position in Masters.

"A great team effort once again," Duerson said. "We're really feeding off one another with car setup, and we're just working well as a team. I'm really happy for Robert and Hayden. I didn't throw down a lap when I needed to. I'm very comfortable with the track and my race conditions. I've been up front in all my practices. Now it's just a little racecraft, and hopefully the old man will be there."

Joel Janco qualified 10^th in the L1 category and third in Masters.

"It was really greasy compared to this morning," Janco said. "So it was like driving a completely different track. We wound up about where we were in practice and we were third in Masters, which was good for us, and we're pretty happy. I'm looking forward to tomorrow." 

This is the second time this season Team Principal Brent O'Neill has seen one of his drivers take home the pole position. With everyone performing well, he is at ease for the upcoming races on the difficult 10-turn, 2.459-mile CTMP track. 

"Good qualifying effort by Hayden and the whole team," O'Neill said. "We're P1, four and five. I think we're going to have a good race car for tomorrow. Hayden did an awesome job; he's getting better and better. Robert now qualifying in the top in P4, it shows that are two younger guys are moving toward the front of the field. It was a good effort by everybody. Now we just get ready for the race tomorrow." 

Masters competitor Jon Brownson will not participate in this event with the team after a mishap in a test day earlier this week. 

"Jon had a big one in Turn 2 during testing and jammed his shoulder pretty hard, and we decided it was better off just parking it," O'Neill said. "He's going to rest up and get ready for Road America."  

The 30-minute Race 1 takes place at 6:45 p.m. Saturday, July 12, and the 45-minute Race 2 is scheduled for 9:50 a.m. Sunday, July 13. Follow live timing and scoring atscoring.imsa.com/prototype-lites/ and also follow the action live at @IMSALive on Twitter.

First-time Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America drivers Aaron Povoledo and Corey Lewis will be on the pole for Round 7 of the series Saturday, July 12 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park after leading qualifying Friday, July 11 with a time of 1 minute, 21.180 seconds. 

"First and foremost, hats have to go off to Lamborghini for building such an amazing rocket ship of a car," Povoledo said. "This is both of our first times driving these things. They're bloody gorgeous and fast, and they challenge you as a human being to be a better person to drive the thing." 

The drivers of the No. 76 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 fielded by Musante Motorsport and representing Lamborghini Boston are getting their first experience in the series at CTMP. The Musante team spent the night before qualifying making setup changes and getting the car ready to race for the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America rookies.  

"It's been a big learning curve for the both us from yesterday to today," Lewis said. "The team has worked really well with us and given us everything we need, and it shows with the huge time gain." 

 Starting behind the No. 76 Lamborghini on the grid will be the second overall and top Amateur class qualifier, Dillon Machavern, who turned a top lap of 1:21.338 in the No. 07 Gallardo fielded by Mitchum Motorsport.

 "We ended up switching tires halfway through because we knew we had a good car," Machavern said. "We just wanted that edge again, so we put new tires on. The car felt really good out of the box, so I just put two fast laps down and ended up in a good position. I'm just looking forward to being able to run my pace and not be in a lot of traffic. That's key in these cars and especially at this track."

 Thursday practice leader Victor Gonzalez qualified third at 1:21.398 while Change Racingteammate and championship leader Kevin Conway qualified in eighth position at 1:23.131.

Saturday's race will be the first of two 50-minute races in the incredible Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo cars, powered by a 570-horsepower V10 engine.

 Race One is scheduled for 8:55 a.m. (ET) Saturday, with Race Two following at 10:55 a.m. Sunday. Both races will be streamed live at http://squadracorse.lamborghini.com/en/live-usa. 

 The two rounds at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park continue a busy stretch of action worldwide for the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo championship, which continues to reach new levels of success at every round in Europe, North America and Asia.

 The Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America and Europe competed during the final weekend of June at Watkins Glen International and Circuit Paul Ricard, respectively. The next round of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Europe is July 25-26 at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. The Asian Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo championship resumes Aug. 30-31 atFuji Speedway in Oyama, Japan.

 The Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo car is the ultimate single-make race car and the only four-wheel drive GT racer in the world. The 570-horsepower, V10 Gallardo LP 570-4 features impressive technology such as paddle shift E-gear transmission, Öhlins race shocks, Brembo brakes, a carbon fiber aerodynamic package that includes a rear wing with 10 adjustable positions, MTA data acquisition, air jacks, center wheel locks and more.

 Lamborghini and Blancpain will provide world-class hospitality this weekend for clients and guests of Lamborghini dealers in Montreal and Toronto. Guests also can participate in the IMSA Hot Lap Experience, high-speed rides around the Canadian Tire Motorsport circuit in a Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4.  The Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 will be displayed at Lamborghini Village at the circuit throughout the weekend.

The newly intensified chase for the 2014 AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series crown comes to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend for the GEICO Motorcycle U.S. Round. Tyler O'Hara on the No. 29 Josh Chisum Racing/Bartels Harley-Davidson XR1200 retains the points lead but the title hopeful has fallen into something of an early season lull, missing out on the podium at the most recent two rounds after being awarded victory in the Daytona International Speedway season opener.

O'Hara will be motivated to get his championship charge reignited this weekend at his home race, and he'll need to with his advantage reduced to just a single point. The Californian put in a strong effort last season when the muscular XR1200s made their debut at the undulating circuit, reeling in a runner-up result to lock down second in the 2013 championship. He's out to do one better in both categories this time around. 

Nipping at O'Hara's heels is the inaugural AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series king, Danny Eslick aboard the No. 69 Ruthless Racing Harley-Davidson XR1200. The 2010 champ is hoping to reclaim his throne while pulling double duty (Eslick is also ranked second in AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike). The thrill-a-minute Oklahoman has strung together a pair of second-place finishes but is yet to climb atop the podium in Harley-Davidson action this season.

 Another man yet to strike is Ben Carlson, pilot of the No. 45 Suburban Motors Harley-Davidson XR1200. In fact, despite his near-constant presence near the front of the pack throughout his three-season tenure in the class, Carlson is still seeking his first-ever AMA Pro Road Racing victory. The Wisconsinite has racked up six podiums, two runner-ups, and even finished second in the 2012 championship order, but the two-time AMA Supermoto national champion is yet to register that breakthrough win. He's knocked O'Hara off the podium in each of his last two rides and appears to have increased both his confidence and his willingness to mix it up with the established frontrunners, so perhaps his shining moment is just around the corner.

 A duo representing the new breed of AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series riders currently sits in positions four through six. Gage McAllister on the No. 51 Folsom Harley-Davidson XR1200 leads that group, followed by Nick Hansen and his No. 97 Aerostar Global Suburban Motors Harley-Davidson XR1200.

Reigning champ Steve Rapp on the No. 1 Suburban Motors Harley-Davidson XR1200 finally got his season back on the rails with a dominating effort last time out at Barber Motorsports Park. Last season, Rapp clinched his first-ever AMA Pro Road Racing title at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca by claiming his sixth win of the season. Another effort like that this weekend could signify the realistic possibility of an epic come-from-behind title defense. 

Kyle Wyman on the No. 11 KWR/Millennium Technologies Harley-Davidson XR1200 has endured a rollercoaster season, with results and emotions alternating from one extreme to the other. He looked to have taken a dramatic victory in the Daytona opener, only to be later disqualified. Wyman rebounded from that disappointment by winning at Road America, only to crash out of podium contention in Alabama. As a result, he's currently 36 points down on O'Hara and two back of Rapp and similarly in need of an extended streak of terrific rides if he's to have any hope of getting back in the title hunt. 

Hayden Schultz aboard the No. 59 Chili Pepper Racing Harley-Davidson XR1200 and Josh Chisum on the No. 10 Josh Chisum Racing/Bartels Harley-Davidson XR1200 round of the championship top ten as the 2014 AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series approaches its midpoint. 

The Harley pilots got the combined AMA Pro Road Racing/FIM Superbike World Championship round off and running on Friday morning with their opening practice, which took place at 8:30 a.m. local time (11:30 a.m. ET).