Ian James and the No. 50 Panoz Avezzano GTS show strong performance in Sunday’s PWC GTS/GT4 Championship race - Speedway Digest

Ian James earned a fourth-place finish for Team Panoz Racing today, expertly driving the No. 50 Panoz Avezzano GTS on Canadian Tire Motorsports Park’s fast and challenging 10-turn 2.458-mile circuit.

Coming off sixth- and fourth-place finishes at Virginia International Raceway last month, James and Team Panoz Racing focused on carrying momentum into the Canada race weekend.

James qualified P7 in Friday’s PWC GTS/GT4 qualifying session with a time of 1:24.787. In Saturday’s Round 5 race James moved from P7 to P6 in the early going, then held on to P7 for much of the 50-minute race until a minor drivetrain issue led to the Avezzano’s premature exit in the race’s final five minutes. His best lap time of 1:25.478 on lap five placed him P9 for Sunday’s Round 6 race.

At the start of Sunday’s race the No. 40 PF Racing Ford Mustang driven by Ernie Francis Jr. stalled during the standing start, forcing a yellow flag. Immediately upon the restart James moved up to P6, then secured P5 on lap 5, a position he defended for much of the 50-minute race. With less than 10 minutes remaining the No. 3 Flying Lizard Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport driven by Rodrigo Baptista received a drive-through penalty, enabling James to move up to P4, which he held all the way to the checkered flag.

The fourth-place finish to end the Castrol presents the Victoria Day SpeedFest weekend helped make up for Saturday’s disappointing result and gives Team Panoz Racing a positive outcome heading into next weekend’s Grand Prix of Lime Rock Park.

The Avezzano GTS is based on the new Panoz Avezzano sports car, the latest street-legal Panoz creation. Visit www.panoz.com for more information.

Next up for Team Panoz Racing is PWC GTS/GT4 Rounds 7 and 8 at the Grand Prix of Limme Rock Park, Lakeview, Conn., May 26-27, 2017. Please visit www.world-challenge.com for the most up to date Pirelli World Challenge information and Motor Trend OnDemand streaming and CBS Sports Network broadcast information. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat for as-it-happens updates.

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Adam Sinclair

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.