Marcelli, MMG Coming to Grips in “Pretty Green” Program

Photo: Fabian Lagunas/SRO

Kyle Marcelli said he and the MMG team are coming to grips with the Porsche 911 GT3 R, in the first Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS weekend for the Canadian squad.

Marcelli, who won the 2019 Fanatec GT America Pro-Am class title, has teamed up with countryman Jean-Frederic Laberge in the No. 92 Porsche for the remainder of the season, beginning this weekend at Road America.

While it marks his return to SRO America competition, it’s also Marcelli’s first time in a GT3-spec Porsche and only the second race outing for the Montreal-based team with the car after Laberge completed the GT America powered by AWS event at Virginia International Raceway last month.

“I’m grateful for this opportunity,” Marcelli told Sportscar365. “It’s tough to get something going in both IMSA and SRO paddock from a professional level standpoint. Those opportunities are few.

“Really there wasn’t much out there for me right now in SRO. Honestly I wasn’t trying really hard. I’ve got a good home with Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti in IMSA and I want to be there long-term.

“I wasn’t really actively seeking anything over here. But the relationship with J-F stems back 12 years ago. I was doing the Porsche Cup Canada and he was also doing it and that’s where we met.

“We kind of lost touch. We really didn’t keep in touch over the last 12 years. But when he announced this program at the beginning of the year I sent him a note and said congratulations and let me know if there’s an opportunity.

“They were committed to Alex Tagliani, who was going to be in the car. Then it was like four weeks ago I got a call from J-F and asked if I was interested and here we are.”

Marcelli said it’s taken some time to adapt to the rear-engined Porsche, compared to his WTRAndretti Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 that he drives in the WeatherTech Championship GTD class.

“The biggest thing for me right off the bat was just the brake balance in this car and where the weight distribution is,” he said.

“They’re apples and oranges, the Lamborghini and Porsche.

“There’s a lot of little different things ergonomically. From the weight of the steering wheel to the pedal effort on the brake pedal, just little things like that. You build muscle memory in a car so it’s a bit different in this car.

“Honestly from a setup standpoint, I don’t come with a wealth of knowledge. I’m just telling them what I’m feeling in the car and we’re leaning on Porsche’s baseline and recommendation of where to start the car and where to go with it.”

The 34-year-old Canadian has given high praise to the team, which regularly competes in the TCR class of Michelin Pilot Challenge but are stepping into the highly competitive GT3 arena for the first time.

MMG is receiving assistance from an ex-Pfaff Motorsports engineer this weekend.

“It’s a really great group,” said Marcelli. “The camaraderie is really good. The guys themselves have worked together for quite a while in TCR and stuff like that.

“The GT3 is very new to the team. With the GT3 and with the endurance format of GT World Challenge comes a lot of little details that’s all new for the team.

“Even things like the tire warmers, there’s a lot of things to iron on in a very short amount of time.

“Yesterday during the rain we tried to get some of that pit lane procedure stuff sorted.

“[This morning], I did about five laps in the dry. J-F did did three. We’re still pretty green.”

Marcelli said they’ve set realistic expectations this weekend and will be looking to build on them for the remainder of the season.

“From my side, that’s how I’m looking at it,” he said. “I’m benchmarking us off the other Porsches and go from there.

“I think if we can leave this weekend having choreographed our pit stop procedures well, and check that box, make sure we’re getting our pit lane timer stuff sorted and get the basics sorted.

“Porsche’s baseline is not going to be a mile off but it’s probably not going to be the fastest, but it will be close.

“If we can be within a few tenths of the Wright and RS1 cars, that would be a win for me.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John