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Jaminet: GTD Pro Race Was “Pace and Fuel Game”

Mathieu Jaminet, Matt Campbell extend points lead with third victory of season…

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Mathieu Jaminet said Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park came down to a “pace and fuel game” with Pfaff Motorsports coming out on top in GTD Pro on home soil.

Jaminet and fellow Porsche factory driver Matt Campbell claimed their third class win out of six races this season, extending their points lead in the process in the No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R.

While the duo combined to lead all but nine laps of the race, the Frenchman said it was anything but clear sailing.

“It wasn’t easy, not at all,” said Jaminet. “We saw that it was a pace and fuel game, especially with the Corvette when they went for the Aston they were quite quick.

“Taking only two tires on the left side was something we never experienced before.

“The car wasn’t so easy to drive and we were saving a lot of fuel. They saved a lot as well. They could do an extra lap.

“It was all on the boys and [Matt] to have a quick out lap to come out in front. Luckily it worked out.

“Starting up front on the front row and having clean air was one of the keys today because it was really difficult to pass.”

Campbell got into the Porsche with 1 hour and 5 minutes to go, with the second pit stop proving to be the key to the race.

“That pit stop sequence was everything,” team manager Steve Bortolotti told Sportscar365. “That was a full team effort. The team in the pits was completely on it.

“Jam Jam did an amazing job hitting his fuel number to make it a [two]-stop race for us. Obviously we had the yellows and it didn’t ultimately matter.

“That pit stop, we were quicker in the pits than the Corvette guys. Matt was quicker on his out lap than [Jordan Taylor’s] in-lap.

“When it all shook out we had a bigger buffer to them than we had. To maintain that track position was everything.

“We do believe they had the pace on us there at the end but it’s such a difficult track to pass on, we knew we had to do everything to have track position today and we did that.”

Despite having the track position, Campbell still had to hold off a hard-charging Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD.

“I could see he was pushing all the time,” said the Australian. “I could see where he was starting to look in places as well if he was close, on restarts and such and could see where their car was strong.

“I always wanted to make sure I had a little bit of a buffer and gap going into those places and just trying to manage the tires. It wasn’t easy out there to be able to keep him off and think about the end of the race.

“We got there in the end but for sure they were always on our heels. So it wasn’t easy.”

The win came in the team’s first home race in three years, following the cancelation of the CTMP round in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s crazy,” Bortolotti said. “We have over 400 people here today. Family, friends, clients… This one’s for them. It’s been a tough two years away from our home track.

“We know this track quite well and the way it changes with the weather. I think we proved that today.

“It’s a long season ahead. We’re obviously in a good position for the GTD Pro championship but we need to make sure we keep our foot on the gas and close this thing out by the time Petit Le Mans comes around.”

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

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