De Angelis Completes Weekend Sweep in Montreal

Roman De Angelis once again found his way to the top step of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama podium at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

Coming off a pole position and win in Race 1 on Saturday, De Angelis started from the first spot in the No. 79 Mark Motors Racing Porsche, but surrendered the lead to Parker Thompson shortly after the drop of the green flag on Lap 1.

Thompson opened a gap between his No. 3 SCB Racing machine and De Angelis, but the latter kept Thompson within striking distance.

With 20 minutes remaining, Thompson made a minor mistake heading into the hairpin, locked up the brakes and went wide into the turn, allowing De Angelis to sneak by. De Angelis drove pressure-free for the rest of the race.

Dramatic Race 2 Finish for GT3 Cup Challenge USA Podium Finishers Root, Dickinson

Behind De Angelis, it was a dramatic finish for the remaining two overall podium finishers – Max Root and Riley Dickinson, both GT3 Cup Challenge USA drivers.

Root in the No. 7 Wright Motorsports Porsche claimed his second podium of the weekend after finishing third in Race 1 and second in Race 2.

Yet, Root never saw the checkered flag as he was involved in a late-race incident with the No. 74 TPC Racing Porsche of Tom Kerr.

Root and Kerr made contact in Turn 11 that sent Root into the grass and Kerr into the inside wall. The incident brought out a race-ending red flag, but Root maintained his second-place position.

For Dickinson, the checkered flag initially awarded him a fourth-place finish behind Root and Thompson.

However, Thompson’s move past Dickinson for third place resulted in a 29-second penalty equivalent to an in-race drive through and promoted Dickinson to the podium.

Thompson was relegated to a 10th-place finish overall. Like De Angelis, Thompson also earned points this weekend towards both the GT3 Cup Challenge Canada and USA championships.

Fred Poordad scored the Platinum Masters victory over GT3 Cup Challenge Canada and USA competitor Alan Metni in the No. 99 Kelly-Moss/AM Motorsports Porsche, who bounced back from a retirement in Saturday’s race.

In the Gold Class, it was a battle between the No. 27 NGT Motorsports Porsche of Sebastian Carazo and the No. 91 FMS Motorsports Porsche of Angel Benitez, Jr. While Carazo started from the pole, the two swapped positions throughout the race, with Carazo ultimately coming out on top.

Earning the Yokohama Tire Hard Charger Award for gaining the most positions during the race was Gold Class driver Efrin Castro in the No. 65 ACI Motorsports Porsche.

GT3 Cup Challenge Canada’s Dussault Recovers from Unlucky Race 1; Policaro Motorsport’s Two Entries Score Top Fives

Rounding out the GT3 Cup Challenge Canada podium were Patrick Dussault in the No. 77 Lauzon Autosport Porsche and rookie Ethan Simioni in the No. 40 Porsche for Policaro Motorsports.

The runner-up result matches Dussault’s best of his GT3 Cup Challenge Canada career, which he first recorded at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last month. It also comes on the heels of a frustrating Race 1 at Montreal for the Quebecker, who was spun early but salvaged a ninth-place finish.

For Simioni, a rookie in GT3 Cup Challenge Canada, the third-place finish is his best to date. Teammate Jeff Kingsley in the No. 16 Porsche – who also earned points towards the GT3 Cup Challenge USA championship with JDX Racing – finished just behind Simioni in fourth.

In the Platinum Masters class, Marco Cirone was seeking a weekend sweep of his own in the No. 88 Mark Motors Racing Porsche. However, a spin due to contact from another competitor demoted his Porsche down the leaderboard.

Taking the Platinum Masters win in his first weekend this year with GT3 Cup Challenge Canada was Michael Levitas in the No. 37 TPC Racing Porsche. Levitas was the highest finishing Masters driver in the field on Sunday.

Sam Fellows earned both the GT3 Cup Challenge Canada Gold Class victory and Yokohama Tire Hard Charger Award in the No. 35 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche.

RESULTS: Race 2