2019 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - Porsche GT3 Challenge Cup Canada

The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada series made its debut in 2011. The championship is one of twenty-three similar GT3 Cup series contested throughout the world. The Canadian GT3 Cup events receive support from Ultra 94 fuel and Yokohama tires.

Drivers compete in one of three classes:

Platinum Class – This is for the 2017 - 2019 models of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. The GT3 Cup Porsche is based on the 911 street version. Within this group, there is the Platinum Masters category for competitors 45-years of age and older.
Gold Class – Older (2014 - 2016) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars compete in this category.
Silver Class - This category is for the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport.

The current generation Porsche GT3 Cup cars are powered by a 4.0-liter aluminum six-cylinder engine. The motor produces 485-horsepower at 7,500-rpm and is fitted to a six-speed sequential transmission. Stopping the Porsche are aluminum six-piston calipers on the front – while the rear is equipped with four-piston calipers. The GT3 Cup weighs just over 2,600-lbs.

The 2019 season kicks-off in May on the Victoria Day Weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The series then participates at the prestigious venue Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as a support event for the Canadian Grand Prix. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will event will also include rounds of the American Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge championship. Races five and six will see teams return to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park as part of the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix weekend, which features the WeatherTech Championship. Just a week later drivers will compete at the Toronto Indy. In early August teams will join their American counterparts again for a weekend at Road America. The final two races of the season will be held at a venue that the series has not visited since 2012, Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant.

The first two rounds of the 2019 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada championship were contested on Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s 2.459-mile ten-turn road course.

A field of fifteen Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada competitors enters corner one for the first lap of the season opener. The pole-sitter, Jeff Kingsley driving a Policaro Motorsport Porsche leads the way. Behind Kingsley is the other front row starter in the SCB Racing Porsche, Parker Thompson. Trailing Kingsley and Thompson is the third through fifth fastest qualifiers - Alan Metni, Michael Di Meo and Marco Cirone.

The Platinum class driver, Jeff Kingsley returned for another season with Policaro Motorsport. Kingsley’s best result last season was fourth place finishes at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and the Streets of Toronto. Driving the No. 16 Liqui Moly sponsored Porsche, he started race one from the pole and led flag-to-flag, winning by a margin of 1.104-seconds. On Sunday, Kingsley qualified first but an error dropped him to a twelfth place finish.

Roman De Angelis is a busy man this year not only has he returned to the Canadian series, but he is also competing in the American GT3 Cup Challenge championship. In the United States, De Angelis has won three of the four rounds contested in 2019. Problems in the first qualifying session left him fourteenth on the grid. De Angelis charged through the field and finished fourth. On Sunday, he started third and won the race.

Not only was, Parker Thompson making his debut in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada but also in the Canadian Touring Car Championship. Thompson was second fastest in qualifying for the season’s first event. During the race, he chased Jeff Kingsley but settled for the runner-up spot. In race two, Thompson was second at the checker, but he was classified in third place after a pass he made during the contest was deemed outside the track limits.

One of the most spectacular looking Porsches appearing in the season opener was the No. 77 Lauzon Autosport entry was driven by Patrick Dussault. The design on Dussault’s ‘Art Car’ is from the imagination of Mario Adornetto. His teammate, Etienne Borgeat’s Porsche, received a similar treatment. Dussault qualified twelfth for round one and finished fifth. On Sunday, he fared much better, moving from sixth to a runner-up finish.

Marco Cirone is returning to the series full-time this year after only competing in the second Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Toronto events last season. Driving a Porsche prepared by Mark Motors Racing, Cirone qualified fifth quickest but during the race climbed to third overall and first in the Masters division. On Sunday, he was gridded fourth for the start, however, he retired on lap-6 and was classified in last place.

Sam Fellows, son of Canadian racing legend, Ron Fellows made his Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada series debut at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Fellows drove the No. 35 Porsche GT3 Cup in the Gold category. Of the seventeen entries, he was the only Gold class driver. On Saturday, Fellows chased the Platinum class cars from his ninth starting position and finished thirteenth overall. In race two, Fellows won the Hard Charger Award.

GT3 Cup Challenge Canada newcomer and representing the Platinum Masters category, Alan Metni was third quickest in Friday’s practice sessions. Like De Angelis, Metni is also competing in the American GT3 Cup series. During round one, Menti was unable to maintain the pace of Cirone, De Angelis and Dussault and finished sixth. In Sunday’s contest, he started second and his fourth-place finish earned him the Masters’ win.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	SPONSOR / CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Platinum	Jeff Kingsley	POLICARO MOTORSPORT - Porsche 991 / 2018	34	-
2	Platinum	Parker Thompson	SCB Racing - Porsche 991 / 2017	34	-
3	Platinum	Marco Cirone	Mark Motors Racing - Porsche 991 / 2019	34	-
4	Platinum	Roman DeAngelis	Mark Motors Racing - Porsche 991 / 2019	34	-
5	Platinum	Patrick Dussault	Lauzon Autosport - Porsche 991 / 2017	34	-
6	Platinum	Alan Metni	Kelly-Moss/AM Motorsports - Porsche 991 / 2018	34	-
7	Platinum	Perry Bortolotti	Mark Motors Racing - Porsche 991 / 2018	34	-
8	Platinum	Etienne Borgeat	Lauzon Autosport - Porsche 991 / 2017	34	-
9	Platinum	Ethan Simioni	Policaro Motorsport - Porsche 991 / 2019	34	-
10	Platinum	Shaun McKaigue	Pfaff Motorsports - Porsche 991 / 2017	33	-
11	Platinum	Jean Audet	Grand TIMES Hotel Motorsports - Porsche 991 / 2019	33	-
12	Platinum	Marc Raymond	SCB Racing - Porsche 991 / 2018	33	-
13	Gold	Sam Fellows	Pfaff Motorsports - Porsche 991 / 2014	32	-
14	Platinum	Michael Fantin	Engineered Automotive - Porsche 991 / 2019	9	-
15	Platinum	Michael Di Meo	OpenRoad Racing - Porsche 991 / 2017	3	-
DNS	Platinum	Andrew Lenkov	SCB Racing - Porsche 991 / 2017	0	-
DNS	Platinum	Martin Harvey	Wingho Racing - Porsche 991 / 2019	0	-

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	SPONSOR / CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	Platinum	Roman DeAngelis	Mark Motors Racing - Porsche 991 / 2019	18	-
2	Platinum	Patrick Dussault	Lauzon Autosport - Porsche 991 / 2017	18	-
3	Platinum	Parker Thompson	SCB Racing - Porsche 991 / 2017	18	-
4	Platinum	Alan Metni	Kelly-Moss/AM Motorsports - Porsche 991 / 2018	18	-
5	Platinum	Michael Di Meo	OpenRoad Racing - Porsche 991 / 2017	18	-
6	Platinum	Etienne Borgeat	Lauzon Autosport - Porsche 991 / 2017	18	-
7	Platinum	Perry Bortolotti	Mark Motors Racing - Porsche 991 / 2018	18	-
8	Platinum	Ethan Simioni	Policaro Motorsport - Porsche 991 / 2019	18	-
9	Platinum	Jean Audet	Grand TIMES Hotel Motorsports - Porsche 991 / 2019	18	-
10	Gold	Sam Fellows	Pfaff Motorsports - Porsche 991 / 2014	xx	-
11	Platinum	Michael Fantin	Engineered Automotive - Porsche 991 / 2019	18	-
12	Platinum	Jeff Kingsley	POLICARO MOTORSPORT - Porsche 991 / 2018	18	-
13	Platinum	Shaun McKaigue	Pfaff Motorsports - Porsche 991 / 2017	18	-
14	Platinum	Marc Raymond	SCB Racing - Porsche 991 / 2018	18	-
15	Platinum	Marco Cirone	Mark Motors Racing - Porsche 991 / 2019	6	-
DNS	Platinum	Andrew Lenkov	SCB Racing - Porsche 991 / 2017	0	-
DNS	Platinum	Martin Harvey	Wingho Racing - Porsche 991 / 2019	0	-

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