Spencer Pigot and Chris Green take First and Second at Castrol Presents Victoria Day Speedfest

The Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin drivers may barbecue together off the track, but on track they are fierce competitors. Tight battles took place within the field at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Saturday, May 18, but the participants kept the race clean at the  2013 Castrol Presents Victoria Day Speedfest Weekend.

"The competitors are all very close and they've been racing together for quite some time," said IMSA Race Director Randy Hembrey. "While they're friendly they're also very competitive on course and I think that's going to make for a great racing season. Hopefully this race is an indication of what is to come the rest of the season."

Pfaff/Alegra Motorsports started the 2013 season on a high note, producing two Platinum Cup podium finishes in the first of two 45-minute races. Spencer Pigot led the field flag-to-flag and teammate Chris Green finished in second. Pigot maintained speed throughout the 32 laps, posting his fastest time on lap 16 of the circuit. 

"We'd like to give a special thanks to our new sponsors Richard Carter and Jason Delgado," said Pfaff/Alegra Motorsports team manager Andy Green. 

Pfaff/Alegra Motorsports came together with BuyDirectTele.com and Norcomm.net to help bring Pigot to the effort. The partnership formed just before the Castrol Presents Victoria Day Speedfest Weekend and Pigot will also join the team for the 2013 Grand Prix du Canada in Montreal. 

"It went pretty perfect," Pigot said. "We were able to get a good lead off the start, made a little mistake in the middle that allowed David (Ostella) to catch up and it was pretty close there for awhile and I just had to keep pushing to keep him behind me and eventually with the traffic I was able to get a gap with him. I'm very happy with the weekend so far and can't thank the guys at Alegra and Pfaff enough to be here."

Green's run to a second-place finish started on lap two when he passed rookie David Ostella after making contact at Turn 5B. Ostella wouldn't let Green by easily, however, and seven laps later was back in front for second position. As Ostella made runs at the leader, Green continued to creep up on the 21-year-old and eventually passed Ostella on the 29th lap with five minutes remaining.

"I have to give a huge congratulations to Spencer, a class of his own, he was able to sort out the car and figure out the car and be the best of us," Green said. "I'm really proud of him, myself, we were struggling with the car and massive oversteer. Overall I'm very happy. I think the Pfaff and Alegra guys did an excellent drive and I'm happy for Castrol to be second today. I'll take the points!"

Although Ostella was never able to pass Pigot and finished fifth overall, he produced some impressive numbers including setting a race lap record in his first closed-cockpit car, battling the fellow former open-wheel racer. On lap 10 Ostella began the chase to Pigot, posting the fastest lap in the field at that point. He followed it with another fastest time on lap 11 and shortened the gap to just seven tenths in lap 17, but a minor racing incident with a lapped car ultimately slowed his progress.

With only two laps to go, GT Racing's Jean-Frederic Laberge made a pass into third position after holding onto fourth for the majority of the race. The Montreal native is pleased with making it to the podium after having difficulty with the new set of tires.

"We didn't try the tires before we came on Friday, so I tried those new tires," Laberge said. "We tried whatever we could and managed to finish on the podium but the next race is going to be better I think. We're learning the tires every time we're on the track."

Tim Sanderson opened up the 2013 season with a first-place finish. Sanderson represents Racing for Joanne's House this season and moved up from the 12th starting position to finish 11th overall in Race 1 of the Castrol Presents Victoria Day Speedfest. His time best lap of 1:24.116 is now a track-best time in the Gold Cup category.

While Carlos de Quesada of Pfaff/Alegra Motorsports finished second and was followed by Martin Barkey with Fiorano/Garage Racing, who finished third, both drivers were experiencing series "firsts." Today's event was Barkey's first green flag in Series competition, and De Quesada was learning his Gold Cup car in his first race in that class.

Marco Cirone and Mark Motors Racing won the first Masters Championship race of the 2013 season and finished fourth overall at the Canadian Tire Motosport Park in Race 1. Cirone moved into fourth position with only a few minutes left in the race after holding the fifth position for the majority of the race.

Etienne Borgeat placed second in the Masters Championship and sixth overall, maintaing his starting position. Borgeat vied for position with his close friend Anthony Mantella, who finished third. Mantella and SpeedMerchants started in eighth position and moved up to sixth just eight laps into the race. Borgeat and Mantella finished sixth and seventh overall, respectively. 

Photography by Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin