Different cars, same rivalry. 

Young stars Scott Hargrove (pictured) and Spencer Pigot continued their hot duel this season during qualifying Friday, May 16 for the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin season opener, with Hargrove prevailing for the pole at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Hargrove, from Surrey, British Columbia, set a track record of 1 minute, 20.609 seconds in the No. 69 OpenRoad Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. He will make his initial start in the series from the pole in the first of two races this weekend on the 10-turn, 2.459-mile (3.957 km) circuit, at 3:10 p.m. (ET) Saturday.

"Going into qualifying, the OpenRoad Racing guys did a great job," Hargrove said. "The car was phenomenal. First weekend in the car, and we put it on pole. You can't ask for much more than that. Hopefully it will continue into the race. I'm just excited to be here and about the opportunity."

Pigot, from Pasadena, California, was second in qualifying at 1:20.654 in the No. 21 Alegra Motorsports entry. Hargrove and Pigot have won all six rounds so far this season in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel series, with Pigot capturing four victories and Hargrove two.

Hargrove, 19, is driving Christian Chia's OpenRoad entry this weekend in a one-time appearance, while Pigot, 20, is a full-time competitor this season in the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin for reigning Platinum and Gold Cup Team Champions Alegra Motorsports.

Etienne Borgeat, from Montreal, was third in qualifying at 1:20.835 in the No. 2 GT Racing entry. Chris Green, from Montreal, will round out the second row of the grid after turning a top qualifying lap of 1:20.903 in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports entry.

Marco Cirone, from Toronto, was the top Platinum Cup Masters (45 and older) qualifier, sixth overall at 1:21.508 in the No. 88 Mark Motors Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.

Jerimy Daniel, from Candiac, Quebec, was the top qualifier in the Gold Cup class at 1:23.375 in the No. 75 TRC entry. Daniel's quickest lap was nullified because he created a red flag period during qualifying with a spin and wall contact, but his second-best lap still was good enough for the top spot.

Chuck Harris, from Tampa, Fla., was the quickest Silver Cup qualifier at 1:29.279 in the No. 50 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.

All drivers coped with changing conditions through the day. The 45-minute morning practice took place in temperatures around 10 C (50 F) and in damp-to-drying track conditions, with Green edging Hargrove for the quickest lap by one-thousandth of a second with a time of 1:23.894.

But qualifying unfolded on a dry track, with the sun peeking from behind the clouds during the last 10 minutes of the half-hour session.

"This morning, it was wet, and this is my first weekend in the car," Hargrove said. "You're just trying to learn it and learn the boundaries of how quick you can go in the wet. Then it started to dry out in the first practice, and I got a little bit of dry running. My confidence was already pretty good in the wet. As soon as it went to dry, the car was a lot more comfortable to drive."

Two 45-minute races are scheduled this weekend at CTMP, Rounds 1 and 2 of the 10-round season sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The first race will start at 3:10 p.m. (ET) Saturday, with the second race at 11:45 a.m. Sunday.

Photography by IMSA