It took just one event weekend for the spark of a fascinating championship race to ignite in the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin.
That compelling fight for the title will continue June 21-22 at Calabogie Motorsports Park in scenic Calabogie, Ontario, during Rounds 3 and 4 of the championship. Scott Hargrove, Chris Green and Spencer Pigot will resume their chase for the top spot of the podium in the series, which is in its fourth season as one of 19 global Porsche 911 GT3 Cup one-make championships providing thrilling action.
Junior open-wheel standout Hargrove, from Surrey, British Columbia, opened the season May 16-18 in his sports car debut with two tight victories over Green at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario. Hargrove took a 40-36 lead in the championship standings over Green.
That was supposed to be a one-off weekend in the No. 69 OpenRoad Racing-6th
Gear Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car for Hargrove, who races full time in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires in the United States. But the title race received even more energy earlier this month when OpenRoad President and CEO Christian Chia announced Hargrove would return to his car at Calabogie.
Game on.
Hargrove, 19, beat Green's No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports entry by .840 of a second in Round 1 and 1.442 seconds in Round 2 at CTMP. Pigot finished a close third in Round 2 in the No. 21 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.
Green, 30, from Montreal, finished second in the 2013 championship by six points to David Ostella and has set winning the title as his main goal for this season. Green swept both season-ending rounds in 2013 at Calabogie, the longest circuit in Canada. The challenging, 3.05-mile (5.05 km) layout features 20 turns.
Pigot, 20, from Orlando, Florida, is continuing his rivalry with Hargrove in sports cars. They have dueled for race victories and the championship lead throughout this season in the Pro Mazda open-wheel ranks. Pigot leads that series with 180 points, and Hargrove is second with 177.
Hargrove, Green and Pigot are just the start of a quality field in the premier Platinum Cup class, which features the all-new 2014 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car. Developed for Porsche one-make Cups worldwide, the car is based on the street version of the current Porsche 911, with a 3.8-liter power unit that produces 460 horsepower.
Etienne Borgeat leads the Quebec-based GT Racing team into Calabogie. He finished third in Round 1 at CTMP, just 5.946 seconds behind winner Hargrove. Borgeat, from Montreal, finished fourth in Round 2 and is third in the standings with 30 points.
Other podium contenders in Platinum Cup include top Masters competitors Perry Bortolotti and Marco Cirone of the powerful Mark Motors Racing team, based in nearby Ottawa.
Bortolotti, from the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, Ontario, won the 2011 Platinum Cup championship with Mark Motors while Cirone won the Platinum Masters (drivers 45 and older) last season for the team. Cirone is fifth in points after the first two rounds of the season in the No. 88 Mark Motors Racing GT3 Cup car.
Borgeat's GT Racing teammate, Andre Belzile, was the top Platinum Masters finisher in Round 2 at CTMP. He placed sixth overall in the No. 93 GT Racing entry.
2013 Gold Cup champion and Masters competitor Carlos De Quesada has climbed to the Platinum Cup this season with Alegra Motorsports and will look to rebound from a tough start to the season at CTMP in the No. 22 Porsche GT3 Cup car. 
Series newcomer Jerimy Daniel emerged in May at CTMP as the leading contender for the championship in the Gold Cup, which features 2010-2013 model 911 GT3 Cup cars. Former junior open-wheel driver Daniel, from Candiac, Quebec, was the top Gold finisher in Rounds 1 and 2, finishing an impressive fifth overall in Round 2.
Ilker Starck of Toronto, who will race for the Gold Cup podium at Calabogie after repairs were made to his No. 48 SCB Racing/Downtown Porsche entry after an accident at CTMP.
Other contenders in the competitive Gold Cup class include Ontario residents Shaun McKaigue and Tim Sanderson and Quebec driver Martin Harvey.
An Alegra intra-team duel will continue for Silver Cup honors between Masters competitors Keith Bass and Chuck Harris of Tampa, Florida. Silver Cup competitors race in 2005 ½ to 2009 GT3 Cup cars.
Two 45-minute races are scheduled for Sunday, June 22 at Calabogie, Rounds 3 and 4 of the 10-round season sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The first race will start at 10:15 a.m. (ET), with the second race at 2:45 p.m. Practice will start at 9:15 a.m. and noon Saturday, followed by qualifying at 4:45 p.m.
