Scott Hargrove (pictured, middle) completed a weekend sweep of both Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin rounds at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with a victory in an action-packed race Sunday.
Hargrove, 19, from Surrey, British Columbia, beat Chris Green by 1.442 seconds in the No. 69 OpenRoad Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. Hargrove edged Green by .840 of a second in the first race Saturday on the 10-turn, 2.459-mile circuit.
Junior open-wheel standout Hargrove made a one-off entry into the single-make Porsche series this weekend, driving Christian Chia's OpenRoad Racing entry.
"Two races, two wins," Hargrove said. "I can't ask for more than that. It's phenomenal racing in these Porsche cars, and I can't thank the OpenRoad guys enough for giving me a good car and being able to run up front all weekend. A phenomenal weekend for us, and hopefully we will be back and be able to run more races this year."
Spencer Pigot finished third in the No. 21 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, rebounding from a 14th-place finish in the first race Saturday. Pigot's last-straightaway lunge at Green's No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports entry fell just .122 of a second short.
Etienne Borgeat, from Montreal, completed a solid weekend in the No. 2 GT Racing entry by finishing fourth. He placed third Saturday.
2013 series runner-up Green, from Montreal, started from pole in the 45-minute race. But Hargrove passed him in Turn 8 - the hardest braking zone on the circuit - on the second lap and never trailed thereafter.
Green and Pigot hounded Hargrove for the next 17 minutes, until a two-car accident in Turn 10 created an extended yellow-flag period. J-F Laberge spun in Turn 10 in the No. 91 GT Racing Porsche and then was hit from behind in traffic by Ilker Starck in the No. 48 SCB Racing/Downtown Porsche. Both cars suffered heavy damage and were eliminated from the race, but both drivers were unhurt.
After an extensive cleanup, the race resumed with seven minutes remaining. Less than one second separated the lead pack of Hargrove, Green and Pigot until there was one lap remaining, when Hargrove pulled away.
"We're really, really quick on the starts and the restarts, and Chris (Green) definitely had a lot for me in the middle of the race," Hargrove said. "But that caution helped me out, and I knew that once I cooled my tires down, I would be good to go until the end of the race."
Said Green: "We were bringing a fight to Scott at the mid-point of the race, and I was really hoping there wouldn't be a yellow flag because our strategy was against a yellow flag today. But overall, it was a very good weekend for our brand-new team, and it's a brand-new car for the first time out this weekend. I am pretty pumped. The Porsche was amazing; the Michelin tires were awesome."
Andre Belzile, from Drummondville, Quebec, was the top Platinum Masters (age 45 and older) finisher, sixth overall in the No. 93 GT Racing entry. Mark Motors Racing teammates Perry Bortolotti of Kanata, Ontario, and Marco Cirone of Toronto rounded out the Platinum Masters podium, respectively.
Jerimy Daniel, from Candiac, Quebec, also completed a weekend sweep of the Gold Cup in the No. 75 TRC Porsche. Series rookie Daniel finished fifth overall in the race. Shaun McKaigue, from Gilford, Ontario, finished second in Gold in the No. 34 Fiorano Racing entry, with Martin Harvey of Berthierville, Quebec, third in the No. 08 Wingho Racing Inc. Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.
Chuck Harris, from Tampa, Fla., was the top Silver Cup finisher (2005 ½ to 2009 cars) in the No. 50 Alegra Motorsports entry. Harris finished ninth overall.
Rounds 3 and 4 of the 10-round Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin are scheduled for June 21-22 at Calabogie Motorsports Park in Calabogie, Ontario. The series is sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA).
Photo by IMSA
