A smooth start and caution-free sprint made for a quiet race control room during Race Two at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin participants kept the competition fierce, but clean, and 2012 Platinum Champion JF Laberge led the field in a dynamic 2013 comeback to take the top step of the podium for the first time this year.
Laberge stole the lead immediately from Montreal fellow native and pole sitter Chris Green on the first turn of the first lap. And until the final turn of the final lap, it appeared GT Racing would take two spots on the podium.
"I'm really happy," Laberge said. "Team worked really hard on the car. We had a crash yesterday and we had to start from the back of the pack and we had an amazing car. We were able to climb back and today were able to prove that we did have the best car on the track. We were just managing the race at the front and not going too crazy and I'm just super happy."
The victory was Laberge's first since sweeping Calabogie in 2012.
Laberge's teammate and Masters contender Etienne Borgeat started from sixth position and chipped away to third place before overextending his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry while exiting Turn 5 on the last lap. Borgeat lost a position after the bobble and decided to make an opportunistic move to regain his position in Turn 9 that ultimately caused him to lose traction pushed him back to an 11th place finish.
Although Borgeat didn't have the finish he aimed for, it appears the top two finishers from 2012 are back in contention. Both GT Racing drivers were unhappy with their performance in rounds one and two of the season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for Victoria Day and had high expectations for this weekend.
"The only thing that was important for me is that I am back!" Etienne exclaimed. "I just tried a little too hard to push in one section and I knew I could get a run on (David) Ostella and I just pushed a little too hard and ended up fifth in that last corner. And then the last incident, I know better but I just tried it, and ended up in the tires on the second to last corner. The important thing is that I had a good run with many passes and I was really fast out there and that is a good thing!"
SpeedMerchants' David Ostella repeated his second place finish from yesterday and repeated his dominant charge from a seventh place starting position to once again keep company with the top contenders. He was able to preserve his Michelins for a late push on Lap 31 and made a bold pass on Green in Turn 10 with just two laps remaining to capture the second place position. Ostella remains the series points leader after rounds five and six, with a total of 104 points.
"Another phenomenal race," Ostella said. "We definitely fought hard in this one, a bit more action than the first race. It was a great race. JF (Laberge) drove a hell of a race staying up front. It was clean, I was waiting for any mistakes, waiting to make some moves, but he was driving an awesome race and same with Chris (Green). But at the end there I just think I had a little more of the Michelins left and was able to push a little harder at the beginning, so I think that kind of helped me at the end there. I was able to get Chris at the end and just stay ahead. But it was a great race the team did an awesome job and the GT3 Cup car was awesome out there. Now on to Trois-Rivières."
The Pfaff/Alegra entry of Green held firm to the second place position until the very bitter end, proving that his Porsche 911 had the grip and set-up to not only keep him in contention, but dominate the front of the field.
"It was an interesting day for sure," Green said. "I got to give props to the entire team and the Pfaff Alegra guys. Unfortunately I did not have the car to compete with the front. I was kind of waiting for JF (Laberge) to make a mistake but he was driving fantastically and I got to give him props for that he was the quick guy to beat out there. Unfortunately traffic messed me up a little bit and I had to settle for third. But hey points make prizes right?"
While Platinum Cup drivers duked it out, the Gold Cup competition was what one driver referred to as "the best of the season". Although Carlos De Quesada ran away with the victory, Tim Sanderson and Martin Barkey dogged his heels and fought hard for their podium finishes.
De Quesada's first win of the 2013 season was extra special, as his podium festivities spontaneously broke into a birthday celebration. Quesada improved from 13th starting position to finish 10th overall today by turning precision laps and keeping his eye firmly on the Platinum freight train. So much so, that he set a new race lap record for the Gold Cup class with a time of 1:23.233.
"I had a great race," de Quesada exclaimed. "It was a nice clean start and I just tagged along with one of the Platinum cars. Once we got into single file, I just hung out there and kept my line, and tried to stay in their draft, which allowed me to pull away from (Tim) Sanderson and (Martn) Barkey. Just a great race overall, very clean and I am very happy with the results."
The hard battle ensued behind him, with Sanderson and Barkey continually swapping positions throughout the race. Nearly three quarters into the race, an incident with a Platinum entry ultimately bumped Barkey back and allowed Sanderson and Fiorano Racing for Joanne's House to take the higher honors on the podium.
"It was the most competitive race of the weekend," Sanderson said. "(Martin) Barkey gave me everything man! He was chasing me down and had me a couple of times and we swapped positions once or twice but it was good, hard, clean racing, and that's what this series is all about. Very enjoyable!"
And while not as enjoyable as Sanderson's ride, Barkey was comfortable with swapping podium positions from yesterday's feature based on his improvement and the heat of the battle.
"Excellent race!" the Fiorano/Garage Racing competitor exclaimed. "Best race of the season. Of course Carlos (de Quesada) drove away from us, but Tim and I had a killer race swapping positions. I don't know what our lap times were, but the guys had the car set up so well. It was awesome until a Platinum car took me out in Turn 9 and took me out of contention for second place. So I just hung in the last 10 minutes to finish third. We will settle for that today."
All three top Gold Cup finishers are also the Masters Gold Cup winners.
Photography by ColourTech South
