When Ottawa’s Terry Dale accepted the position as the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada’s Race Director, he knew it would be a milestone in his nearly 50-year auto racing career. The new series will make its debut this weekend at Calabogie Motorsports Park, located just outside of Ottawa, Ontario.

Dale’s racing resume is far too extensive to encapsulate quickly. He joined CASC/ASN, Canada’s FIA affiliated racing club, while still a teenager and began racing sports cars in rallies, slaloms and ice races ranging from the club level to the international scene. He set – and still holds – the “A Sports Racing” class lap record at Mont Tremblant in a Corvette. Dale became an instructor, then moved into racing management, earning FIA “A” level race steward and clerk of the course licenses in 1975 - licenses he has held ever since.

Dale participated in a decade of Formula One Grands Prix in Montreal, as the ASN/FIA Chief Steward in 1979 and as FIA Deputy Clerk of the Course from 1980 to 1989. The next 20 years brought a succession of increasingly prestigious race steward positions, from the Player’s Ltd/GM Motorsport Series to the American Indy Lights Championship. Dale arrived on the IMSA scene in 2005, acting as Formula BMW Chief Steward before taking over the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship, IMSA’s prototype development series, in 2007.

Add in stints as the IMSA delegate to the FIA Safety Committee in Paris, various series pace car driver duties and even turns as an ARCA and NASCAR Busch team manager and it’s clear that Dale has had his hand in just about every major form of motorsport in North America. He was excited to take on this newest challenge.

“I am truly happy to be involved with anything motorsport related and have been fortunate over the past 25 or so years to have been asked to be a part of pro racing at some level or another,” enthuses Dale. “For me to be involved with the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada is truly an honour. It is definitely a high point in my resume.”

Steven Sewell, IMSA Development Series Director, is equally happy to have someone of Dale’s caliber at the helm of the new series.

“IMSA is fortunate indeed to have someone of Terry’s unique national pedigree and heritage at the helm as Race Director for the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada,” said Sewell. “Terry has been near the centre of this project from the beginning. In addition to the commitment by Porsche Cars Canada Ltd and Porsche Motorsport North America, his bravado and enthusiasm for all things Canadian motorsport has been a critical ingredient in bringing this series to fruition.”

Dale is particularly proud of the accomplishments of the Canadian Porsche GT2 team he managed in 1998. The team, with legends John Morton and John Graham behind the wheel, finished fifth overall at the 24 Hours of Daytona and raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“Just to show everyone that I do have a Porsche connection,” smiles Dale.

The new series will be contested in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, one of the world’s most successful race cars. Developed for Porsche one-make cups worldwide, the 911 GT3 Cup car is based on the production 911 GT3 RS road car, with the same output of 450 bhp and the same maximum engine speed of 8,500 rpm. Each Porsche will compete on Michelin racing tires.

Three events comprise the inaugural season of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada: May 14-15 at Calabogie Motorsports Park (Calabogie, Ontario), June 3-5 at Circuit ICAR (Mirabel, Quebec) and ending the season on the same racing card as their American counterparts July 23-24 at the Mobil 1 Presents the Grand Prix of Mosport.

Additional information, including competitor regulations, will be available at www.imsaracing.net