In a virtual carbon copy of yesterday’s event, Tim McKenzie took the Platinum Cup win in wire-to-wire fashion, with Eduardo Cisneros taking the Gold Cup class victory in Round 9 of the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama, part of the Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport.
It might have appeared almost easy from the outside, but it wasn’t a 31-lap Sunday drive inside the cockpit of the #92 Kelly Moss Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. Championship leader Henrique Cisneros (#26 NGT Motorsport) hounded McKenzie for the entire race, able to stay close but not close enough to make a pass. Michael Schein (#21 Alex Job Racing) finished third after.
“This is one of those perfect weekends,” said McKenzie. “You get those every one in a hundred. Today’s race was green to green, so that made it less stressful in some ways, but we didn’t have traffic to deal with yesterday because of those yellows. The lapped cars did great job - I got into Henrique’s teammates, and they were fair, they gave me a couple of inches coming up the straightaway! And I have a tremendous amount of respect for Henrique as a racer – he’s fast, he doesn’t make mistakes and to have him in my mirrors the whole time, you definitely have to take that into consideration!”
“Tim was flying out there,” said Cisneros. “I was just trying to keep up; we were laying down some quick laps. We immediately pulled away from the field, the two of us. I kept hoping I’d have an opportunity in traffic, but he was faster than me in some key places and I couldn’t get a run on him. All in all, though, a great race. But it’s consistency that matters now – I have a good lead in the championship, so it’s all about being consistent.”
Eduardo Cisneros (#29 NGT Motorsport) also got away in the Gold Cup class, keeping a Platinum Cup car between himself and championship leader Madison Snow (#62 Snow Racing) in second place in the class.
“I didn’t have a great start,” said Cisneros. “I made it a point to stay behind some of the Platinum Cup cars and keep the gap to Madison. I started taking it a little easy and told the guys to tell me when he started getting closer, then I had to really start to push again. I kept my concentration and had a good race.“
“I had a good start and got around a few people early,” said Snow. “I was pushing hard that first lap. I started gaining on Eduardo but I ran out of time. But it still gets me good championship points.”
Richard Zahn, driving the #71 MGM Motorsports/Bank of America Porsche in the Gold Cup class, earned the Yokohama Hard Charger award for his move from a ninth place starting position to finish sixth in class.
The IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama features semi-professional drivers racing head to head in the largest single-make series in North America. Powered by one of the world’s most successful race cars, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, the multi-class structure of the series teaches drivers essential skills for an eventual career in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón.
The series is divided into two classes; the Platinum Cup, featuring the more powerful 2011 and 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, and the Gold Cup, which includes 2005½ - 2009 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. Both classes race on environmentally-focused Yokohama ADVAN ENV-R2 racing tires.
Rounds 10 and 11 of the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama will be Friday and Saturday, August 19 and 20, as part of the Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Live timing, news and schedule information is at www.imsachallenge.com
