Despite a valiant effort to complete qualifications amidst heavy rain at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama qualifying session was abandoned due to adverse weather conditions. The green flag for the 30-minute session came out on time, but the session was ultimately red flagged due to lightning.
Due to the rainout, the starting grid has been determined by combining the lap times from practice sessions one and two. Competitors fastest lap times set the lineup for Race One of the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix, and second fastest laps set the grid for Race Two.
After a fastest practice time of 1:21.850, Snow Racing/Wright Motorsports driver Madison Snow claims the BBS Pole Award and will lead the grid at the start of Race One. Snow's pole win is his fifth of the season.
"I was hoping it was going to rain out or lightning out because I knew I would end up in the front if it went by practice so that's what I was hoping for," Snow said. "I was bummed when I saw the green flag wave, but after a couple of red flags I was happy again because I figured we would go by practice."
Angel Benitez Jr., currently third in the Platinum Cup points standings, will join Snow on the front row at Canada's famous circuit. Benitez is known among the paddock for his unique perspective of the racetrack, referring to the perils of navigating it like dealing with "a monkey with a knife". The unpredictable track proved to have weather just as unpredictable as conditions never improved during the 30-minute session.
"I'm really happy to be P2 and it's going to be dry [in Race One] so it's going to be a really fun race to see," Benitez said. "If you want to have fun watching the race I just tell everyone to come watch me take on the monkey with the knife."
In honour of the NGT Motorsport driver's description of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, many participants chose to honour Benitez's sentiment by placing decals on the rear of their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars.
EFFORT Racing brings up the third and fourth place starting positions with current series points leader Ashley Freiberg in third and teammate Sloan Urry completing the second row.
The IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama Series is back on the 10-turn, 2.459-mile track Saturday, July 20 for a 45-minute sprint. The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars engines start at 1:20 p.m. ET for round seven of the 2013 season. For race results, event information or to download a spotter guide, visit the series website. Live race tweeting and photos can be found on Twitter @GT3Challenge or on Facebook.
Photo by IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge
