Subtitle:
Lazare, Skeer Resume Compelling Platinum Cup Duel At VIR
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 17, 2015) – Will the points pendulum swing once again between Jesse Lazare and Elliott Skeer?
That’s the big question entering one of the most crucial weekends of the 2015 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama season Aug. 21-23 at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) in Danville, Virginia.
Second-year series driver Lazare, 18, leads rookie Skeer, 20, by just three points, 154-151, in the Platinum Cup Drivers Championship after nine of 16 rounds in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned Single-Make Series.
The pressure and attention will be on both young stars at VIR with three rounds of the series taking place on the 17-turn, 3.27-mile circuit, the regularly scheduled Rounds 11 and 12 and Round 4, which was rained out twice this season.
Round 11 will start at 8:50 a.m. (ET) Saturday, Aug. 22. Round 12 will begin at 9:20 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 23, with the rescheduled Round 4 at 4:30 p.m. Sunday. All three races are 45 minutes each.
The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama championship produces intense, exciting racing for semi-professional and aspiring professional drivers in the world’s most produced and iconic race car, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. The series is in its 11th season in 2015.
Racing is divided into two classes – Platinum Cup, featuring the 2014 and 2015 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, which is based on the seventh, and current, generation of the street car, and Gold Cup, which is comprised of the previous iteration (model years 2010-2013) of the race car. A Masters Championship also is conducted in Platinum and Gold classes. Each class is awarded with its own podium at the end of every race and individual champion at the end of every season. Points are awarded by finish in class.
The multi-class structure of the IMSA-sanctioned series teaches drivers essential skills for an eventual career in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship or professional GT races worldwide.
Lazare and Skeer have been the only Platinum Cup championship leaders this season, exchanging the lead after each event weekend.
Montreal area resident Lazare opened the season with a sweep of Rounds 1 and 2 in mid-March at Sebring International Raceway in the No. 21 Kelly-Moss Motorsports Porsche, with Skeer finishing second in both races in his series debut. Lazare led by four points after Sebring.
Skeer, from Carlsbad, California, rallied for his first series victory in Round 3 in the No. 14 Wright Motorsports Porsche at the next event, in mid-April at NOLA Motorsports Park. The first of two rainouts of Round 4 took place that weekend. Skeer exited The Big Easy with a four-point lead over Lazare.
Veteran Angel Benitez Jr. returned to the series with a sweep of Rounds 5 and 6 in the No. 05 JDX Racing Porsche in late June at Watkins Glen International. Skeer suffered his worst finish of the season, ninth, after an early spin in Round 6. That allowed Lazare to take a three-point lead in the championship.
Skeer regained the upper hand at the next event, in mid-July at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), with a sweep of Rounds 7 and 8. He led Lazare by seven points after that event weekend, the largest lead either driver has amassed this season.
But the pendulum swung once again toward Lazare earlier this month at Road America, Kelly-Moss Motorsports’ home track. Lazare swept Rounds 9 and 10 in an emotional weekend dedicated to Kelly-Moss President and co-owner David Stone, who passed away three days later after a valiant fight against cancer.
Lazare took a three-point lead after conquering Road America, the points’ gap entering VIR.
A constant swing in the points lead between Lazare and Skeer is one of two interesting trends this season in Platinum Cup competition. A driver pulling off a weekend sweep is the other.
One driver has won every available round at all five events this season, with Lazare sweeping at Sebring and Road America, Benitez at Watkins Glen and Skeer at CTMP. Skeer also won the only round at NOLA
A continuation of that trend at VIR could provide a decisive edge in the series standings for Lazare or Skeer, as 60 points are available due to three races. VIR could provide the ultimate momentum swing in the title bout.
Benitez, from Miami, faces an extra, grueling challenge in his attempt to sweep all three rounds. He is driving in six races during the VIR event weekend, three 45-minute rounds in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama and three 50-minute rounds in another IMSA-sanctioned Single-Make Series.
The Team Championship also is taut in Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama. Kelly-Moss Motorsports and Wright Motorsports are tied with 158 points each.
This race is a clash of series titans. Kelly-Moss Motorsports won the Platinum Cup Drivers and Team Championships in 2014 with driver Colin Thompson while Wright Motorsports led Sean Johnston and Madison Snow to the Platinum Cup Drivers Championship in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Wright also won the Platinum Cup Team Championship in those seasons.
Kasey Kuhlman, from Cincinnati, can make big strides at VIR toward his second consecutive Platinum Masters championship. He leads Jay Patel of Kelly-Moss Motorsports by 50 points, 174-124, in the standings. Just 80 points will be available over the remaining four rounds of the season after VIR, so the finish line is in sight for Kuhlman, who has six class victories this season in the No. 15 Wright Motorsports Porsche.
Jeff Mosing, from Austin, Texas, is in a similar position to Kuhlman in the Gold Cup and Gold Masters standings. He’s dominating both classes, up by 57 points over NGT Motorsport rookie Joe Catania in Gold and 52 points over NGT Motorsport veteran Mark Llano in Gold Masters.
Mosing has earned three Gold Cup victories and five Gold Masters victories this season in the No. 01 TOPP Racing Porsche.
Catania and his son, Platinum Cup rookie competitor Lucas Catania, will enter VIR after both producing the best weekends of their respective rookie seasons earlier this month at Road America.
Joe Catania, from Cazenovia, New York, drove to his first Gold Cup and Gold Masters victory in Round 10 in the No. 24 NGT Motorsport Porsche. Lucas Catania, also from Cazenovia, New York, finished third overall in Round 10 for his first Platinum Cup podium finish in the No. 26 NGT Motorsport Porsche.
All drivers in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama compete in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car based on the street version of the current Porsche 911. The 3.8-liter power unit featured in the 911 GT3 Cup car produces 460 horsepower and a maximum engine speed of 8,500 rpm. The 911 GT3 Cup also includes a Porsche six-speed sequential gearbox with a mechanical slip differential, with an electropneumatic paddle shift system creating faster, more efficient gear changes.
The engines and transmissions of all the cars in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama are prepared and sealed by Porsche Motorsports North America, creating a level playing field on which driving talent and team setup skill prevail.
IMSA sanctions an eight-venue, 16-round schedule for the 2015 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama. The series will run 12 of its 16 rounds during TUDOR Championship events, including the Oak Tree Grand Prix at VIR.
Tight competition on great circuits in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama has launched many drivers and teams to success in higher levels of professional sports car racing over the last decade. Among those talented drivers are 2012 Platinum Cup champion Johnston, a full-time competitor in 2013-14 in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, 2013 Platinum Cup champion Snow, who completed a successful first GT Daytona season in the TUDOR Championship in 2014, SportsCar Challenge standout Ashley Freiberg and current TUDOR Championship GT Daytona points leader Christina Nielsen.
Schedule
Practice: 8-8:30 a.m. (ET) and 1:05-1:45 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21
Qualifying: 5:20-5:40 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21
Round 11 (45 minutes): 8:50-9:35 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 22
Round 12 (45 minutes): 9:20-10:05 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 23
Round 4 (45 minutes, NOLA rainout): 4:30-5:15 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23
Race Coverage
Live streaming: Both races at www.imsa.tv
Live timing: All on-track sessions at scoring.imsa.com or on new IMSA mobile app for iOS, Android or Windows
TV: Delayed television coverage will be provided Sept. 5-6 on major network affiliates in numerous U.S. markets by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Visit http://www.imsa.com/porsche-gt3-cup-usa-channel-finder and enter your ZIP code into the box at the bottom of page to check availability in your area.
Twitter: Live text commentary from all sessions at @IMSALive
For more information about the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, visit www.gt3cupchallengeusa.com, follow hashtag #GT3USA @IMSA on Twitter or IMSA on Facebook.
Races:
Oak Tree Grand Prix at VIR