Subtitle:
Kuhlman Wears Platinum Masters Crown; Benitez Finishes Platinum Sweep
AUSTIN, Texas (Sept. 18, 2015) – Angel Benitez Jr. dominated Round 14 on Friday to complete a sweep of the two Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama races this week at Circuit of the Americas.
Kasey Kuhlman, from Cincinnati, clinched his second consecutive Platinum Masters championship with his second victory of the week on the 20-turn, 3.4-mile circuit.
Benitez, from Miami, drove his No. 05 JDX Racing Porsche to a 2.837-second victory over Jesse Lazare, from Montreal, in the 45-minute race for the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned Single-Make Series. It was his fifth victory this season, tied for the series high with Lazare.
“We have good drivers here,” Benitez said. “So it’s not an easy series. It was about maintaining control and tire management.
“We are just showing what we are capable of, and I am so proud to be part of the JDX Racing team. I am thrilled to be a part of this series, and I just have to thank JDX and Hertz for their support. They gave me the opportunity, and thanks to IMSA, Yokohama and Porsche for putting everything together.”
Championship leader Elliott Skeer, from Carlsbad, California, finished third in the No. 14 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Skeer leads Lazare by 25 points, 241-216, with the final two rounds of the season next Saturday and Sunday during Porsche Rennsport Reunion V at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
Michael Schein, from New York, finished fourth in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Kuhlman rounded out the top five with his Platinum Masters title-clinching drive.
Jeff Mosing, from Austin, Texas, completed an event sweep of the Gold Cup and Gold Masters class in the No. 01 TOPP Racing Porsche.
Benitez started third but passed pole sitter Lazare and Skeer for the lead on the first lap – his same route to victory in Round 13 on Thursday. Benitez never trailed thereafter, gradually padding his lead from 1.094 seconds at the halfway point to the final margin of 2.837 seconds.
“Benitez had such a great start once again,” Lazare said. “It’s so hard to beat him and his experience. At the beginning, he pushed. I tried to hold back a little bit, but he just got too big of a lead. It doesn’t matter if I save my tires or not – he got me.”
Series veteran Benitez also showed his skill on two restarts after full-course yellows. He pulled away to leads of .528 of a second and 1.774 seconds just one lap after the respective restarts.
Lazare and Skeer produced the most compelling duel on the track over the second half of the race, which started under a blazing sun and finished in twilight.
Skeer pulled to within two car lengths of Lazare at the halfway point, hounding his closest championship rival over the remaining laps. On the final lap, Skeer peeked inside and outside of Lazare, searching for an opening. But Lazare held steady to keep second in the No. 21 Kelly-Moss Motorsports Porsche.
“That was a fun race,” Skeer said. “The strategy is attack with no risk; that’s what we’re going for. I’ll put all the pressure I can, and if he (Lazare) opens the door, I’m going. I’ll attack in measured moves, but, of course, it’s all about the points. And with the lead I have, it’s all about surviving the races. The entire team did an amazing job this weekend.”
Series rookie Skeer, who turned 21 on Thursday, must finish eighth or better in Rounds 15 and 16 next weekend to clinch the Platinum Cup championship.
Platinum Masters
Kuhlman sealed his second straight Platinum Masters championship with his 10th class victory in 14 starts in the No. 15 Wright Motorsports Porsche.
He dominated the class field in the race, beating runner-up David Baker to the finish by 10.646 seconds. Baker, from Colleyville, Texas, tied his season-best finish in the No. 56 TOPP Racing Porsche.
“I felt really good about my chance to clinch the Masters championship,” Kuhlman said. “I’m really happy to do it and represent the series and all the guys over 45. I’m super happy.
“Love Wright Motorsports, great team, great car, great guys. It feels just as good as last year. I clinched last year here, as well, so I kind of knew the drill. I never take anything for granted with this field, and I’m just happy to represent.”
Jay Patel, from Crown Point, Indiana, finished third in the No. 00 Kelly-Moss Motorsports Porsche to strengthen his grip on second place in the Platinum Masters standings.
Kuhlman’s stiffest challenge in the race once again came from Platinum Cup rookie Andrew Longe. Kuhlman edged Longe’s No. 47 Fall-Line Motorsports Porsche by .670 of second for fifth place overall. Longe finished fourth overall, one spot ahead of Kuhlman, in Round 13.
“I had my hands full all night again with Andrew Longe,” Kuhlman said. “Top five overall finish is always my goal.”
Gold Cup/Gold Masters
Mosing added more shine to a perfect race week with his seventh Gold Cup and 10th Gold Masters victory of the season. He clinched the season championship at his home track by winning both classes in Round 13 on Thursday.
“It couldn’t get any better than this,” Mosing said. “I love the fact that I had my friends and family here. I had my wife, Yuliya, and my daughter, Nina, were here early today, and it was great to have them here. It’s going to be great to go home and sleep in my own home tonight.”
David Ducote, from Houston, finished 5.96 seconds behind Mosing to place second in the No. 6 Kelly-Moss Motorsports Porsche. Fred Kaimer, from Austin, Texas, earned his second third-place finish this week at his home event in the No. 23 NGT Motorsport Porsche.
Mosing and Ducote made contact and spun on the final lap in Round 13 on Thursday after a stirring, race-long duel, with Mosing returning to the track more quickly and hanging on for the win.
It appeared the second act of their friendly rivalry would take place Friday. Ducote pulled to within .862 of a second of Mosing with 29 minutes left despite being caught in an incident with three Platinum Cup cars just four minutes into the race that triggered the first full-course caution.
Then three minutes later, Ducote and Platinum Cup driver Will Hardeman made side-by-side contact in Turn 2, with Ducote spinning. That gave breathing room to Mosing, who pulled away from Ducote’s battered Porsche on the last restart with seven minutes remaining in the race.
“I worked as hard as I could with what I had and just tried to hang in there,” Ducote said. “I guess second is not bad under the circumstances. It was a tough day at the office."
Max Tullman, from Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, earned the Yokohama Hard Charger Award. He started 25th and finished 20th in the No. 96 Tullman Walker Racing Porsche.
Up Next
Rounds 15 and 16 will take place Sept. 25-27 during Porsche Rennsport Reunion V at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. It’s the final event of the season.
For more information about Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, visit www.gt3cupchallengeusa.com, follow hashtag #GT3USA @IMSA on Twitter or IMSA on Facebook.
ROUND 14 POST-RACE QUOTES:
ANGEL BENITEZ JR. (No. 05 JDX Racing, winner): “We have good drivers here. So it’s not an easy series. It was about maintaining control and tire management. It’s been a long week. A lot of driving. A lot of track time. A lot of different braking pedals and downforce. It’s been tough on me jumping from the Lamborghini to the Porsche. Getting used to the ABS and then back to the non-ABS. We did what we could, and JDX helped me a lot and gave me a good car. We are just showing what we are capable of, and I am so proud to be part of that team. I am thrilled to be a part of this series, and I just have to thank JDX and Hertz for their support. They gave me the opportunity, and thanks to IMSA, Yokohama and Porsche for putting everything together.”
JESSE LAZARE (No. 21 Kelly-Moss Motorsports, second): “(Angel) Benitez had such a great start once again. It’s so hard to beat him and his experience. At the beginning, he pushed. I tried to hold back a little bit, but he just got too big of a lead. It doesn’t matter if I save my tires or not – he got me. And right before the yellow, I bent my shock through the esses, so the last few laps were hard to keep in front of Elliott (Skeer). But I’m going to push even harder at Laguna and get it there. I have to thank Kelly-Moss for all of their hard work and continuing to give me a great car. I also want to thank my sponsors, Garaga and Micanan, for their continued support.”
ELLIOTT SKEER (No. 14 Wright Motorsports, third): “That was a fun race. The strategy is attack with no risk; that’s what we’re going for. I’ll put all the pressure I can, and if he (Jesse Lazare) opens the door, I’m going. I’ll attack in measured moves, but, of course, it’s all about the points. And with the lead I have, it’s all about surviving the races. The entire team did an amazing job this weekend. We were up front with everyone, and the cars were amazing. It’s good that we all got through it with Rennsport being so close. I learned a lot from everyone, only getting four laps of practice and jumping right into qualifying. I was really learning the track in Race 1. On Wednesday, I wasn’t nervous losing the first practice session because it’s like a Supercup weekend. But losing the majority of the second session, it becomes a pretty frantic, ‘Oh, I have to go learn this track and come up with the car setup quick.’ The team did a stellar job finding the issue, fixing it and finding a setup that amazing right out of the box, so I have to give this one to them.” (About strategy at Rennsport): “Survive and enjoy. I’m a Porsche historian nut, so I’m going to love everything in the paddock and then go on track, give it all I’ve got and see what happens.”
KASEY KUHLMAN (No. 15 Wright Motorsports, first Platinum Masters, 2015 Platinum Masters champion): “I felt really good about my chance to clinch the Masters championship. I’m really happy to do it and represent the series and all the guys over 45. I had my hands full all night again with Andrew Longe. I probably feel better about beating him and holding him off than I do about winning the championship. Top five overall finish is always my goal. I’m super happy. Love Wright Motorsports, great team, great car, great guys. It feels just as good as last year. I clinched last year here, as well, so I kind of knew the drill. I never take anything for granted with this field, and I’m just happy to represent.”
DAVID BAKER (No. 56 TOPP Racing, second Platinum Masters): “I was getting a little sloppy there at the end, and I can’t see so good at night being an older guy. The Apex Capital car is great, and TOPP Racing was good all weekend. I think we would have been better in Race 1 had we not gotten caught up in an incident. It’s great. I’ve got my family out here watching, and it’s sweet.”
JAY PATEL (No. 00 Kelly-Moss Motorsports, third Platinum Masters): “In the beginning, it was kind of rough going into Turn 12 because the sun was coming at you, and you couldn’t see your reference points. So I had to mentally count to my braking points because I couldn’t see the brake markers. That’s what I was doing, and I saw a lot of people going off in 12 because of that. But as soon as it cooled off, the tires cooled off, as well. We didn’t have a whole lot of grip in the car. The car had a lot of push going toward the end, and then with the last yellow to green, I didn’t have enough grip to warm up my tires. So I was battling a push the last couple of laps. Other than that, the car was great. Kelly-Moss did a great job, and I would like to thank my wife. David Baker was great. I tried to catch up to him, but I didn’t have what it took to get him.”
JEFF MOSING (No. 01 TOPP Racing, winner Gold Cup, Gold Masters, Austin resident): “It couldn’t get any better than this. Todd Opperman (TOPP Racing owner) and Paul Hutnam have really been working hard on the car. And from the beginning of the year, I’ve just put my head down and tried to be consistent. Eric Foss (driver coach) has always been there to help me. It was really great to get it wrapped up here. Even saying that, though, I’m a big car guy, so I can’t wait to get to Rennsport and enjoy the racing and all the other cars that are going to be out there. It’s going to be great. I really enjoyed running at night here. It was actually a bit of a problem. Last year it seemed like the sun went down earlier, so I had sunglasses on. I finally had to ditch them into the passenger-side foot well. I couldn’t see anymore in the dark. The Yokohama tires were absolutely consistent. I thought something was wrong with my dash. I kept seeing 2:17.7 like every lap. I had to check and make sure nothing was broken. It was a lot of fun, I love the fact that I had my friends and family here. I had my wife, Yuliya, and my daughter, Nina, were here early today, and it was great to have them here. It’s going to be great to go home and sleep in my own home tonight.”
DAVID DUCOTE (No. 6 Kelly-Moss Motorsports, second Gold Cup, Gold Masters): “It was tough. Kelly Moss really gave me a great car. I could tell in the first two laps before I got hit the first time. Then I got hit several times by 991’s (Platinum Cup cars), and it was very difficult to drive because there were a lot of mechanical challenges to drive around. I worked as hard as I could with what I had and just tried to hang in there. I guess second is not bad under the circumstances. It was a tough day at the office."
FRED KAIMER (No. 23 NGT Motorsport, third Gold Cup, Gold Masters, Austin resident): “The first couple of laps were tough. The sun was right smack in your eyes and going into (Turn) 12 was tough. But other than that, it’s really great. As soon as the sun dips down low and you have that twilight, it’s just fantastic.” (The difference between the last time you raced here?): “I’ve gotten a little faster, hopefully, so I am up here on the podium as opposed to down in the garage.”
MAX TULLMAN (No. 96 Tullman Walker Racing, Yokohama Hard Charger Award): “I love night racing. I’ve done endurance races that go through the night, and I’m usually the guy that goes from the daylight to the dawn, so this was great. The track cooled down a lot. It got better, but in the middle it was really slick out there. I’ve been pushing all weekend. It was really difficult for me. But I had a really great start, and I love this track. I’m definitely more comfortable in the car and with the field of cars here, and I have had a lot of fun with these drivers out here.”
Races:
Lone Star Le Mans