Porsche Motorsports Weekly Event Notes: Monday, May 15, 2017
Upcoming Events.
Pirelli World Challenge – SprintX and GTS
Event: Victoria Day Speedfest Weekend, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park
Dateline: Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
Date: Saturday, May 20 and Sunday, May 21
Track Length: 2.458-miles, 10-turn
Race Duration: Two, 60-minute races
Class: GT-X (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
GTA-X (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
GTS-X (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR)
GTS (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR)
Round: SprintX. Rounds 3 and 4 of 10
GTS. Rounds 5 and 6 of 18
Next Round: PWC at Lime Rock, Lime Rock Park, Lime Rock, Connecticut, May 26-27, 2017
Ultra 94 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama
Event: Victoria Day Speedfest Weekend, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park
Dateline: Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
Date: Race 1. Saturday, May 20
Race 2. Sunday, May 21
Track Length: 2.458-miles, 10-turn
Race Duration: Two, 45-minute races
Class: Platinum (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, MY 2017)
Gold (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, MY 2014-2016)
Round: 1 and 2 of 12
Next Round: Formula 1 GP of Canada, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, June 9 – June 11, 2017
Porsche Profile.
Event Story Lines.
One-Millionth 911. Porsche 911 Road and Race Cars Make Milestones.
The iconic Porsche profile is rolling off the Zuffenhausen-Stuttgart assembly line for the one-millionth time. The celebration came May 11 with a custom-built Carrera S in the special color "Irish Green," with numerous exclusive features echoing the original 911 that started it all in 1963. The two-door sportscar remains the most important model in the product range and is key in helping Porsche maintain its position as one of the most prestigious car manufacturers in the world.
Not only is the Porsche 911 the most recognizable car from the German marque, the familiar form is one of the most recognized machines of any kind the world-over. Part of its legendary status comes from its role as a symbol of winning on the race track. In its nearly 70-year history, Porsche has well over 30,000 race victories garnered in competition around the globe; more than half of those have been captured in a 911.
In North America alone, the Porsche 911 has set the standard in GT-style racing for more than half a century with an estimated win-tally of over 450 IMSA race victories. Currently, three iterations of Porsche Motorsport-built 911s are racing on the continent in 11 official championships.
The most advanced 911 ever built for the track, the RSR, debuted at the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January with a podium finish in the hands of the Porsche GT Team “works” program. It followed with additional podiums in the next two races of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTLM class. Also competing in the WeatherTech Championship, but in the Pro-Am style GTD class, is the GT3-spec 911 GT3 R.
In Pirelli World Challenge, the GT3 R is the Porsche of choice for the GT and GTA classes in both the Sprint and SprintX Championships while the 911 GT3 Cup car is the mainstay of the GT Cup category.
The world’s most-produced racing car, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is the one-make entry for the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenges by Yokohama in both the USA and Canada. It is also the entry for the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA.
The one-millionth 911 will not be sold. Before it moves on to enrich the collection at the Porsche Museum, it will embark on a world tour and will take road trips in the Scottish Highlands, around the Nürburgring, and in the USA, China and beyond.
Back On Track. Porsche Customers Return to PWC SprintX Racing In Canada.
One of the fastest growing race series in North America will face one of the fastest race circuits in North America on May 19 - 20 when the Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) SprintX Championship travels to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP). The 60-minute, two-driver format debuted at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) in late April with intense competition between factory drivers, international racing champions and amateurs each contesting for Pro-Pro, Pro-Am and Am-Am success.
Hosting its first race in 1961, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, formerly known as Mosport, has been the scene of great events in a variety of disciplines including World Challenge, IMSA, Indy car and Can-Am. The permanent, 10-turn facility undulates through the hills north of Toronto with fast sweeping corners and long straights that dare the brave. The track has some of the fastest lap times and highest top-speeds on the schedule.
In 2016, CTMP was the site of the first SprintX race with GMG Racing earning podium finishes in the No. 14 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Wright Motorsport swept the GT Sprint weekend with Porsche factory driver Patrick Long (Manhattan Beach, California) earning GT wins on both Saturday and Sunday in the No. 58 911 GT3 R. Michael Schein (Glen Cove, New York) took his first GTA class wins – one each day – in the No. 16 Wright machine.
The Porsche 911 GT3 R – the German company’s official entry into all international GT3-spec series – makes up the customer entries for the GT-X and GTA-X classes. The world’s most produced racecar, the 911 GT3 Cup car, is the choice for the Porsche customer teams in GTC-X, while the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR campaigns in the GTS-X category.
At VIR, Wright Motorsport’s No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R shared by Schein and Jan Heylen (Tampa, Florida) won GT-X Round 1 and finished in third-place in Round 2 for the Pro-Am class. The No. 14 GMG 911 GT3 R of Porsche factory driver Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and James Sofronas (Villa Park, California) was third on Saturday and finished in second-place at Sunday’s Round 2. The No. 90 Autometrics Porsche 911 GT3 Cup took the top-step of the Am-Am podium in both races at VIR in the GTC-X class with drivers Joe Toussaint (Houston, Texas) and Cory Friedman (Charleston, South Carolina). In the GTS-X races, Adam Merzon (Greenwich, Connecticut) and Trent Hindman (Long Beach, New Jersey) won the Pro-Am class both days in the No. 017 Case-It Racing Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR while their sister car, the No. 018 of Cameron Cassels (Canada) and Philip Bloom (New York, New York), was second in Am-Am each day.
In the two-weeks since the Virginia races, the championship contenders have learned lessons from the weekend to prepare for the challenges of two-driver and ten-minute longer events that differentiate the SprintX from the traditional PWC Sprint Championship, which is in hiatus until June 23 – 25. Two teams have had substantial repairs to their Porsche 911 GT3 Rs. The No. 58 Wright Motorsports machine shared by factory drivers Jörg Bergmeister (Germany) and Long suffered heavy damage when a competitor struck it from behind under caution – the car was forced to retire while contending for the overall lead. Repairs have been made by Wright for the car to return to the Pro-Pro class at CTMP.
The No. 77 Calvert Dynamics 911 GT3 R of Preston Calvert (Potomac, Maryland) and Alec Udell (The Woodlands, Texas) was hit earlier in Round Two from behind by the same competitor that eliminated the No. 58. Udell was uninjured when the black and yellow machine was pushed off course and made hard contact with a tire barrier doing substantial damage to the left-rear of the chassis. The Pro-Am class car traveled to Phoenix Performance where it was repaired and is ready for the trip to Canada.
Practice for the SprintX at CTMP begins on Friday, May 19 following promoter testing on the 18th. Qualifying will be on Friday afternoon with Round 3 taking the green flag 1:45 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 20. The grid for Sunday’s Round 4 is set by fastest race lap in Saturday’s 60-minute race. That race will begin at 3:40 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 21.
GTS Stand Alone. Four Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MRs Entered for PWC Sprint Race.
While the GT categories contend for SprintX points alone, the GTS/GT4 class has the option of also racing in the pair of 50-minute, single-driver Sprint format races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. Four Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MRs have been entered for competition at CTMP with two racing in all four of the events eligible to the GTS/GT4 entrants.
As it did in the SprintX season-opening rounds at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR), Case-It Racing will field a pair of Cayman GT4 Clubsport MRs in both Championships at CTMP. For Rounds 2 and 3 of SprintX GTS-X, the No. 017 will again be shared by Adam Merzon (Greenwich, Connecticut) and Trent Hindman (Long Beach, New Jersey) in the Pro-Am category. The pairing won its class in both SprintX races at VIR. Merzon will drive the car in the Sprint races alone; he finished a best third-place in Race 1 at VIR. The sister 018 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR will see Cameron Cassels (Canada) and Philip Bloom (New York, New York) racing in SprintX. They finished in second-place, Am-Am class, at VIR for both races. Bloom will solo the car in the 50-minute Sprint races.
Flying Lizard Motorsports, a longtime veteran of the Porsche brand, will focus solely on the Sprint Championship races at CTMP. The No. 3 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR will have quick Spaniard Rodrigo Baptista behind the wheel with Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Nate Stacy in the No. 14. The two cars are easily recognized by the traditional Lizard livery, the Baptista in the orange, Stacy in the neon-green.
Body In Motion. Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Leads IMSA CTSCC Standings.
A body in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. Following the first three races of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge (CTSCC) season, Bodymotion Racing has proven Newton’s First Law works in motorsports as well. The Mike Bavaro-owned team earned the first three victories for the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport when it debuted last season and was a contender throughout the year for the championship. Following the third round of the 2017 season at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Bodymotion is still in motion atop the GS/GT4 class point standings.
Despite off-season regulation changes – an outside force acting upon it if ever there was one – the No. 12 Bodymotion Racing Porsche driven by Cameron Cassels (Canada) and Trent Hindman (Wayside, New Jersey) opened the year with a convincing victory in the four-hour race at Daytona International Speedway. A shorter race at Sebring International Raceway in March was only good for a tenth-place finish but the team rallied at COTA to finish in third-place. All combined that gives the second-year driver pairing a six-point lead in the standings over fellow Cayman competitors Marc Miller (Holland, Michigan) and Till Bechtolsheimer (New York, New York) in the No. 33 CJ Wilson Racing GT4 Clubsport.
Bodymotion finished third in the 2016 standings with Cassels and Hindman on the shoulders of the three wins (Sebring, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Watkins Glen) and six podiums.
Bodymotion team is now back at its Ocean Township, New Jersey-headquarters awaiting Round Four of the CTSCC season at Watkins Glen International on June 29 – July 2.
Mike Bavaro, Team Owner, Bodymotion Racing.
"The team approached the season with a worthwhile goal — to win the CTSCC championship. To do this we knew we would need to provide the crew and drivers with the very best that we are able to in infrastructure, equipment, communications, technology and a car legal for competition within the new rules package. The new format has been the biggest challenge. We met the task well in the four-hour enduro at Daytona. However, the two-hour contests have us at a disadvantage due to increased weight and refuel time. It has not been a quick learn. We have now 13 races with our GT4 and we're still learning how to squeeze the best fuel mileage and keep up with the competition."
Cameron Cassels, Driver, No. 12 Bodymotion Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport.
"Overall, the season has been a great start for us as a team. As a driver I am fully aware of the impact that each race has for us when we are running for a series championship. However, my main focus is on minimizing mistakes and looking for improvement in each and every session that I run in the car. The Porsche GT4 Clubsport is a great platform which has helped us to have quick success in the series."
Trent Hindman, Driver, No. 12 Bodymotion Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport.
"We are still quite early into a race season that saw some pretty substantial changes to the regulations made during the winter months, so to me it seems that everybody is still trying to find their rhythm. I think it’s pretty clear that the newly adopted GT4 spec cars are very, very strong. Although I will say that our Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport is still equally as competitive considering we decided it was best for us at Bodymotion Racing to stay with the same car that we knew so well from 2016.
Luckily Cameron and I found the Cayman GT4 Clubsport fantastic to drive and very well situated straight from Porsche, which is no surprise to us. Going back to 2016 before the full GT4 specification cars were allowed in the GS class, we had to make some slight adaptations to our GT4 Clubsport to fit the GS rules package at that time. We spent all last year working to obtain the maximum amount of performance with that specific package and luckily we were able to transfer all of the knowledge and data gained in 2016 over to the 2017 season.”
Right on Time. Porsche Design Named Timing Partner of Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA
The Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA series announced that Porsche Design will serve as the Official Timing Partner of the racing series. Porsche Design, a name synonymous with iconic design and timepieces, will present the winners of the series championships with exclusive Porsche Design timepieces.
The timepieces will be presented to the five class winners at the end-of-the-year celebration in Monterey, California, following the season finale. The watches will be engraved on the case back with the driver's name, car number, class name, and series’ logo.
Porsche Design is also the official timing partner of the Porsche GT works team in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and FIA WEC World Endurance Championship as well as the PCA Club Racing Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Trophy East series.
Jan Becker, CEO of the Porsche Design Group.
“Inspired by performance and our passion for motorsport, we are honored to partner with the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA as the official timing partner of the series. Joining an impressive partner roster, including Porsche Motorsport North America and Pirelli, Porsche Design is excited to be part of the all-Porsche category championship in 2017 taking place on some of North America's best race tracks, including Laguna Seca, Circuit of the Americas and Road America.”
Greg Franz, President, Competent Motorsport.
“It is exciting for us to launch this new partnership with Porsche Design, as it is such a fantastic fit. Our Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA drivers are already very motivated to win the championship, but this will only add to that drive! It is also a fantastic thing for our entire series to become a part of the already impressive portfolio of partnerships that Porsche Design has established, and we are happy to welcome them as our newest partner.”
Porsche Entries at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
Pirelli World Challenge SprintX Championship.
Total Car Count: Eleven (11) Porsche entries will be competing in the four rounds of the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Nine (9) cars will run in Rounds 4 and 5 of the SprintX Championship, two of which will also compete alongside two non-SprintX Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MRs in the Sprint Championships GTS class, Rounds 5 and 6.
SprintX Championship.
GT-X Class – Pro/Pro – One (1) Porsche 911 GT3 R.
No. 58 Wright Motorsports Jörg Bergmeister (Germany)/ Patrick Long (Manhattan Beach, California)
GT-X Class – Pro/Am – Three (3) Porsche 911 GT3 R.
No. 14 GMG Racing Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium)/ James Sofronas (Villa Park, California)
No. 16 Wright Motorsports Michael Schein (Glen Cove, New York)/ Jan Heylen (Tampa, Florida)
No. 77 Calvert Dynamics Preston Calvert (Potomac, Maryland)/ Alec Udell (The Woodlands, Texas)
GTC-X Class – Am/Am – One (1) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
No. 90 Autometrics Motorsports Joe Toussaint (Houston, Texas)/ Cory Friedman (Charleston, South Carolina)
GTS-X Class – Pro/Am – One (1) Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR.
No. 017 Case-It Racing Adam Merzon (Greenwich, Connecticut)/ Trent Hindman (Long Beach, New Jersey)
GTS-X Class – Am/Am – One (1) Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR.
No. 018 Case-It Racing Cameron Cassels (Canada)/ Philip Bloom (New York, New York)
Sprint Championship.
GTS Class – Four (4) Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR.
No. 3 Flying Lizard Motorsports Rodrigo Baptista (Spain)
No. 14 Flying Lizard Motorsports Nate Stacy (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
No. 017 Case-It Racing Adam Merzon (Greenwich, Connecticut)
No. 018 Case-It Racing Cameron Cassels (Canada)
Where to Watch:
All Pirelli World Challenge Series information, audio and live timing and scoring for each on-track session is additionally available at www.world-challenge.com.
Pirelli World Challenge. Channel/Web Address
Race Broadcast. Live.
SprintX Race 1
Saturday, May 20
1:45 p.m. ET
Sprint X Race 2
Sunday, May 21
3:40 p.m. ET
GTS Race 1
Saturday, May 20
10:35 a.m. ET
GTS Race 2
Sunday, May 21
10:15 a.m. ET
Race Broadcast. Television.
SprintX
Sunday, May 28
6:30 p.m. ET
GTS
Wednesday, May 31
9:00 p.m. ET www.world-challenge.com
CBS Sports Network
Social Media.
Porsche Cars North America. @Porsche
Porsche GT Team (North America) @PorscheNARacing
Porsche Motorsport – GT Cars. @PorscheRaces
Porsche Racing – 919 Hybrid. @Porsche_Team
Model Hashtags.
Porsche 911 RSR. #911RSR
Porsche 911 GT3 R. #911GT3R
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup #911Cup
Porsche 919 Hybrid. #919hybrid
Event Hashtag.
Pirelli World Challenge at CTMP #PWCCTMP
Series Hashtags and Handles.
GT3 Cup Challenge USA. #GT3USA
GT3 Cup Challenge Canada. #GT3CAN
PCA Club Racing Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport Trophy East @CaymanGT4CSEast #GT4CSE
Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA @PirelliCupUSA
Future Porsche Events.
Pirelli World Challenge – SprintX and GTS
Event: Pirelli World Challenge at Lime Rock, Lime Rock Park
Dateline: Lakeville, Connecticut
Date: Friday, May 26 and Saturday, May 27
Track Length: 1.5-miles, 7-turn
Race Duration: Two, 60-minute races
Class: GT-X (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
GTA-X (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
GTS-X (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR)
GTS (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR)
Round: SprintX. Rounds 5 and 6 of 10
GTS. Rounds 7 and 8 of 18
Next Round: PWC at Road America, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, June 23-25, 2017
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
Event: SportsCar Classic, GTD Class Only, Raceway at Belle Isle Park
Dateline: Detroit, Michigan
Date: Saturday, June 3
Track Length: 2.36-miles, 14-turn
Race Duration: 1-Hour, 40-minutes
Class: GTD (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
Round: GTD. 5 of 12
Next Round: Six Hours of The Glen, Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York, June 29 – July 2
FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC)
Event: 24 Hours of Le Mans “Test Day”, Circuit del la Sarthe
Dateline: Le Mans, France
Date: Sunday, June 4
Track Length: 8.469-miles, 38-turn
Race Duration: NA
Class: LMP-1 Hybrid (Porsche 919 Hybrid)
LMGTE-Pro (Porsche 911 RSR, MY 2017)
LMGTE-Am (Porsche 911 RSR, MY 2016)
Round: NA
Next Round: 24 Hours of Le Mans, Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, June 17-18, 2017