Lewis Continues Hot Streak With COTA Pole

Subtitle:Other Top Qualifiers: McKenzie In Platinum Masters, Madsen In Gold, Mosing In Gold Masters

The momentum behind Michael Lewis shows no sign of slowing after qualifying for the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama on Thursday at Circuit of the Americas, as he earned his fifth pole position of the season.

Lewis, from Laguna Beach, California, turned a track-record lap of 2 minutes, 13.546 seconds in the No. 98 Competition Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian Porsche. Lewis, 23, has scored more points in the last three rounds than any driver and is third in the Platinum Cup (2014 car models) championship, just five points behind leader Colin Thompson.

“We’ve been working hard, and off the track I’ve been trying to get my hands on anything I can to better myself as a driver and always try to improve,” Lewis said. “The team is doing the same thing. That quest for knowledge and trying to go faster is culminating right now.”

Lewis led a speed parade of the top four drivers in the Platinum Cup championship on the starting grid for Round 13, a 45-minute race that starts at 8 a.m. (CT) Friday. Just 20 points separate the leading quartet – Thompson, Angel Benitez Jr., Lewis and Sloan Urry – with four rounds remaining in the season.

Championship leader Thompson, from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, will join Lewis on the front row after a top lap of 2:13.617 in the No. 14 Kelly-Moss/Porsche of Bucks County entry. Fourth-place championship contender Urry, from Park City, Utah, will start third after a lap of 2:14.261 in the No. 20 JDX Racing Porsche. Championship runner-up Benitez, from Valencia, Venezuela, will start fourth with a best lap of 2:14.517.

Christina Nielsen, from Aarhus, Denmark, rounded out the top five at 2:14.566 in the No. 25 NGT Motorsport 911 GT3 Cup car.

Lewis blitzed the 20-turn, 3.4-mile circuit with his fast lap early in the 20-minute session, beating the effects of a steamy, scorching Texas sun that broke through after morning showers moved away.

“We went into this qualifying session expecting full dry and hot conditions, so I really stressed the importance of doing it early to save the tire,” Lewis said. “The Yokohama tire is really, really awesome, but this Texas heat is really intense.

“To be honest, I just put everything I had into those first two laps and had fingers crossed I would have no traffic, and it actually ended up being that way. I managed traffic well.”

Platinum Masters

Mark McKenzie earned a surprise pole in the Platinum Masters (drivers age 45 and older) class in his first start of the season. McKenzie, from Austin, Texas, turned a top lap of 2:15.189 in the No. 19 Wholesale Parts/Moorespeed Porsche.

McKenzie has plenty of track knowledge at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) despite his inexperience in this championship. He runs Austin-based Ranger Excavating, which performed the earthwork during the construction of the circuit. He also has turned many laps on the circuit during club events and track days.

“I have a lot of laps in bulldozers and excavators,” McKenzie said. “I probably know more about the track than anyone, honestly. I’ve done a lot of Ferrari Challenge stuff, Porsche stuff, different track days. I’ve got probably hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of laps here. Different cars are a challenge, but the track I know.”

Championship leader Kasey Kuhlman qualified third, behind McKenzie and David Calvert-Jones. Kuhlman, from Cincinnati, leads Calvert-Jones in the standings by 59 points and only needs to lead by 40 after the two races Friday at COTA to clinch the season championship.

Gold Cup

Gold Cup (2010-13 car models) championship leader Patrick-Otto Madsen earned the pole with a top lap of 2:16.707 in his No. 99 ANSA Motorsports Porsche, a track record for the class.

Madsen, from Boca Raton, Florida, leads the Gold Cup championship by 14 points over Jeff Mosing.

“I was really happy with it, and I’m looking forward to a couple of wins,” Madsen said. “Our last win came (in May) at Lime Rock, and we’re looking for some more wins. I’ve got to keep my head on straight because I only have a 14-point lead right now in the championship. I have to finish, and that’s also on my mind.”

Two Texans occupied the next two spots in Gold Cup. Austin resident Mosing qualified second at 2:17.126 in the No. 01 Topp Racing Porsche, with Houston resident David Ducote third at 2:17.186 in the No. 6 Kelly-Moss/Porsche of Bucks County entry.

Gold Masters

Mosing missed the pole for Gold Cup, but he claimed the top spot in the class for drivers 45 and older. He also is second in the championship for this class, six points behind Fred Poordad.

But Mosing doesn’t worry about his place in the standings or try to calculate his points possibilities any time during the weekend.

“The less that I tend to wrap my head around what’s going on with points, the better I do,” Mosing said.

Ducote was the second-quickest qualifier in Gold Masters, followed by teammate Paul Barnhart Jr. at 2:17.388 in the No. 17 Kelly-Moss/Porsche of Bucks County entry.

Schedule, Race Coverage

Two 45-minute races are scheduled for Friday, Sept. 19. The first race starts at 8 a.m. (CT), with the second at 7:25 p.m.

The second race will be the first in series history to end in darkness, with drivers guided by the headlights on their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. It will create the series’ version of “Friday Night Lights” – the incredibly popular phenomenon of high school football in Texas.

Fans can follow the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama races Friday from COTA in many ways. Both races will be streamed live at the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama section of IMSA.com. Live timing from all on-track sessions also is available at IMSA.com, with live text commentary from all sessions tweeted @IMSALive.

A one-hour show featuring coverage from both races also will be televised Saturday, Oct. 18 in various U.S. markets as part of a new syndicated network television package partnership between the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) and Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBGI). That broadcast also will be available on YouTube after it airs on television.

The new TV package debuted Sept. 13 with a show featuring the season opener in March at Sebring International Raceway. That broadcast also is available now at the IMSAvids channel on YouTube and on IMSA.com. The next show on Sinclair’s American Sports Network (ASN) is this Saturday, Sept. 20, featuring Rounds 3 and 4 of the season from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

POST-QUALIFYING QUOTES:

MICHAEL LEWIS (No. 98 Competition Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian, pole, Platinum Cup): “I studied really hard what I needed to do on myself as a driver. In practice it was a little bit slippery, but we went into this qualifying session expecting full dry and hot conditions, so I really stressed the importance of doing it early to save the tire. Basically after two or three laps you can’t get it back. The Yokohama tire is really, really awesome, but this Texas heat is really intense. To be honest, I just put everything I had into those first two laps and had fingers crossed I would have no traffic, and it actually ended up being that way. I managed traffic well.” (This is your first time here. How did you prepare?): “Watching a lot of video, a lot of sim time, more or less just talking with people. Anything I can get my hands on physically as a driver, a simulator, a lot of video. Moreso than me, the car is prepared really well by my team. We’re in a tough series, so everything is more or less stock, but my team never has failures, the engine runs great, they tune this thing well. Hats off to them for putting me in the situation to go on pole.” (You’ve scored more points in the last three rounds than any other driver. What is going so well?): “Just good, old-fashioned hard work and a little bit of confidence. We’ve been working hard, and off the track I’ve been trying to get my hands on anything I can to better myself as a driver and always try to improve. The team is doing the same thing. That quest for knowledge and trying to go faster is culminating right now.”

MARK McKENZIE (No. 19 Wholesale Parts/Moorespeed, pole, Platinum Masters): “I’m fairly inexperienced in these cars, and we made some changes before qualifying, and it took me a little while to adapt. My quick lap was lap seven, which is a little unusual, but it was definitely me adapting to the changes we had made to the car. By lap seven, I got a decent lap in, so we’ll go race from there.” (About familiarity with track, as he has turned many laps here in other cars and also runs company that excavated facility during its construction): “I have a lot of laps in bulldozers and excavators. I probably know more about the track than anyone, honestly. I’ve done a lot of Ferrari Challenge stuff, Porsche stuff, different track days. I’ve got probably hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of laps here. Different cars are a challenge, but the track I know.”

PATRICK-OTTO MADSEN (No. 99 ANSA Motorsports, pole, Gold Cup): “Our guys really nailed the setup this weekend because the car was just magnificent to drive. The car is so neutral, and it’s a real pleasure to drive that car. I love this track; I love this place. There is so much room to run around. So I just went out there and drove as fast as I could, and the results came. I was really happy with it, and I’m looking forward to a couple of wins. Our last win came at Lime Rock, and we’re looking for some more wins. I’ve got to keep my head on straight because I only have a 14-point lead right now in the championship. I have to finish, and that’s also on my mind. The cars are so equal, and sometimes it gets really hard to pass when you get behind cars here, although there are a few good passing opportunities. So it helps to be on pole, and therefore I can try and pull away get with the Platinum cars and never look back."

JEFF MOSING (No. 01, Topp Racing, pole, Gold Masters): “We’ve been struggling with the setup a little bit up until quals. We made some changes, and it improved. But the quadrangle got really tight when it rubbered in, and I think I might have left something on the table there. But hat’s off again to Todd Oppermann and Paul for getting the car. Everything I do, they make changes, and the car responds. We’re happy with that. Rain or shine, I think we have good setups for both situations. I would actually prefer us to go out there and pound it out in the rain. But if we don’t, it’s fine, too. I’m ready to race.” (How do you mentally balance contending for championship in Gold Cup and Gold Masters): “We’ve really had a good year in the Continental series in ST along with Eric Foss, and I’ve been focusing heavily on that when we look at data and video. We still look at things for GT3 Cup. But the less that I tend to wrap my head around what’s going on with points, the better I do. So I try not to think about it too much because I never thought I had a chance, anyways, because I had missed two races. So being now that I guess I am in contention, it’s all fun and good, but I’ll go out there and drive, and however it’s going to fall, it’s going to fall.”