PWC: Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA champ plans GT Cup run

Reigning Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA champion Colin Thompson will move up to the Pirelli World Challenge Championships in 2015, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the GT Cup category.

Thompson will once again partner with Kelly Moss Motorsports which is set to collaborate with TruSpeed Motorsports for the 2015 season. Both teams are seasoned Porsche experts well-suited for World Challenge's new spec Porsche class.

"TruSpeed is a West Coast team and Kelly Moss is centrally located," Thompson explained. "This makes sense because they had a driver or two and we had a driver or two, so between the both of us, we could create a strong team while bringing down costs."

Thompson will drive the No. 11 Porsche of Bucks County Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and notes that fans can expect the same orange and black livery on the car.

The 2015 World Challenge GT Cup Championship consists of 18 rounds over the course of 10 different events.

"The biggest thing for me is now I'm the headlining event at a lot of races," Thompson said. "We're going from being a support race, to being a headliner. These are 50-minute sprint races from a standing start. It's absolute madness. We've got every class under the moon on the track at the same time. Our class is still GT Cup, so it's still all Porsches, but we'll be on track with Audis and Cadillacs and Bentleys, the whole nine yards."

After winning the 2014 Porsche GT3 Cup USA crown, Thompson was invited to attend the Porsche Young Driver Academy. There, the panel recommended he spend 2015 in World Challenge's new spec Porsche category, where the competition is expected to be fierce. Ever since then, Thompson has had his sights focused on his next title.

"I've been working every hour of the day to get new sponsors online and working with Kelly Moss closely to make sure everything is flowing the way it should be," Thompson said. "(Team Manager) Jeff Stone and I have been working really hard together to create something we think will benefit the team. Make no mistake, this is not a learning season for us; we're going after a championship. Next to that, I've been doing a lot of physical training to make sure I'm prepared."

Thompson will make his Pirelli World Challenge debut March 6-8 at Circuit of The Americas.