Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA launches 2015 season at COTA

The Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA series began March 6-8 at Circuit of the Americas. Drivers were faced with ever-changing weather and track conditions, making the race weekend one to remember. Round #1 included two sprint races over the course of the weekend.

The series had the opportunity to share the excitement of weekend with the fans by providing live streaming via the Competent Motorsport website (www.competentms.com); the weekend races will also be televised on MAV TV (dates to be announced).

Twenty drivers and teams representing both the new Diamond Class (2014-2015 991 GT3 Cup) and Platinum Class (2010-2013 997 GT3 Cup) signed up for the season opener. Representatives from both Pirelli Tires North America and Porsche Motorsport North America were on hand to partake in the weekend races and festivities.

Friday was a "test and tune" day for the drivers where during the course of the day the track provided them with wet conditions in the morning to sunny dry conditions in the late afternoon. With this event being the first outing in 2015 for many of the drivers, the anticipation and excitement was visible throughout the day.

With the changing weather conditions forecasted for the weekend, each driver/team needed to take into consideration the weather when qualifying for the each race on Saturday and Sunday to ensure the proper setup was in place before taking the green flag.

Will Hardeman, an Austin native, led the Diamond Class in qualifying on Saturday and showed early on that he was going to be someone to be dealt with when the green flag dropped as he was one second faster than runner ups Oscar Arroyo (JDXRacing) and Alessandro Chiocchetti (Competition Motorsports).

The Platinum Class also had some local talent leading the way during qualifying as Austin local Fred Kaimer (NGT) set the pace with Mark Nelson (TRG) and Seth Davidow (Autometrics) right behind him.

Race #1 on Saturday was held in dry and mild weather conditions and the 45 minute race had a racing clinic presented by Will Hardeman when the checkered flag waved with a 35 second gap to second place. There was great racing throughout field providing a number of races within the race for the enjoyment of the spectators. For the most part the Diamond Class drivers took delivery of their new cars less than a month before the weekend and this was their first test under fire. Fred Poordad (Competition Motorsports) and Jesse Menczer (BRRacing) fought throughout the race with Fred holding on to second place with Jesse coming in third on the podium.

Fred Kaimer went to the front of the Platinum Class and was mixing it up with the Diamond Class GT3 Cup cars throughout the race as he crossed the finish line leading the pack. Mark Llano (NGT) captured second place and Seth Davidow took third place on the podium in this hard fought battle in the Platinum Class.

Platinum Masters Class raced as competitive and aggressive as the other classes with John Trefethen (BRRacing) winning with John Scarlett (Air Power Racing) second and Ray Shahi (Truspeed Autosports) capturing third place on the podium.

Sunday's weather forecast of rain was as anticipated which made both the qualifying session and race a challenge for all participants; these conditions tested the driver's ability to stay focused on the task in front of them as well as anticipating the next turn or straightaway they may encounter. As such, the top qualifying times were close to 20 seconds off the pace produced on Saturday. The qualifying leaders were Will Hardeman (Diamond Class), Fred Kaimer (Platinum Class) and John Trefethen (Platinum Masters Class).

Will Hardeman won Race #2 of the Diamond Class with Jesse Menczer second, and with steady driving in the wet conditions as Michael Zuieback (Competition Motorsport) captured the third spot on the podium.

Fred Kaimer fought hard for this victory in the Platinum Class with Mark Llano challenging him throughout the race while Mark Nelson gained the third position on the podium.

Go the Competent Motorsport website (www.competentms.com) to see the 2015 schedule and the venues that are in store for the drivers of the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA series.

Round #2 of the Series will be held at Mid-Ohio on June 5-7.