Hargrove Rules Round 7

Subtitle:Reigning Platinum Cup Champ Runs Away To Win At Trois-Rivières

TROIS-RIVIÈRES, Quebec (Aug. 1, 2015) – Scott Hargrove crossed off the last remaining venue without a victory on his Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin résumé, leading every lap of Round 7 on Saturday, Aug. 1 at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières.

Hargrove, from Surrey, British Columbia, drove his No. 25 OpenRoad Racing Porsche to a 14.292-second victory over Daniel Morad, from Thornhill, Ontario, in the No. 22 Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville entry. Hargrove won at least one round at every single event last season en route to the Platinum Cup championship as a rookie – except the popular Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières (GP3R).

“Last year we had a phenomenal year, but this was the one track where I felt we just didn’t get the job done,” Hargrove said. “So I knew going in to this weekend we had to be perfect.

“When you race here, you are more driven to win. Even though I was in the lead, I wanted to put on a good show for the fans, so I drove the car 10-tenths because they deserve to see me driving the car as hard as I can. I am just really excited to race in front of such amazing GP3R fans.” 

Platinum Cup championship leader Chris Green, from Montreal, finished third in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche after a race-long duel with Morad. Green holds a 13-point lead over Morad with three rounds remaining in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned Single-Make Series. Green has finished on the podium in all seven rounds this season.

Etienne Borgeat, from Montreal, finished fourth in the No. 2 GT Racing Porsche. Marco Cirone, from Toronto, rounded out the top five and was the leading Platinum Masters finisher in the No. 88 Mark Motors Racing Porsche.

Michael De Quesada, from Odessa, Florida, earned his third consecutive Gold Cup victory of the season in the No. 24 Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports entry.

Round 8, a 45-minute race, is scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. (ET) Sunday, Aug. 2. The race will be streamed live on fanschoice.tv. Live timing is available at scoring.imsa.com, with live text commentary on Twitter @IMSALive.

Hargrove started to pull away from the field from the pole on the first lap of the 45-minute race. Morad and Green kept him in sight for the first 15 minutes, staying within two seconds of Hargrove on the 10-turn, 2.433-km (1.5207 miles) temporary street circuit.

But Hargrove began to pull away during the final 30 minutes, slicing deftly through lapped traffic while Morad and Green were forced to focus on each other’s position and traffic during that span.

The only close call for Hargrove came with 12 minutes left in the race. He was lapping Gold Cup points leader Orey Fidani when the two made side-to-side contact. The incident cost Hargrove a few tenths of a second, while Fidani just missed hitting the concrete wall lining the circuit.

Hargrove recovered quickly. He regained his lead of nearly eight seconds over Morad within a lap, and he extended that lead to 11.808 seconds within the next five laps.

“It’s really tight traffic here at GP3R, and so you get into the lapped traffic right away,” Hargrove said. “Some of them weren’t quite moving over as quick as you like being a leader, but you have to understand they are running their own race so you can’t be too upset about it.

“But at the end of the race, everything just went my way. The car felt phenomenal, one of the best cars I've had all year and in the last two years I have been running this series. So hat’s off to the OpenRoad Porsche guys, and I am just really, really happy to be here and get the win.”

While Hargrove pulled away, Morad and Green continued their intense, race-long duel to the checkered flag.

Morad had extended his lead over Green to 1.931 seconds with 19 minutes left. But Green never stopped charging as the two drivers see-sawed through traffic. Green pulled to within a few lengths of Morad with two minutes left in the race, but he couldn’t get close enough to attempt a pass of Morad over the last two laps, falling .363 of a second short at the finish.

“Held on to third place because right off the get-go we had an oil alarm every time I got close to traffic, so it kind of screwed me up a bit throughout the race, and I had to manage a bit of a gap (to Morad),” Green said. “But hat’s off to Daniel and Scott today. They were obviously very quick today. But we will be back faster tomorrow in the Pfaff Castrol car.”

Said Morad: “It was really, really tight out there, and I was under a lot of pressure from Chris, and I just needed to keep my wits about me and keep looking forward and focus on the next car to overtake rather than Chris gaining on me when I got stuck behind lapped traffic. The difficult part about our situation was that he was right behind me, so I was the first one to come up on lapped traffic, and so once I went through, he would sneak in with them, and then I would have to build the gap back up and then the same thing would happen. So it was five or six times where he ended up closing the gap and put on the pressure, and I had to defend.”

Platinum Masters

Cirone earned his sixth Platinum Masters victory in seven starts this season, extending his lead in the points to 138-128 over Tim Sanderson.

“We came into Trois-Rivières, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes and try to build a lead over Tim because Tim is a great driver,” Cirone said. “Any slight mistake, and he’s going to be there to take advantage of my mistakes and gain some points.”

Sanderson, from Pickering, Ontario, finished 11.609 seconds behind Cirone in the No. 07 Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports entry. It was his sixth runner-up finish in his first season in Platinum Masters. He also has one victory, in Round 3 at Toronto.

Chuck Harris, from Tampa, Florida, finished third in the No. 50 Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports entry. It the second podium finish of the season for 2014 Silver Cup champion Harris.

Cirone was locked in a tight duel with Borgeat for fourth place throughout the first half of the race. He pulled in front of Borgeat early in the race but lost the position, eventually settling into a rhythm to keep his gap ahead of Sanderson.

“Etienne is a great driver,” Cirone said. “He loves this track. He is very, very fast here.

“I managed to get a good start. I was ahead of him. But unfortunately I wasn’t able to keep him behind me because he was putting on too much pressure, and he was just that little bit quicker. So I tried for a couple of laps, but then afterward I just had to give it to him.”

Gold Cup

De Quesada, 15, continued his incredible summer stretch with his third straight win. He earned his first two series victories in early July at Calabogie Motorsports Park and kept on rolling at GP3R.

Gold Cup championship leader Orey Fidani, from Woodbridge, Ontario, used a late pass of Shaun McKaigue to finish second in the No. 13 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche. Fidani extended his points lead to 122-110 over Martin Harvey with the finish.

McKaigue, from Gilford, Ontario, ended up third in the No. 34 Fiorano Racing Porsche.

2011 Gold Cup champion McKaigue hounded pole sitter De Quesada throughout the first 20 minutes of the race, staying within two seconds or less. But De Quesada started to pull a few more tenths of a second over the next few laps to earn a consistent, smooth victory.

De Quesada has become a looming threat in the Gold Cup championship race. He is third with 108 points, just two behind second place Harvey and 14 behind Fidani.

“Everything was good,” De Quesada said. “It was my first time here, and I was working through the pavement changes. They are not as bad as Toronto, but you can wear your front tires and your front brakes out really easily and lock up a lot. You have to be careful with that.

“That was the biggest thing for me: taking it easy and not making too many mistakes. I absolutely learned a lot today.”

McKaigue, from Gilford, Ontario, faced another challenge after De Quesada pulled away in front. Fidani charged to within .559 of a second of McKaigue with 21 minutes left and continued to pour on pressure.

Fidani lost momentum after his contact with overall leader Hargrove. But he didn’t lose faith. Fidani regained control and climbed toward McKaigue, passing him for second in the final moments of the race.

“I absolutely had a blast today, and my hat’s off to all the boys,” McKaigue said. Michael and I had a good thing going there in the beginning. We were neck and neck, and I flat-spotted the tires going into the back straight, so I had to kind of baby it along, but Orey (Fidani) made a fantastic pass on me in the back straight. It was just a blast, and everybody raced hard and clean. It was a tribute to the series.”

Said Fidani: “I came into the race and just went as hard as I possibly could. Put down some fast laps and just worked my way up to second, fighting Shaun the whole time. Pretty fun and pretty intense. I am just glad to come in second and extend the points lead.”

ROUND 7 POST-RACE QUOTES:

SCOTT HARGROVE (No. 25 OpenRoad Racing, winner): “Last year we had a phenomenal year, but this was the one track where I felt we just didn’t get the job done. So I knew going in to this weekend we had to be perfect. Chris (Green) and Daniel (Morad) were going to be quick, and they were. In qualifying it was even closer than in practice. So we definitely had to work for it. But at the end of the race, everything just went my way. The car felt phenomenal, one of the best cars I've had all year and in the last two years I have been running this series. So hat’s off to the OpenRoad Porsche guys, and I am just really, really happy to be here and get the win.” (About contact when lapping Orey Fidani): “It’s really tight traffic here at GP3R, and so you get into the lapped traffic right away. Some of them weren’t quite moving over as quick as you like being a leader, but you have to understand they are running their own race so you can’t be too upset about it. But at one point I went into Turn 1, and I don’t remember who it was, but he bumped into me and turned in while I was there. But the car is OK, and I think it’s just cosmetic. The Porsche is strong, and other than a little bit of bodywork, we will have it all fixed up and ready to go.” (About passionate, big crowds at GP3R): “When you race here, you are more driven to win. Even though I was in the lead, I wanted to put on a good show for the fans, so I drove the car 10-tenths because they deserve to see me driving the car as hard as I can. I am just really excited to race in front of such amazing GP3R fans.” 

DANIEL MORAD (No. 22 Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports, second): “My heart’s still beating. Not so much from Chris (Green) being behind me, but from the lapped traffic out there. I was a little nervous coming up on the Gold Class cars because you are never certain what they are going to do. They are in a race of their own, so they have their own battle to fight. It’s hard when you have two classes going up against each other, but that’s sports car racing. Its something I am getting used to more and more, especially on such a tight circuit like here. It was very enjoyable to see the checkered flag. It was really, really tight out there, and I was under a lot of pressure from Chris, and I just needed to keep my wits about me and keep looking forward and focus on the next car to overtake rather than Chris gaining on me when I got stuck behind lapped traffic. The difficult part about our situation was that he was right behind me, so I was the first one to come up on lapped traffic, and so once I went through, he would sneak in with them, and then I would have to build the gap back up and then the same thing would happen. So it was five or six times where he ended up closing the gap and put on the pressure, and I had to defend. But in the end, Alegra Motorsports and Porsche Center Oakville Motorsports gave me a great race car today.”

CHRIS GREEN (No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports, third): “From my opinion, it was a jump start at the beginning. Held on to third place because right off the get-go we had an oil alarm every time I got close to traffic, so it kind of screwed me up a bit throughout the race, and I had to manage a bit of a gap (to Daniel Morad). But hat’s off to Daniel (Morad) and Scott (Hargrove) today. They were obviously very quick today. But we will be back faster tomorrow in the Pfaff Castrol car.”

MARCO CIRONE (No. 88 Mark Motors Racing, first Platinum Masters): “We came into Trois-Rivières, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes and try to build a lead over Tim (Sanderson) because Tim is a great driver. Any slight mistake, and he’s going to be there to take advantage of my mistakes and gain some points.” (About duel with Etienne Borgeat for fourth): “Etienne is a great driver. He loves this track. He is very, very fast here. I managed to get a good start. I was ahead of him. But unfortunately I wasn’t able to keep him behind me because he was putting on too much pressure, and he was just that little bit quicker. So I tried for a couple of laps, but then afterward I just had to give it to him. I don’t think we had the correct setup. But with the temperatures changing so much and the rain, we took a little chance. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little better.”

TIM SANDERSON (No. 07 Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports, second Platinum Masters): (Comparing this year in a Platinum Cup car to last year in a Gold Cup car at GP3R): “The car definitely is quicker. It’s certainly more responsive. I found it easier to drive in a lot of ways. We had an eventful race, so it was fun to Etienne (Borgeat) and Marco (Cirone) duke it out for a little while. I was chasing Harry (Steenbakkers), and he seemed to lock them up going into corner 4, and I was more worried he was going to loop it in front of me and I was going to collect him. But he managed to keep it together and ran in the run-off area. We had a good race. I was just trying to run consistent laps. I was on my own for a long time, so I was just trying to be consistent.” (Did the rain between qualifying and the race change the track?): “I didn’t find that. Once the tires came in, there was plenty of grip.”

CHUCK HARRIS (No. 50 Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports, third Platinum Masters): (Comparing this year in a Platinum Cup car to last year in a Silver Cup car at GP3R): “This course is pretty tight, so it kind of collapses a bit with the differential between the cars. It puts a little bit more of a premium on handling. But the car is quicker. I ran quicker than I did last time by a couple of seconds per lap, so I was pretty happy with that. The car ran well, the tires did good, and I just had a good time out there.” (How much did rain between qualifying and the race change the track?): “It was maybe a little bit greener out there, but I was just happy it was dry.”

MICHAEL DE QUESADA (No. 24 Alegra/Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsports, winner Gold Cup): “Everything was good. It was so hot, but it was good. It was my first time here, and I was working through the pavement changes. They are not as bad as Toronto, but you can wear your front tires and your front brakes out really easily and lock up a lot. You have to be careful with that. On the back straightaway in that corner, you can’t carry too much speed because there is a concrete change there, and it can put you into the tires. That was the biggest thing for me: taking it easy and not making too many mistakes. I absolutely learned a lot today.”

OREY FIDANI (No. 13 Pfaff Motorsports, second Gold Cup): “I didn’t know what to expect coming here. I ran practice on Friday and did all right. Wasn’t really where I wanted to be but went into qualifying and did a little better. Came into the race and just went as hard as I possibly could. Put down some fast laps and just worked my way up to second, fighting Shaun (McKaigue) the whole time. Pretty fun and pretty intense. I am just glad to come in second and extend the points lead.”

SHAUN McKAIGUE (No. 34 Fiorano Racing, third Gold Cup): “I absolutely had a blast today, and my hat’s off to all the boys. Michael (De Quesada) and I had a good thing going there in the beginning. We were neck and neck, and I flat-spotted the tires going into the back straight, so I had to kind of baby it along, but Orey (Fidani) made a fantastic pass on me in the back straight. It was just a blast, and everybody raced hard and clean. It was a tribute to the series. It was well organized, as it always is. The fans here are just amazing. Someone mentioned that the fans pump you up and make you really want to race hard. These are real race fans, and it’s a pleasure to be here.”