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Subtitle:Thompson Paces Rennsport Practice In Return To Series

MONTEREY, Calif. (Sept. 25, 2015) – 2014 Platinum Cup champion Colin Thompson returned with authority to the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, producing the quickest lap over two practice sessions Friday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Thompson, from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, led with a lap of 1 minute, 28.499 seconds in the No. 5 Kelly-Moss Motorsports Porsche as drivers prepared for the season-ending Rounds 15 and 16 during Porsche Rennsport Reunion V.

This was Thompson’s first day in the International Motor Sports Association-sanctioned single-make series since clinching the Platinum Cup Drivers Championship in October 2014 at Road Atlanta. He raced full time this season in another Porsche GT3 Cup championship.

“I was a little nervous coming into the championship because the level of competition definitely has stepped up,” Thompson said. “Coming back and having to stack up against those guys again, it definitely put pressure on me to come back and do well as the reigning champion of the series.

“Adjusting to the Yokohama tires took a session, but we feel like we’re back on par once again and feeling extremely comfortable.”

2015 Platinum Cup championship contenders Elliott Skeer and Jesse Lazare were right behind Thompson today on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit that features the iconic “Corkscrew” turn complex.

Points leader Skeer, from Carlsbad, California, was second overall at 1:28.627 in the No. 14 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Lazare, from Montreal, was third at 1:28.662.

Series rookie Skeer leads Lazare by 25 points, 241-216, in the standings. Skeer needs to finish eighth or better in class in the season-ending Rounds 15 and 16 to clinch the title. He has finished no lower than seventh in the Platinum Cup class during any of the first 14 rounds this season.

Angel Benitez Jr., from Miami, was fourth overall at 1:28.854 in the No. 05 JDX Racing Porsche, as just .355 of a second separated the top four drivers. Andrew Longe, from Naples, Florida, rounded out the top five at 1:29.507 in the No. 47 Fall-Line Motorsports Porsche.

David Ducote, from Houston, was the top Platinum Masters competitor at 1:30.185 in the No. 6 Kelly-Moss Motorsports entry. Ducote started last season in Platinum Masters and then switched to Gold Cup and Gold Masters, where he also has raced this season until this event.

Newly crowned Platinum Masters champion Kasey Kuhlman, from Cincinnati, was second in class at 1:30.530 in the No. 15 Wright Motorsports Porsche.

Jeff Mosing continued his roll by leading the Gold Cup and Gold Masters classes at 1:31.070 in the No. 01 TOPP Racing Porsche. Mosing, from Austin, Texas, clinched the Gold Cup and Gold Masters championships by sweeping both races in the class last week at his home event at Circuit of the Americas.

Qualifying will start at 11:30 a.m. (PT) Saturday, Sept. 26, with Round 15 taking the green flag at 2:20 p.m. that afternoon.

Round 16 will begin at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 27.

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