Lazare Dominates For Sweep

Subtitle:Young Star Wins At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca For Third Victory Of 2016

MONTEREY, Calif. (April 30, 2016) – Jesse Lazare completed a sweep of both Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, powering away from the field to win Round 4 on Saturday.

Lazare, from Montreal, beat Lucas Catania to the finish of the 45-minute race by 7.412 seconds. The victory was his third in four starts this season in the No. 21 Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. He also won Round 3 Friday and Round 1 in mid-March at Sebring International Raceway.

“Zero problems,” Lazare said. “The car was absolutely phenomenal. It was so perfect.”

Catania, from Cazenovia, New York, preserved his Platinum Cup championship lead with his second consecutive runner-up finish at this event in the No. 26 NGT Motorsport Porsche. Ricardo Perez, from Mexico City, earned his third podium finish of the season by placing third in the No. 02 JDX Racing Porsche.

Andrew Longe, from Naples, Florida, finished fourth in the No. 47 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Mike Hedlund, from Redwood City, California, rounded out the top five in the No. 77 Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche.

Jeff Mosing, from Austin, Texas, completed an event sweep of the Platinum Masters class in the No. 01 TOPP Racing Porsche. Michael de Quesada, from Tampa, Florida, earned his third Gold Cup victory of the season to pad his championship lead in the No. 31 Alegra Motorsports Porsche.

Lazare started from pole for the second consecutive race and wasted no time establishing his dominance. He built a 1.505-second lead after one lap around the 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit and expanded that margin to 5.8 seconds after just 10 minutes.

The gap grew to nearly nine seconds over Catania during the second half of the race, as Lazare never was challenged. The race was caution-free, giving Catania no chance to try to attack Lazare on a restart.

“Jesse was really quick,” Catania said. “I put my head down and tried to push, but I just couldn’t catch him. I tried to stay consistent and slowly pulled away from the pack, and it worked out and I finished second. It’s a good points weekend.”

Lazare pulled to within 11 points of leader Catania with the two victories, trailing 74-63. Rounds 5 and 6 are on his home asphalt, at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve – only a few miles from his home – on June 10-12 during the Canadian Grand Prix Formula One event in Montreal. That event also will feature the first-ever joint races between the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama and the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama.

“I’m so excited for Montreal,” Lazare said. “It’s my hometown. I love the track. It’s 10 minutes from my house. I’m going to love to race against the Canadian series. I know all of my sponsors are going to be there to support me, and I’m going to put on a good show for them.”

Platinum Masters

Mosing, the 2015 Gold Cup and Gold Masters champion, gained the Platinum Masters points lead with his second victory of the season. He started from the class pole and pulled away to a 20.054-second victory over TOPP Racing teammate David Baker.

“I tried to stay out of any kind of trouble,” Mosing said. “I was just trying to run consistent laps. Thanks so much to Porsche Motorsport North America. Thanks to Yokohama and to TOPP Racing. I love this track. It’s a lot of fun and a big challenge, especially to find grip early in the morning. Hat’s off to the guys for giving me a great car.”

Baker, from Colleyville, Texas, earned his first podium finish of the season in the No. 56 TOPP Racing Porsche. Bill Peluchiwski, from Chicago, placed third in the No. 74 Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche.

Mosing eased to the victory in Platinum Masters, but his race was far from serene. He avoided a spin by Platinum Cup standout and fellow Texan Will Hardeman early in the race. Hardeman rallied and climbed through the field after his spin, threatening Mosing for the sixth overall finishing position with vigor throughout the final stages of the race.

But Mosing held off Hardeman to claim sixth overall.

“Hat’s off to Hardeman for spinning and then giving me hell at the end of the race,” Mosing said. “It was a good battle there.”

Gold Cup

De Quesada, 16, rallied from a fourth-place finish in Round 3 to again stand atop the podium and expand his Gold Cup championship lead to six points over Michael Levitas, 74-68.

“Today I got off to a good start and made a good pass, and then once I got in front, I just tried to do my best not to make any mistakes,” de Quesada said. “I like this track, but it’s hard. The conditions change a lot, and you have to be very careful sometimes.”

Sebastian Landy, from Great Falls, Virginia, completed a strong weekend with a second-place finish in the No. 49 TPC Racing Porsche. He won Round 3 on Friday.

Levitas, from Baltimore, earned his fourth consecutive podium finish this season by placing third in the No. 36 TPC Racing Porsche.

De Quesada started third in the Gold Cup field but passed Landy and Levitas for the lead just five minutes into the race. He maintained a steady gap of one to two seconds for the rest of the race, keeping Landy at bay.

“I was trying; I was really hoping to be able to chase him (Michael de Quesada) down,” Landy said. “I got a little unlucky with the way the traffic played out over the first couple of laps, and then he got away.”

De Quesada earned the Yokohama Hard Charger Award, presented to the driver who gains the most positions in the race.

Up Next

Rounds 5 and 6 will take place June 10-12 in Montreal as part of the Canadian Grand Prix Formula One event.

It will be the first-ever joint event between the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama and the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama, which will race simultaneously on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Points will be awarded separately for each series. Drivers in both series also will earn points toward the inaugural IMSA North American Cup, awarded to the driver who scores the most points overall in competition in the USA and Canada championships.

ROUND 4 POST-RACE QUOTES:

JESSE LAZARE (No. 21 Kelly-Moss Road and Race, winner): “Zero problems. We did an adjustment yesterday for today’s race, considering it’s going to be colder on track and that we had the new tires. The car was absolutely phenomenal. It was so perfect. I just took advantage of everything I can, tried not to make mistakes. We got our gap, and in the next half of the race I just tried to maintain it and not make too many mistakes.” (About next event, in his hometown of Montreal): “I’m so excited for Montreal. It’s my hometown. I love the track. It’s 10 minutes from my house. I’m going to love to race against the Canadian series. I know all of my sponsors are going to be there to support me, and I’m going to put on a good show for them.”

LUCAS CATANIA (No. 26 NGT Motorsport, second): “It was good. We had green flag from start to finish. But once I got around second place, Jesse (Lazare) was really quick. I put my head down and tried to push, but I just couldn’t catch him. I tried to stay consistent and slowly pulled away from the pack, and it worked out and I finished second. It’s a good points weekend, and I want to thank NGT Motorsport for giving me a great car. I am looking forward to Montreal.”

RICARDO PEREZ (No. 02 JDX Racing, third): “Jesse and Lucas were very, very fast this weekend. I made my best effort. The car was OK, but in the middle of the race, I didn’t have the speed to catch him (Lucas Catania). Then I said: ‘It’s good points for the championship.’ Two podiums in my second race; it’s good. We are happy. We need to work more and see if in Montreal we can win the race. I’m excited to be there. We need to work very hard with the team. I’m very happy to be in this series.”

JEFF MOSING (No. 01 TOPP Racing, winner, Platinum Masters): “Pretty amazing. I tried to stay out of any kind of trouble. I was just trying to run consistent laps. (Will) Hardeman ended up spinning coming out of (Turn) 11, so that gave me a position. Trying to get the brake balance right, I ended up flat-spotting a tire in Turn 5. I struggled with that a little at the end of the race. Hat’s off to Hardeman for spinning and then giving me hell at the end of the race. It was a good battle there. Thanks so much to Porsche Motorsport North America. Thanks to Yokohama and to TOPP Racing. I love this track. It’s a lot of fun and a big challenge, especially to find grip early in the morning. Hat’s off to the guys for giving me a great car.”

DAVID BAKER (No. 56 TOPP Racing, second, Platinum Masters): “I stayed out of trouble today. I had more patience and consistency, and I was a lot smoother in my driving. I was a lot more consistent with my lap times, and it helped. It was a great day. I want to thank the folks at Apex Capital, TOPP Racing, Porsche Motorsport and Yokohama for such a great weekend.”

BILL PELUCHIWSKI (No. 74 Kelly-Moss Road and Race, third, Platinum Masters): “It was a lot of fun back there. Unfortunately, I didn’t qualify where I wanted to be. I had to start from a little bit further back. It was a battle, had a little contact, but ultimately made it up, and we got here. Thanks to Kelly-Moss for a lot of work yesterday and today.”

MICHAEL DE QUESADA (No. 31 Alegra Motorsports, winner, Gold Cup; Yokohama Hard Charger Award winner): “Yesterday there were a lot more Platinum cars between me and the leader. Today I got off to a good start and made a good pass, and then once I got in front, I just tried to do my best not to make any mistakes. I like this track, but it’s hard. The conditions change a lot, and you have to be very careful sometimes.”

SEBASTIAN LANDY (No. 49 TPC Racing, second, Gold Cup): “I was trying; I was really hoping to be able to chase him (Michael de Quesada) down. I got a little unlucky with the way the traffic played out over the first couple of laps, and then he got away. I think we just missed it a little bit with the setup. But try as I did, we didn’t have enough. I could gain a couple of tenths on him, but I couldn’t do it consistently enough to close the gap. We really made the Yokohama tires work, but they lasted really well. They did a good job. Second is good. Points are great. It’s a good result. I think it’s the best we could have done today with the setup the way it was. I’m really happy to get two podiums – a win and a second – for Forto Strong Coffee. It’s a great way to finish the weekend. A win would have been great, but I’ll take second.

MICHAEL LEVITAS (No. 36 TPC Racing, third, Gold Cup): “Fun! Big fun today. Had a great start in the TPC car. Got out there and had a good lead going, but to the credit of Michael (de Quesada) and Sebastian (Landy), those boys were running hard. If I ran a low (1:) 30, they backed it up with a (1:) 30, and when I did a (1:) 31, they were doing a (1:) 30, and they were right there. They were racing hard. All the drivers did a really great job. It’s just a great series, and I couldn’t have any more fun.”