IMSA: Porsche GT3 champions enter GTD for endurance races

Alegra Motorsports will enter the IMSA Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup in 2017 with the hope of racing the full WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule in the GT Daytona class in the all-new Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Alegra Motorsports will field a GT3-spec 2017 Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by an all-star lineup starting at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, including 2016 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge champions Daniel Morad, Jesse Lazare and Michael de Quesada, along with former Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge champion and team principal Carlos de Quesada, who won the 2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

The team also plans to compete in the GTD class in at least three other North American Endurance Cup races: 12 Hours of Sebring on March 15-18 at Sebring, Florida, Six Hours of The Glen on June 29-July 2 at Watkins Glen, New York, and Petit Le Mans on Oct. 4-7 at Braselton, Georgia.

Morad, from Toronto, won the Platinum Cup class in the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama and captured the IMSA North American Cup in 2016, his second season with Alegra Motorsports. Lazare, from Montreal, captured the Platinum Cup title last season in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama. Michael de Quesada, from Tampa, Florida, won the Gold Cup class championship in 2016 in the USA series at age 16, the youngest champion in series history. Carlos de Quesada, also from Tampa, Florida, won the Gold Cup title in Canada in 2013.

"This is an unbelievable lineup of young talented drivers," de Quesada said. "Alegra has been around for 20 years, and I can say that these three drivers are some of the most talented I've ever worked with."

The team will be guided by veteran team manager Andy Greene. Under Greene's guidance, the Alegra Motorsports team won the Platinum Class Team Championship in the 2015 and 2016 Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama seasons.