Trois Rivieres, Quebec – Temperamental weather and a challenging street course did not stop the Mark Motors Racing team from finishing on the podium in every category!
The Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama was off to a confusing start when the decision to cancel qualifiers Saturday morning was made as the drivers were rolling onto the grid, which left drivers starting Race 1 later that afternoon based on points. This was disappointing for driver Perry Bortolotti as this left him starting last, being his first race of the season. “It was great to return to the Mark Motors Racing Team after a two year sabbatical” said Bortolotti. “Having raced with the Bestline and Mark Motors team for so many years it was like I was never really gone. Considering I have not driven competitively for some time I was pleased with my results. It is always very satisfying to do well against the higher horsepower cars in Platinum. The net result being the Yokohama Hard Charger award in Sunday’s race for most cars being passed. That was partially due to the fact that I had to start last on the grid due the qualifying fiasco. The qualifying was declared a wet session and we were doing quite well P5 overall only to find out the session had been cancelled at the end. The net result was the grid was set by points. Having not participated in any other events this year it put me at the back. The challenge here was all the Platinum cars that we out qualified started in front of me making for a very difficult run through the field. As they say ‘that’s Racing’.”
The decision to cancel qualifiers made driver Zach Robichon’s job difficult, as his 2nd place start made it that much harder to get an edge on leader Scott Hargrove. “The weekend was a challenging one with changing weather conditions keeping us guessing as to what would happen” said Robichon. “Saturday’s race started on points due to unsure weather in qualifying, meaning that we would be starting 2nd on track where it is notoriously difficult to pass. Race 1 was challenging but we turned the setup around for Race 2 where we applied immense pressure on the leader [Scott Hargrove] for the entire race. Due to the nature of the track we were never able to get by and take home the win, however a pair of 2nd place finishes are something to be proud of and we look to continue this amazing season at the season finale!”
Saturday was a busy day for driver Roman De Angelis, as he was competing in the F1600 series as well as the GT3 Cup. “All in all a very good weekend for me” said De Angelis. “As you know this race we were doing double duty with the F1600 series as well as the GT3 Cup. In total 5 races and two of which were back to back with only 30 minutes in between. It takes a few laps of the race to switch from open wheel cars to the GT3 but I am happy with my results. In Porsche GT3 Cup I took home two 1st place trophies in Gold class as well as P6 overall which we were pleased about. I now have one week off and then I will have back to back races for 5 weekends in a row. We have decided to finish the US GT3 series and will try to capture that championship as well. Special thanks to IMSA, Bestline and of course our sponsor Mark Motors.”
Seasoned driver Marco Cirone continued his class domination with a fantastic race weekend. “Winning both races in the Platinum Masters category was what we wanted to accomplish from the first moment we arrived” said Cirone. “We had a great setup and the races went nearly perfect. Thanks so much to the Bestline team for a great car! This really helps our Championship heading into the last race weekend of the series. Hoping to bring another championship home to Mark Motors.”
Stay tuned and follow Mark Motors Racing for their final race weekend at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario September 1st-3rd.
About Mark Motors Racing
Mark Motors Racing is an amateur racing team competing at the highest level of sports car racing in North America. As three-time Platinum Masters champions, Mark Motors Racing is dedicated to the growth of Porsche Motorsports in Canada and developing a strong motorsport foundation for creating tomorrow’s champions.
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