Challenging Weather Conditions Prove No Match For De Angelis En Route To Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada By Yokohama Win At Indy Toronto

July 13, 2019
Staff Report
IMSA Wire Service

TORONTO – Roman De Angelis has been on a roll in Porsche GT3 Cup
Challenge Canada by Yokohama this season, entering the Indy Toronto
weekend with five consecutive wins through six rounds.If there was
one factor, though, that could have thrown the 18-year-old off his
game on Saturday ahead of Race 1, it was weather.
A strong summer storm rolled in over the Streets of Toronto just as
the GT3 Cup Challenge Canada green flag time was approaching and
ultimately caused a near two-hour delay. However, the storm passed,
allowing the field of Porsches to battle not only each other, but also
changing track conditions as the surface dried over the course of
the 45-minute race.
For De Angelis, overcoming the challenges to score a dominating
45-second, flag-to-flag victory on the 1.786-mile street course made
this particular victory a bit sweeter than the rest in his No. 79
Mark Motors Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.
“There was a pretty big build up right before the race,” said
De Angelis, of Belle River, Ontario. “There was probably two
hours where we were sitting there waiting to see if we were going
to race or not tonight. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever driven
better in my life. Something about Toronto and the rain earlier on
just fitted the Mark Motors car and the conditions. It was a lot of
fun on the slicks early on. Once again, I just can’t thank Mark
Motors enough. This is our sixth win in a row here and probably
one of the best feelings I’ve ever had right now.”
De Angelis will seek another weekend sweep in GT3 Cup Challenge
Canada on Sunday, with Race 2 of the weekend scheduled for
1 p.m. ET. The race will be streamed live on the Porsche GT3 Cup
Challenge Canada Facebook page.
Earning his second runner-up position in three races was Jeff Kingsley
of Ajax, Ontario, in the No. 16 Policaro Motorsport Porsche. Kingsley
held the position throughout the race after qualifying second earlier
in the day.
Rounding out the podium – and also taking home the Yokohama
Tire Hard Charger Award for gaining the most positions during
the race – was Parker Thompson in the No. 3 Porsche for SCB Racing.
“What a day,” said Thompson, who is pulling double duty this weekend
between GT3 Cup Challenge Canada and the Indy Pro series. “I was
running back and forth between two categories and honestly, this
SportsCarBoutique No. 3 was on rails this whole weekend. Unfortunately, I missed it in qualifying and ended up P7, which is disappointing.
It’s one of our worst of the year and honestly, the car is the best it’s been.
“I wanted to make sure I put on a show and drove that car up the
field and that’s what we did. No better way to showcase your talent
than half wet, half dry. The car was unreal. I can’t thank the crew
enough, Owen Hayes, Ilker Starck, our owner. These guys work so
hard to get to track every weekend so it’s awesome to reward them
with a podium.”
In the Platinum Masters class, Marco Cirone is on a streak of his own
in the No. 88 Mark Motors Racing Porsche. After sweeping both
victories at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park just last week, Cirone
repeated on Saturday in the class for drivers 45 years and older.
Cirone described his race strategy as one with a bigger picture in
mind, as he seeks his sixth Platinum Masters championship in 2019.
“The weather conditions were very, very challenging,” said Cirone.
“It was very difficult to put the power down and there was a lot of
action in front of me and behind me. I wanted to protect my point
lead and here if you make a mistake, you’re in big trouble. I wasn’t
aggressive as much as I should’ve been, but I don’t regret it. I’m
glad I got the win, I’m glad I preserved the car and I’m here to
race tomorrow.”
Sunday brings Round 8 of the 12-round season for Porsche GT3
Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama. For news and updates for
the remainder of the season, please visit IMSA.com or 
Porsche.com/Canadaand join the conversation on social media
using the hashtags #GT3Canada and #IMSA. 
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