Mirabel, QC race characterized by close racing throughout the field.

MIRABEL, June 5, 2011 – Would the weekend’s activities at Circuit ICAR, wind up being “more of the same” like at Calabogie three weeks earlier? While it looked as if two-time winner Perry Bortolotti would once again dominate the weekend outside of Montreal, fate threw a wrench into the works.

The races were split in to two 45-minute competitions, one on Saturday, one on Sunday. Both races offered nearly ideal conditions under clear skies with temperatures around 19 degrees . While track temperatures were not a problem according to the competitors, the bumpy nature of the converted airport circuit made the race more physically and mentally demanding than anticipated.

At the drop of the green flag, top qualifier Perry Bortolotti of Kanata, Ontario, almost immediately pulled out an early lead in Saturday’s race. But Bortolotti, driving the #84 SpeedMerchants/Fiorano Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup had his mirrors full for nearly all of the 27-lap race, with a “take no prisoners” duel between Martin Harvey of Berthieville, QE and Shaun McKaigue of Guilford, ON. Second place passed back and forth between the two twice.

“It was a great race!” said Harvey, who hails from the same home town as Canadian racing legend Gilles Villeneuve. “I worked very hard to get back by Shaun once, then he got me again, then I got by him again! It was very hard to hang on to my second place. We had a great battle, which was great for the spectators. But on some of those passes, I don’t think you could have put a piece of paper between our cars!”

“We had a blast,” echoed McKaigue. “It was so much fun. Martin was doing a few sectors more quickly than me, but then I would do other sections quicker than him.”

While ICAR track didn’t offer many opportunities to pass, both drivers managed to do so cleanly. “Here, trying to pass is all about the braking zones,” said McKaigue. “After a while, your tires get hot and your car starts slipping. Martin did a fantastic job of saving it on one corner where he could have quite easily hit me. But he didn’t. I tried to do the same for him in another corner.”

Harvey also acknowledged McKaigue’s sportsmanship. “Yes, well we were both over-using our Michelins and at one point, he too could have easily put me off. But Shaun didn’t. I guess we were having too much fun to have it end that way,” he added.

In the end, Bortolotti motored on to a comfortable 11 second win over second-place Harvey.

The finishing order for Saturday’s race at Circuit ICAR:

1. Perry Bortolotti          SpeedMerchants/Fiorano Racing
2. Martin Harvey            Wingho Motorsport Racing
3. Shaun McKaigue     Fiorano Racing
4. Bruce Gregory          SpeedMerchants
5. Robert Seitz              SpeedMerchants/Fiorano Racing

James Hoddinott, who crashed his car in qualifying when a non-Porsche part failed and jammed the throttle open, was not able to get his car repaired in time to start the race, even though he had qualified the SpeedMerchants/Fiorano Racing car in fourth.

Initially, the Sunday race looked to be a repeat of Saturday’s. As they took the green flag thrown by Jasmin Rawlinson, Porsche Canada’s Director of Marketing, and headed for the first turn, Bortolotti once again took the lead. But it was to be short-lived – he had struck a piece of debris and broke a ball joint in left front suspension.

“I could feel it hit, then it started to wobble. The wobbling got worse and worse so I finally had to back off and let the field go by,” Bortolotti explained. “Honestly, I thought I had cut one of the Michelins and I had lost a tire. But despite the wallop, the Michelin was just fine.”

Bortolotti’s sudden lift of the throttle almost caused a catastrophe. “Perry had no choice and we were all bunched pretty closely. It’s a testament to the quality of the drivers that we all got through unscathed,” said Bruce Gregory, who was making his first GT3 Cup Challenge Canada appearance.

During the confusion, Robert Seitz, driving a Silver-class 2005 GT3 Cup, slid down the inside and into the lead. “At least I can now say I led a lap in a GT3 Cup race,” he added with a smile.

With Bortolotti out of the race and Seitz being passed by the newer, quicker cars, the field quickly settled in for a race-long duel for first, second and third. At one point, you could have “covered the first three cars with a blanket,” offered one of the track announcers.

Martin Harvey continued to chomp at leader Shaun McKaigue’s heels until the fifth lap when he passed him coming on to the front straight. McKaigue tried to get past Harvey several times, but began to overheat his tires. “You can only abuse tires so much. Even if they are Michelins,” he smiled.

The cars circulated in order, with Harvey ahead of McKaigue and Gregory for several laps. But as his tires cooled and the grip returned, McKaigue decided to make another move for the lead and Gregory followed right behind. With the help of a late-race full-course yellow, they closed up on Harvey, cutting his lead to less than a second.

“That little mid-race break didn’t only help my tires,” said McKaigue. “This place is a lot of fun, but it’s not like a traditional track. It’s bumpy, like all airport tracks, and there are not a lot of straights, so there is no time to relax. So to save wear and tear on the car, tires and myself, I tried to follow a consistent line and waited to make my move. If I’d made a mistake, Bruce (Gregory) would have been by me in a shot and he would have taken off after Martin.”

In the end, Harvey held on to win by 0.486 seconds over McKaigue and 0.961 seconds over first-timer Gregory.

The finishing order for Sunday’s race at ICAR:

1. Martin Harvey             Wingho Motorsport Racing
2. Shaun McKaigue      Fiorano Racing
3. Bruce Gregory           SpeedMerchants
4. Robert Seitz               SpeedMerchants/Fiorano Racing
5. Perry Bortolotti           SpeedMerchants/Fiorano Racing

For most of the competitors, the next event is at Mosport on July 23-24. But for both Perry Bortolotti and Martin Harvey, their next stop is next week in Montreal, to run in the Porsche GT3 Cup race in support of the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

“I will be there racing for my two favorite charities,” smiled Harvey. “One is Ronald McDonald House for families with children who are receiving treatment for cancer; the other is for the Musee Gilles Villeneuve in my home town of Berthierville. I will be very proud, no matter how I finish!”

The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge has become a fixture on the world’s racing scene. Run on every continent except Antarctica and Africa, the GT3 Cup Challenge will hold about 120 events and 255 championship rounds in 2011. The concept of a Porsche based one-make cup series dates to 1986, with the Rothmans-Porsche Challenge Series for normally-aspirated Porsche 944s in Canada and the Porsche Turbo Cup Championship for 944 Turbos in Germany.
The series is divided into three classes; Platinum Cup, featuring the more powerful 2011 and 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, Gold Cup, which includes 2005½ - 2009 Porsches, and Silver Cup for 2002 – 2005½ 996 Porsches. All three classes run on Michelin tires.
Three events comprise the inaugural season of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada: May 14-15 at Calabogie Motorsports Park (Calabogie, Ontario), June 3-5 at Circuit ICAR (Mirabel, Quebec) and ending the season on the same racing card as their American counterparts July 23-24 at the Mobil 1 Presents the Grand Prix of Mosport. The season’s overall champion will be presented with a Tudor Heritage Chronograph, provided by Rolex Canada.

Additional information, including competitor regulations, is available at http://www.imsaracing.net.