We are set to go, for the second race of the weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for Blancpain GT World Challenge America. Can Ferrari double up? Or will someone else take the race win the second time out, here, in Canada. The driver's are on their pace lap, scrubbing their tires in. Mercedes has a healthy lead in the GT World Challenge championship, but Ferrari are hot on their heels. The cars are formed up, on their warmup laps, behind the safety car as we get set to go for the second time, here, in Canada. We anticipate the green flag at the end of this lap. Lights out atop the safety car. As per usual, this race will be 90 minutes, with two drivers per team. One pit stop, halfway through the race, with a ten minute window to do the stop. Also, the teams cannot exceed a time delta of 62 seconds to get the stop completed.
Safety car easing away from the field, and we're ready to roll. The field is about to be unleashed! Alvaro Parente has pole, in the Bentley. Here they come. The green flag waves, and they're off and racing at Mosport! Dennis Olsen is fighting Maxime Soulet already, look, as they head downhill towards turn two for the first time. With his track knowledge here at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Scott Hargrove is the bloke making early moves as this motor race is just underway. Alvaro Parente is pulling a gap already, look, on yesterday's race winner, Toni Vilander. It's a fair fight between Bentley and Ferrari. Now, pay attention, too, in the middle of the pack as Kyle Marcelli has started the #80 Racer's Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3. Toni Vilander in the Ferrari dives down through turn four and then up again, into Moss corner for the first time of asking.
Big compression through Moss, and the pressures aren't up on these cold Pirelli P Zero tires just yet, so it's a bit iffy for traction for the driver's as they start this race. Holy cow! Alvaro Parente in the Bentley hangs on for dear life as he runs wide through Moss corner! Dennis Olsen in the Porsche is also up there. This is the #91 Pro Am class Wright Motorsports car he is sharing with Anthony Imperato. Olsen was very impressive in qualifying. We watch Kyle Marcelli who is sneaking up on Ryan Dalziel, and here comes Scott Hargrove! Hargrove wasting no time as he wants to get to the front, and fast!
Hargrove realizes the move he makes is just not on, look. He decides discretion is the better part of valor at this point. Hargrove has the experience here at Mosport, even though he lives 4,000 kilometers away from the track, in another part of Canada. Alvaro Parente is definitely the minnow here, as Toni Vilander, the icy cool Finn, is playing the role of the shark. Flat out as the tires are in their sweet spot. Parente has to tidy his entry up through Moss. Now onto the Mario Andretti straightaway once again. Parente just doesn't have the mechanical grip in the Bentley's Pirelli tires right now. Marco Holzer is harrying Kyle Marcelli as well. Scott Hargrove was the bloke moving through on Holzer.
Trent Hindman is running well aboard the RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 #43, taking the place for this race, of Bret Curtis, who is having back trouble, so he has to sit this one out. Hindman competed in Pirelli GT4 America this weekend here, at Mosport. Race one of that championship, spoiler alert, is posted on the blog. So, go back and watch it if you can. This lap, Alvaro Parente slows his entry to Moss corner and so he'll have a far better exit away from the turn. Vilander in the Ferrari, meanwhile, has some understeer to contend with. This group of three at the front is breaking free from the rest of the pack which includes Maxime Soulet, Ryan Dalziel, Scott Hargrove, Marco Holzer, Colin Braun, and Marc Miller.
So, we have quite a few brands represented. Bentley, Ferrari, Porsche, Acura, and Mercedes, among them. R. Ferri won their home race here yesterday, and he has a busy, busy schedule. He runs in two different sports car championships, here, in SRO, and in IMSA, and then, he commentates for Formula 1 for Finnish television, plus, he will be racing the 24 Hours of Le Mans coming up in less than a month, a race you will hear about, here on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog, as always. Through turn eight, the Ferrari runs a tighter line and carries boatloads of speed. Vilander remains second, behind the Bentley of Parente.
Parente continues to lead up the Andretti straightaway once again. Maxime Soulet in the second of the Bentley's, is close at hand. Ryan Dalziel has been pleased lately with the handling of the Mercedes AMG GT3. The Ferrari uses much less track in order to get the speed. But Soulet just uncorked the fastest lap time of the motor race so far. It's warmer today than it has been all weekend, and so the tire and car engineers have had to extrapolate new ideas from the data, for car setup. There are certain parameters of the tire pressures that are recommended by Pirelli that they have to stay within. George Kurtz is confident in his first foray into GT3 after being a GT4 champion in years past.
So, it's Alvaro Parente still leading while his team mate, Maxime Soulet is reeling in Dennis Olsen in the Porsche. Trent Hindman is now running within a tenth or two of Kyle Marcelli. The start, in replay, was a clean one. Maxime Soulet in the sister K-PAX Bentley has joined the lead battle at the sharp end. Dalziel is opening an amount of daylight between himself and Marcelli. These high downforce GT3 cars and this track, stymies the drivers on being able to make moves. You have to attack immediately so you don't end up with rooted tires. People try to make their moves through turn ten as well. That's a brilliant overtaking place.
Hargrove is closing fast on Marcelli. Both Canadian drivers, have tremendous track knowledge here at Mosport, at CTMP. Marco Holzer is being pursued hotly by Colin Braun, while Trent Hindman is doing very well in the RealTime Acura, before co-driver Dane Cameron, takes over the car for the second half of this motor race. Hindman is a plug and play driver indeed. Again, Bret Curtis is not driving because of his sore back, probably watching the race at home, cheering on his team. Trent Hindman moves, forces his way by Michael de Quesada into turn ten. de Quesada is also under pressure, look, from the BMW, the #96 Turner Motorsports car in the hands of Takuya Shirasaka.
Michael de Quesada is falling into the clutches of the Japanese BMW driver. There was a touch there between the Porsche and the Acura. Thus, allowing Shirasaka to pass. Hindman has done very well for Acura in another championship. It is incredible, because you don't realize how much your muscles are being torqued as a race driver, and a track like Mosport will show that. Ryan Dalziel has dialed in the Mercedes. The Mercedes is very stable and very compliant over the bumps. Evolution packages for other cars have come out, but the current package for the Mercedes is working really well. However, Dalziel is being hotly pursued, by Kyle Marcelli.
Back to the sharp end, we can see that Alvaro Parente maintains his one second advantage in the lead of this motor race, over Toni Vilander. Parente has clocked the fastest lap so far at 1:17.114. Vilander and Parente are 1-2 in championship points right now. In 2018, the race was washed out in the first day, and the Bentley put on slick tires, and Parente put on a flier. Last year, it was a shorter sprint race, not a SprintX event, which they all are in 2019. Norway's Dennis Olsen, he has also been incredible, driving the Wright Motorsports Porsche today, so far. Great parity between the manufacturers in GT3, as all of them have different driveline and engine layouts. Bentley, Ferrari, Porsche, Bentley, top four.
The engine sounds are tremendous. But, Dennis Olsen feels a handling issue in that Porsche. A slight twitch means he might have picked up some clag on his tires. K-PAX Racing's Thomas Blam says that the tire pressures weren't too different between the two cars. Pit lane delta is a big deal for the Bentley boys. They are running behind an Am class Porsche at the moment. Parente is doing all he can right now. K-PAX and Wright have done very well on pit stops and so has R. Ferri. We have about 20 minutes before the pit stops occur. Stay tuned, folks. The pit stops will put the cat among the pigeons.
Soulet can begin applying the pressure to the Porsche. Everybody is in the game right now. Marco Holzer, Colin Braun, Marc Miller, and Trent Hindman, have their own four way battle. Marc Miller and Till Bechtolsheimer won in Pro Am yesterday. Braun went defensive on Miller and then scooted over to the inside. You have to be proactive, not reactive. Hindman closes, and here comes Colin Braun, trying to edge closer to the Porsche, as this scrap steams along for eighth overall. Marco Holzer runs eighth, with the rest of these aforementioned chaps behind him. Miller still closing on Braun, look. Hindman is also in there. He's not quite close enough to make a banzai move.
Hindman has to hand the car to Dane Cameron in good condition. Takuya Shirasaka is still fighting on in the BMW M6 as well. The motor in that car after their off course excursion yesterday, was fine. They were very lucky to not cook the goose yesterday. Parente moving away from Vilander, in turn, moving away from Olsen. That's how it looks in the top three at the moment. We are approaching the half hour mark in the race. The rim shot is the preferred line around Mosport, but you have to be really brave to make it work to full effect. Vilander still a second behind Parente. The parity, again, is unreal. The top seven are separated by just 3/10ths of second. Yikes!
It is much warmer now than it has been all weekend. The pit window will open soon. Parente over Vilander, with a second between them. Dennis Olsen leads Pro Am, running third in the overall. Toni Vilander commentates on Formula 1 for Finnish TV, and if he keeps the gap where it is right now, if this were F1 instead of GT3, he'd be in DRS range for sure. No DRS on a GT3 car. Kyle Marcelli had dropped behind Ryan Dalziel, but the Acura driver is now closing back up on the Mercedes pilot as we watch their battle for position. Martin Barkey is the Am driver for the pairing with Racer's Edge. Racer's Edge team boss John Mirachi hopes they can leapfrog places during the pit stops.
Vilander is closing the gap steadily on Parente, just 8/10ths of a second away. Who will blink first? No one at the sharp end of the grid has had a free and clear weekend. The points ebb and flow all the time even though this is only round six of the championship. This race is crucial for R. Ferri, as they are the home team, based in Canada. They won yesterday. Can they win again today? Olsen, Soulet, Dalziel, and Marcelli are next in line. Marc Miller has a tough time through turn four. The compression up that hill is tough. Hindman and Miller are getting back on the button in the Acura's. Trent Hindman has made his way around Colin Braun, at the wheel of the Mercedes. This four car battle for eighth involves Pro and Pro Am cars.
The pit window is now open. Marco Holzer continues holding off Marc Miller. Bentley are the first to blink and are in the pit lane, now. Maxime Soulet pits from sixth overall. It isn't always the leaders who blink first and head for the lane. Rodrigo Baptista takes over. Porsche in the lane as well. This is one of the Alegra machines. Ah yes. The #22 machine. 1:02.138 for K-PAX. Right at the bare minimum! #43 is in the lane as Dane Cameron takes over the RealTime Acura. They have a slow stop, 70 seconds. It's tough to get everything done within the delta. A couple minutes to halfway.
Motor racing is a team sport, and so, these pit stops put the responsibility on the pit crews as much as it does the drivers. Parente continues leading Vilander. Alvaro Parente is not ready to duck into the lane just yet. Vilander's most recent lap was within 3/10ths of a second of his best of the day. Vilander wants to sweep the weekend for Remo Ferri and get past the Bentley. On the pit stops, teams are allotted one, one minute joker pit stop, but they can only use it once per race weekend, either in race one or race two. Vilnder means business and flying Finn is reeling in the Bentley hand over fist here.
1:50 for yesterday's Pro Am winners, on their pit stop. So, Gradient Racing are behind the eight ball now. Don't cut your in lap too close. The Ferrari can run a more acute angle to the road on corner entry and apex compared to the Bentley which leaves a big swath of space. R. Ferri and Ferrari are in fine form. Marco Holzer has made his pit stop for Alegra Motorsports and has switched drivers over to Wolf Henzler. David Askew lets the leaders by after he comes off pit lane. Don't go over the pit lane line, or you will be pinged by the SRO stewards. Treat that line as if it were a concrete wall. Bentley and Ferrari are now in the lane at the same time.
Vilander into the box, and he will turn the car over to Miguel Molina. The duel is on. Now, Andy Soucek, the Spaniard takes the Bentley over from Alvaro Parente. It's the battle of the Spaniards, as the Bentley boys use the joker. It'll be a two second gap. K-PAX has a great level of experience in endurance racing compared to sprint racing. Team boss Darren Law wants the team to analyze and practice pit stops. Once timing cycles through, everyone will have completed their pit stops. Soucek leads Molina and Baptista with 39 minutes to go.
Dane Cameron is eighth overall and fifth in Pro. He has made up a lot of track position. He runs a 1:17.2. It's hammer time for Rodrigo Baptista who runs a 1:16.7, the fastest lap so far in the motor race! Dear me! Unreal. Cameron moves by the other Acura, Martin Barkey at the wheel of it. Mosport is Barkey's local track, but the pros are really going for it. Dane Cameron loses two seconds in traffic, look. Andy Soucek leads as Rodrigo Baptista wants by Miguel Molina. But what does Baptista have left in the locker? Anthony Imperato in the Porsche still leads Pro Am ahead of David Askew in the Mercedes. Dane Cameron in the Acura is next up in the overall.
Soucek still leads this motor race. New fast lap for Soucek in Bentley #9 as we watch Molina and Soucek scrap. Anthony Imperato continues leading Pro Am. Patrick Long is five seconds adrift in the sister Wright Motorsports Porsche. Rodrigo Baptista is dropping behind Miguel Molina at the moment. The Ferrari is gentle on it's tires which means they are cooler than they need to be. With the nature of Mosport, track position is crucial. This is a point stated earlier, but it still holds true. Anthony Imperato is cutting some great lap times, just a tenth or two slower than Porsche factory driver, Patrick Long. Long is fifth overall. Not good for Molina, as he has traffic, passing by the Mercedes, the #04, George Kurtz at the wheel of it. Kurtz can't just shroud himself in a smokescreen like a spy car driver.
Rodrigo Baptista has dropped back a shade. Patrick Long still runs fifth overall. Soucek has seven seconds over Molina. Molina still has his hands full with Baptista, as Imperato continues to impress as well. Patrick Long is catching Anthony Imperato. But, Imperato is an amazing driver, running for Wright Motorsports in the GT3 spec Porsche. Yesterday's Pro Am winner, Till Bechtolsheimer is not having the same race he did yesterday. Andy Soucek leads this race now by seven some odd seconds, look. He had no ABS in qualifying, but has been running real well today. Bentley might just score the win to equalize with Ferrari on points.
Rodrigo Baptista is reeling in Miguel Molina. He has plateaued on the aerodynamics trying to catch Molina. Andy Soucek just pipped his team mate for best lap of the race. Everyone else runs 1:17.2 or worse, while Bentley's run in the 1:16 bracket. Ferrari just does not have the same pace as the Bentley's do. Just under 24 minutes to go in the race. The Bentley is well suited to every track on SRO America's schedule. Miguel Molina is keeping the sister Bentley at bay up the Mario Andretti straight and then, into the final corner before the front straight. They just touch the deck on through turn five but don't damage the under body of these GT3 machines. Now, poor old Anthony Imperato is sinking like a stone. He had to make an unscheduled stop, with a recalcitrant fueling rig. Poor old Imperato is on the back foot now.
That moves Patrick Long and Scott Hargrove up, and also, Dane Cameron and Trent Hindman in the Acura, the RealTime car. Just 20 minutes to go now. There's some debris on the road, as Martin Barkey leads Pro Am. The Racer's Edge Acura is indeed the class leader, looking for a better race than they had on Saturday. Trent Hindman had an actual wake up call, awakened from his sleep to get into the car. He headed straight to track and got things together to get in the race car, in under an hour. Trent Hindman is thankful to Bret Curtis for giving him the opportunity, hoping Bret Curtis heals soon. Andy Soucek still leads, but the margin has shrunk from eight to five and a half seconds. It's so, so easy to lose a couple of seconds on the road.
Soucek has six seconds in hand over Miguel Molina as he passes Martin Barkey in the Racer's Edge machine. Naoto Takeda, the Japanese Blancpain GT Asia driver, has the Turner BMW 13th overall. Andy Soucek gets past Martin Barkey who does not want to hold up the race leader just about 15 minutes to race before we see the checkers here in Canada today. The Shirasaka/Takeda team did a one off with Turner Motorsports at Utah Motorsports Campus last year, and were eager to return, and now, this race has been the first of four they will compete in as the season continues. They've really shown themselves on a very tough track. 1:17.7 for Shirasaka bodes well for the rest of the season. He's done extremely well this weekend. Turner Motorsports has many titles and also lots of experience in World Challenge competition.
Dane Cameron has a slight off and on through turn four. Naoto Takeda is running really well. Till Bechtolsheimer is running well in the Gradient Acura. Patrick Long is fourth. Cameron wants to catch the factory Porsche pilot. Long had a difficult time in Saturday's race with the left rear tire of course. These long duration right hand sweepers really put a strain on the Pirelli tires. He has to clear Till Bechtolsheimer before the battle with P. Long can resume. Soucek still leads as Molina in the Ferrari is the meat in a Bentley sandwich as we close in on the finish here in Canada.
Andy Soucek is catching Takeda. Be cautious off the final turn, White's Corner, turn ten. Bentley has dominated race two here at Mosport. Without ABS issues, Andy Soucek could have indeed matched Alvaro Parente on lap times. Martin Barkey still leads Pro Am, sharing the Racer's Edge Acura with Kyle Marcelli. The tire pace of the Pirelli P Zero's are amazing, as Molina and Henzler cut their fastest laps so far. Daniel Morad, picks up a place, chasing down David Askew, but poor old Morad, also in his home race, floats it wide through the corner leading to the Mario Andretti straight! Woohoo! That was close! Big save there, look.
Rodrigo Baptista maintains third overall. The leaders are lapping cars running seventh and eighth as Askew and Imperato scrap for the Pro Am honors. This race has flown by indeed. Ryan Dalziel is on the radio to his co-driver to keep up the pace as Andy Soucek has the Bentley still in the lead. The margin back to Molina is under five seconds. Soucek probably has more left in the locker than we previously though, as Dane Cameron reels in Patrick Long. Traffic ahead for Dane Cameron. He will have to deal with Patrick Long, fairly soon. George Kurtz in the Mercedes is the bloke chasing, and George moves aside. Dane Cameron has coached George Kurtz to be a better driver. The rhythm of the third sector at Mosport is amazing. It's go time. Pull the pin, now, blokes. Molina has trimmed the margin to Soucek. Molina cuts a 1:16.8. Great lap!
Molina sets his personal fastest lap! Jeepers creepers! A red Ferrari with gold wheels. Absolutely classic. K-PAX has adopted the Bentley British Racing Green colors, so some great historic liveries. Molina trimmed another 3/10ths off Soucek. Soucek might just be able to eke out some time to see the checkered flag in a lap or so. David Askew has a half a second over Anthony Imperato in Pro Am. 1.6 seconds between Long and Cameron. Long is catching Cameron. The white flag is out. We are on the final lap of this motor race. Soucek responds, opening the margin over Molina. Martin Barkey and company will win Pro Am. The checkers are out. Bentley wins Sunday at Mosport! A win and a second for R. Ferri. Martin Barkey and Kyle Marcelli, win their home race in Canada in Pro Am, collecting their third Pro Am win of 2019.
Takeda and Shirasaka win in Am for Turner BMW! Wow! The Bentley's have a formation finish on the cool down lap and they get first and third today. The points will be very close. Racer's Edge Motorsports, Martin Barkey, and Kyle Marcelli win Pro Am. Celebration for the Canadian team, and the Japanese duo of Takuya Shirasaka and Naoto Takeda, sweep both races of the weekend in the Am class.
Overall/Pro: #9 Parente/Soucek K-PAX Racing Bentley Continental GT3
Pro Am: #80 Barkey/Marcelli Racer's Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3
Am: #96 Shirasaka/Takeda Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3
The next event begins the second half of Blancpain GT World Challenge America, in the wine country of northern California, at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, coming up in just three weeks.
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