Remo Ruscitti completed the most successful day of his young racing career Saturday by winning Round 7 of the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The 20 year-old driver from Burnaby, British Columbia, earned the victory in the No. 4 8Star Motorsports entry from the sixth position on the grid in his first career start in the series. The win came just 3 ½ hours after he drove to victory in the ST class with teammate Adam Isman in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race. 

"I'm a little speechless," Ruscitti said. "We started sixth, and it was my first weekend in the car, so I wasn't expecting to be on the top step of the podium at the end here. We had really good pace toward the middle. A couple of people dropped out, and we were able to take advantage and pull away. 

"It was a really good race," stated Potolicchio. "We made a change to the car for the race, so we weren't sure how it was going to work, but we are happy because it worked really well. I had a podium here last year, as well, so I am really proud of the team and all the work they have put in this weekend after my crash on Thursday."

Andrew Novich, from Novato, California, finished fourth in the No. 61 Comprent Motor Sports entry.

Lamont Harris rounded out a dominant performance by 8Star Motorsports, finishing fifth overall and as the first Masters driver (age 40 and older) in the team's No. 65 car. 

 "So far, it's been an awesome weekend," commented Harris. "This is my third year here, and I am really working on trying to be flat in (Turns) 1 and 2. It's such a great track and a great venue, and it's really fun to come up here to Canada. There were a lot of great battles out there despite the fact that the track was really greasy at the end of the day. My goal is to just get faster tomorrow."

Ruscitti prevailed after a wild 30-minute race on the 10-turn, 2.459-mile circuit. He took first place for the first time - and for good - when leader Craig Duerson spun off course in Turn 8 in his No. 27 Performance Tech Motorsports car with eight minutes remaining.  

Pole sitter Hayden Duerson and series leader Mikhail Goikhberg didn't finish the first lap after a collision between them resulted in hard contact for both in Turn 8, giving Alon the lead. 

Craig Duerson passed Alon for the lead halfway through the race but lost the top spot two laps later to Matt McMurry, 16, with 12 minutes remaining. But Duerson and Ruscitti passed McMurry two minutes later when McMurry slowed quickly due to a mechanical problem that reportedly caused fluids to leak from the rear of the No. 20 JDC Motorsports entry. 

Then Duerson spun two minutes later, handing a lead to Ruscitti he would not surrender.  

Brian Alder, from Marysville, Ohio, was the top finisher in Lites 2 in the No. 22 BAR1 Motorsports car after a rugged duel for most of the second half of the race with Jerome Mee in the No. 95 Alta Velocita Racing entry.

"We had great pace through practice and qualifying," Mee said. "Coming into qualifying, 13 minutes in the pits really didn't do us any favors. I never really got a clear lap, so we got bumped on P1. We started the race off clean, and Brian (Alder) and I had a fantastic race. Best race we've had. I finally got him on (Turn) 8, only to realize it was under yellow, so I gave it back to him. Almost got him again in (Turn) 10 on the last lap, and he took the right line and I jumped the curb and spun. But I was on his tail the whole time, and you couldn't ask for a better race than that!" 

Mee ended up second in the class, and Todd Slusher was third in the No. 62 ONE Motorsports car. 

"It got off to a slow start with the early caution, but after that, it was Jerome (Mee) and I battling it out for the last 15 minutes of the race," Alder stated. "And he drove a great race; he was all over me. He actually got me once, but unfortunately it was right into the yellow flag, so he had to give the spot back. It was a tough race. I was watching in my mirrors the entire race, so it was good to have a great race out there, bringing the BAR1 Motorsports home on top."

Duerson's father, Craig Duerson, fought from fifth to the lead. But he spun in another competitor's oil in Turn 8 and hit the tire barrier while out front with eight minutes left in the 30-minute session.

"The team has been great this weekend. They really put together a good car for me. It was a shame it went to waste. I was out in the lead when I hit oil on the track and spun. I think they needed to throw a flag; I was looking for one. Excited to see Hayden on pole and Robert on podium, though. It's great for the team to see them succeeding."  

Joel Janco also spun with just two minutes left in the race. 

"We had a new engine today, and for some reason it just shut off. Then it went back on, and I moving back up on the field. Then I hit some oil as I was passing somebody and that was it. So we're looking forward to tomorrow." 

Team Principal Brent O'Neill made time to celebrate at podium with Alon and Hayden Duerson for their accomplishments. Then he returned to the paddock to assess the work he and his crew need to perform to ensure each of the four Prototype Lites cars are ready for Round 8, a 45-minute race which starts at 9:50 a.m. Sunday. 

"We'll have a little work to do tonight," O'Neill said. "It was a shame to see Hayden out on Lap 1. Mikhail tried to pass Hayden on the outside, and it just didn't end up working out for either of them. That's racing, though. Joel ended up having a little spin in Turn 5 and got center-hung on the curb with a few laps to go. 

"Craig spun and hit the fence. It was a rough race for the guys, but Robert made it to the podium. Robert did an awesome job again. He just kept working toward the front, led the race for a couple laps. We'll look forward to a different outcome tomorrow." 

In the shadow of the nation's capitol, the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, celebrated 25 years of competition in Southern Maryland on Saturday with the annual GEICO Motorcycle Budds Creek National from Budds Creek MX Park, the seventh stop of 12 this summer. The budding 450 Class rivalry between the Red Bull KTM duo of Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen continued with Dungey gaining the advantage for just the second time this season, winning for the third straight year at Budds Creek. In the 250 Class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Blake Baggett duplicated the achievement of his premier class counterpart, winning for the third consecutive season at the facility with his third victory of the summer.

The battle for victory once again came down to the Red Bull KTM duo of Dungey (5) and Roczen (94).

Photo: Simon Cudby / Racer X

In his third race back from an injury that kept him out for the early portion of the season, Toyota/Yamaha/JGRMX's Justin Brayton grabbed his first Motosport.com Holeshot Award of the season in the opening 450 Class moto. Brayton was closely followed by a large contingent of competitors, led by Team Honda Muscle Milk's Trey Canard and Dungey. Brayton maintained the lead on the opening lap with a hard-charging Dungey on his rear fender, but while that battle took shape Canard took advantage of an opportunity to slip by Dungey and then set his sights on Brayton.

Canard soon made the pass to take over the lead on the opening lap and proceeded to open a small gap over the field. As that happened, Dungey lost another spot on the track while fighting to get around Brayton, this time to his teammate Roczen. With no riders separating himself and the leader, Roczen set his sights on Canard and chipped away at the deficit, eventually taking control of the moto on Lap 4. Dungey, meanwhile, made the pass on Brayton and was able to close the gap on Canard to eventually take control of second.

With the KTM duo asserting themselves out front and pulling away, Canard fell into the clutches of GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac with the pair battling throughout the remaining stages of the moto. Out front, Dungey was able to close to within a second of his teammate as they approached lappers near the end, but Roczen held him off for the win. Canard withstood the challenge of Tomac for third, with Team Yoshimura Suzuki's James Stewart coming on strong to finish fifth.

Dungey (5), Canard (41) and Roczen (94) all made their presence felt in the opening moto.

Photo: Simon Cudby / Racer X

After closing in on his teammate at the end of the first moto, Dungey aimed to seize the opportunity in Moto 2 and did just that by racing to the Motosport.com Holeshot Award. The clear track allowed Dungey to set a torrid pace in the early stages and open a comfortable margin over the field. With Dungey pulling away, Roczen needed to work his way into second and after slotting himself in third on the opening lap, he passed Toyota/Yamaha/JGRMX's Josh Grant for second and looked to try and close the gap on his teammate.

Dungey never looked back and went on to post his most dominant ride of the season with a wire-to-wire victory. The former two-time series champion had led just nine laps coming into Budds Creek, but nearly tripled his season total by leading all 17 laps of Moto 2. Roczen followed in second, but had to fend off a major threat from Tomac in the closing laps.

The Red Bull KTM duo posted identical moto scores once again but Dungey's second-moto triumph awarded him the tiebreaker. Roczen's streak of finishing on the podium in every moto this season continued.

The second moto holeshot proved to be the key to Dungey's (5) success.

Photo: Simon Cudby / Racer X

"It was tough after that first moto, but I got back, cooled down and was feeling good," said Dungey, who moved into third on the all-time total career wins list. "I thought this [the second moto] was my moment. I got a good start, which that was way, way key and just allowed me to ride my laps. It's good to get this win; it's been since round one. This is a good step."

"We all have our days. I'm just happy to finish second and keep the points lead the same," said Roczen. "That's all I can ask for. I just wasn't feeling it in that second moto and it's time to put that behind me. It's all about preparation during the week, so I'm going to go back and get stronger."

Tomac's hard charge to close out the final moto helped him steal third overall (4-3) from Canard, who posted identical 3-4 moto scores. Soaring Eagle/RCH Racing Suzuki's Weston Peick finished fifth (6-5).

Roczen's lead over Dungey in the 450 Class standings remains at 26 points. Canard sits third, 63 points behind. With three consecutive overall podiums in his first three career starts in the premier class, Tomac has already moved into 11th.

Bogle (32) and Anderson (17) were two new faces at the front of 250 Class field in the opening moto.

Photo: Simon Cudby / Racer X

New faces emerged in the battle for victory in the opening 250 Class moto with GEICO Honda's Justin Bogle securing the Motosport.com Holeshot Award, edging out Valli Motorsports Yamaha's Christophe Pourcel. As this pair jockeyed up front, Rockstar Energy Racing's Jason Anderson emerged as a player in the fight for the lead, passing Pourcel and setting his sights on Bogle out front. Neither of the lead pair had ever won a moto in their career, setting the stage for a thrilling battle. After going bar-to-bar in the opening laps, Anderson slipped passed Bogle on Lap 2 and began to open a gap over the field.

With Anderson out front, the battle for the podium intensified with points leader and Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha rider Jeremy Martin joining Bogle and Pourcel in their fight. Martin made the pass on Pourcel for third on Lap 6 and proceeded to challenge Bogle for three laps before assuming control of the runner-up spot on Lap 9. Throughout this fight, Baggett fought his way forward from a seventh-place start to jump into podium contention. Baggett moved into fourth on Lap 9 and then made the pass on Bogle for third just two laps later.

As Baggett pressured Martin for second, the pair started to close in one the eight-second lead that Anderson held out front with all three eventually running mere bike lengths from one another. As the white flag flew to signify the final lap, about one second separated all three riders. Anderson maintained his lines to hold off Martin and capture his first career moto win while Baggett settled for third. Bogle finished fourth with Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha's Cooper Webb coming from an 11th-place start to finish fifth.

Anderson's first career moto win put him in control in the pursuit for the overall.

Photo: Simon Cudby / Racer X

Martin gained the upper hand to start the second moto by securing the Motosport.com Holeshot Award with Pourcel in second and Anderson third. The lead duo were able to pull away from the field but Baggett, who started fourth, began his march to the front, which started with a pass on Anderson for third. As Martin slowly pulled away out front, Pourcel and Baggett engaged in a hotly contested battle for second that lasted six laps before Baggett finally made the pass on Lap 7.

Once in second, Baggett faced a deficit of over five seconds to Martin and methodically closed it down to just a matter of bike lengths. With their second and third-place finishes in the opening moto, the overall win would be decided between Martin and Baggett, in which the better finisher would emerge victorious. On Lap 11 Baggett made his move on the points leader and immediately pulled away, taking the moto win to secure the overall in convincing fashion.

It was once again Baggett (4) versus Martin (19) in a fight for victory.

Photo: Simon Cudby / Racer X

"I definitely hope we can keep chipping away towards this championship," said Baggett, whose third straight win at Budds Creek was also the ninth consecutive for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki at the track. "All that matters is that I have the points lead at the end of the season, even If we have to wait all the way to the last moto then that's what we're going to do. We're not going to stop fighting until then."

Baggett's 3-1 finishes edged out Martin (2-2) by one point when the final totals were tallied. Anderson's first moto win helped him land third (1-7), with Pourcel fourth (6-3) and Webb fifth (5-4).

"I got off to a great start [in the second moto] and tried to put on a charge there for a little while and got away a bit," said Martin. "But then we hit some lappers and I could see Baggett was right there closing in on me. He was riding really good and congrats to him today. I'm just having fun and trying to win as many races as I can. I'm getting to do what I've always dreamed of doing."

Martin lost just one point to his lead in the 250 Class standings with Baggett moving into second, 27 points out. Webb sits third, 33 points behind.

The 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship continues next weekend with the eighth round of the 2014 season with the Spring Creek National. Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, Minnesota, will host the world's best riders on Saturday, July 19. Action begins at 2 p.m. ET.

Ruthless Racing's Danny Eslick took command of the 2014 AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series points chase by claiming his first class victory since his 2010 championship campaign today at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. His win kicked off the race action of the highly-anticipated GEICO Motorcycle U.S. Round with tomorrow's AMA Pro SuperBike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike, and FIM Superbike World Championship races still to come. 

The defending AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series champ, Suburban Motors Harley-Davidson's Steve Rapp, once again demonstrated his mastery of the XR1200, breaking free from the pack to storm to the checkered flag first. However, Rapp was judged to have jumped the start, and was assessed a ten-second penalty as a result. This year's DAYTONA 200 winner Eslick was aware Rapp had been penalized. After the race, Eslick said he knew he would win if he stayed within ten seconds of Rapp. 

"I've been getting a lot of seconds and getting beat up in this deal. I think everybody expected me to just come in and win and it just shows that these guys have been busting their butts and riding these Harley's really hard. They're definitely not the easiest bikes to get around a racetrack. When you get up to the pace Steve and some of these other guys are going, it makes it pretty tough. It's a lot of fun. It's not the way I wanted to win it -- by penalty -- but a 'W' is a 'W', and we need the points. We'll definitely take the money and move on to Mid-Ohio." 

The Californian Rapp's pace was so great that he still managed to claim second in the race, opening up a margin significantly greater than ten seconds over the entire field save Eslick. 

Runner-up Rapp said, "I knew it would be a tougher race here. I just wanted to get a good start and try to build up a lead if I could and it looked like everything was going as planned... I didn't know the penalty was for me. I wasn't really aware of what was going on, I was riding as if there was nothing going on. The bike was good and the tires felt great. Everything felt pretty good overall." 

KWR/Millennium Technologies' Kyle Wyman rebounded from his Barber Motorsports Park crash to round out today's podium. Wyman took third a short distance ahead of a tight four-way fight for the position. 

"It felt all right," Wyman said. "It was a pretty lonely race, just watching my pitboard to watch the gap between myself and the guys behind me. I was able to start off with these and make that gap to fourth and then about lap 4 these guys dropped the hammer. I wasn't able to match their pace so I settled into a rhythm. I'm just really happy to be back on the podium. It's been a really up-and-down season: DQ, win, crash out, and now to get on the box, I'll take that." 

Fourth-place went to Josh Chisum Racing/Bartel's Harley-Davidson's Tyler O'Hara, who got a measure of revenge on Rapp's Suburban H-D teammate, Ben Carlson. Californian O'Hara crossed the stripe 0.046 seconds ahead of Carlson after the Wisconsin native had edged him for third in the previous two contests. 

Thunder Roads Magazine's Ryan Kerr and Folsom H-D's Gage McAllister took close sixth and seventh-place finishes, respectively, with Chili Pepper Racing's Hayden Schultz, Trev Deeley Motorcycles' Darren James, and O'Hara's teammate, Josh Chisum, completing the day's top ten.

With four races down and four to go, title leader Eslick (95) now boasts an eleven-point advantage over second-ranked O'Hara (84) with Carlson (76) third another eight points back.

AMA Pro SuperBike

Cameron Beaubier became the first repeat pole winner of the 2014 AMA Pro SuperBike season today at the GEICO Motorcycle U.S. Round. And the 21-year-old Californian did so in most impressive fashion, posting the quickest lap recorded around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca by an AMA Pro SuperBike since the Ben Spies/Mat Mladin era. The rider was locked into a tight duel with his decorated teammate, Josh Hayes, deep into the Qualifying 3 shootout, but ultimately opened up a separation of more than four-tenths-of-a-second with his jaw-dropping 1:24.019 lap in the waning moments.

 Beaubier said, "It felt good and I felt good all throughout the session. I strung together some low-25s on what I felt was a little harder of a tire, so I felt good and that got me ready to throw the soft on during the ten-minute dash. I strung together some '24s and I felt really good. I think I'm ready for the race tomorrow. We'll go slot in with these guys and I think it'll be a good race."

 Despite Beaubier's qualifying prowess, Hayes remains a strong contender for Sunday's win, where he'll look to stretch both his season and circuit win streak to four. The Mississippian is firmly in control of the championship race and another strong outing tomorrow would put Hayes in excellent position to scoop up a fourth career AMA Pro SuperBike crown at year's end.

 "It was a pretty good session and it was pretty fun," Hayes said. "I kept seeing Cam's time on the board, and then I'd look on my timer and see I did a little bit better, then I'd come around and see he did a little better again. And then I saw a '24.0 and went, 'Uh-oh, I don't have that in me with this many laps on the tires.' I guess that's second today. I knew coming in that Cam was capable of doing it. I did the best laps I could. Overall, I've felt pretty relaxed all weekend and I feel good about being able to put in 23 solid laps in the race."

 The works Yamaha YZF-R1s will be joined on the outside of Row 1 by the Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing's Martin Cardenas. The Colombian made slight inroads on Saturday but still faces a significant gap in outright pace to the leading Yamahas heading into the 23-lap race.

 Cardenas said, "I think the bike feels a little bit better than yesterday. We couldn't achieve what we wanted to, which is get down to the '24s, but the bike is feeling good and I am feeling good on the bike. The only problem is that these two guys are too fast right now. We have to look at the splits and see where we are losing out and try to improve for the race tomorrow."

 His teammate, Kentuckian Roger Hayden, ended Q3 in fourth and will headline a second row that also features the KTM/HMC Racing RC8R of Chris Fillmore and the Ducati 1198 of TPL Squadra Corse's Jake Holden.

 Second-ranked ADR Motorsports/Sic/Motul Fly Racing's David Anthony starts just seventh, and will be joined alongside by Team AMSOIL Hero EBR's Cory West and Proto-Tech Spain Yamaha's Bernat Martinez.

 Seven different manufacturers were represented in the 12-rider Q3 session, as third Yosh runner Chris Clark, BMW S1000RR-mounted Marcel Irnie (Mobibuff/Inrne Racing), and Brazilian Sebastiao Ferreira on the Porter Racing Kawasaki ZX-10 complete Row 4.

 AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike

Jason DiSalvo cemented his early-career reputation as a qualifying master and the veteran showed his skill once again he won pole of the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike race at Laguna Seca. The Castrol/Triumph/Sportbike Track Time pilot was on fine form at the 2-238-mile circuit and won his first pole since 2012. His best lap was 1:26.771 in what is shaping up to be another ultracompetitive race.

 "It was a great session," said the New Yorker. "First off, it feels great to be at a press conference, I think it's my first one of the year. This track really suits our bike and I really enjoy coming here every time. The Monterey Peninsula is so beautiful and being out in California is always nice. There were no dramas. We made some minor adjustments from yesterday that were good and we made some small adjustments during the session that were good. Everything has been really positive this weekend and the guys are all working really good and the spirits are high. We're just happy to get the pole position for Triumph and we can't wait for the race."

 Points leader Jake Gagne was second, less than two tenths behind DiSalvo. Despite arm-pump surgery after Barber, the RoadRace Factory/Red Bull pilot made a big jump on Saturday.

"We definitely struggled yesterday and weren't as quick as we wanted to be," said Gagne. "We changed some major stuff going into this morning. I felt a lot better; I felt like I was riding pretty well. We're ready for the race. There are a lot of fast guys and it's going to be super close. It's going to be a battle."

JD Beach was third on the first Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha entry, squeezing Yamalube/Westby Racing's Dane Westby off the front row. Friday's fast man, Jake Lewis of Motosport.com/Meen Yamaha, was fifth. He topped Riders Discount Racing Triumph's Danny Eslick and Garrett Gerloff on the second Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha machine. Veteran Jake Zemke was eighth for GEICO Motorcycle Racing, ahead of GN Gonzalez Racing pilot Blake Young. Top Rookie Tomas Puerta was tenth on his RoadRace Factory/Red Bull machine.

 In an intense 15-minute qualifying session on Saturday, Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) traded barbs with the competition for pole position. Among those swapping the lead for the top spot was ESM’s Ryan Dalziel in the No. 1 Tequila Patrón Honda Performance Development (HPD) ARX-03b. At the end of the session, Dalziel settled for the second starting spot at 1:09.456 (127.453 mph), less than three-tenths behind the pole-winning car.

“All in all, this is a good qualifying result for us," stated Dalziel. "We definitely were hungry for pole. In final practice, we had a really good balance in the car. I’m a little disappointed; we need to go look at the timing and see where the No. 42 car was better than us. I feel like our car is 99 percent there; even at 100 percent, I’m not sure we had enough for pole. The Honda chassis is always very good when it comes to tire life. With a two-hour, 45-minute race here, if we have a good strategy and good pit stops from the crew, hopefully we can get the Tequila Patrón cars up front. We definitely feel this is our weekend to turn the season around. The No. 2 car seems strong too. Hopefully we’ll get both cars up front and go for that podium.
 
The Tequila Patrón-sponsored Honda prototypes qualified second and fourth for Sunday’s Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix, the seventh round of TUDOR United SportsCar Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP).
 
The No. 1 Tequila Patrón team earned its second front-row starting position this year. In May, the team started second at the Detroit street circuit on Belle Isle. Scott Sharp will start tomorrow’s race for the No. 1 team and Dalziel will drive the second stint.
 
Johannes van Overbeek, co-driver of the No. 2 Tequila Patrón HPD, lapped the 2.459-mile, 10-turn permanent road course in 1:10.136 (126.218 mph), less than a half-second behind the pole position. Ed Brown will start the race for the No. 2 team from the fourth position and van Overbeek will drive second.

“The ESM Tequila Patrón Honda HPD felt really good in our fourth-place qualifying effort today," added van Overbeek. "I tried to get the most out of it. We weren’t able to simulate a qualifying run and that would have helped me as a driver because it is a whole different world on new tires and light fuel than it is in practice."
 
The weekend started strong for the Florida-based team. During Friday’s opening session, the two-car, Tequila Patrón-sponsored team was second and third. Traffic proved to be a bit of a hindrance in the second practice session and the team dropped to sixth and seventh on the sheets. During the lone practice on Saturday morning, Dalziel topped the charts and van Overbeek showed a strong run in fourth position.
 
The two-hour, 45-minute TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix Presented by Hawk Performance is the seventh race of 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Green flag is 2:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 13.  
 
Television coverage of the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix starts at 2 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. 

(Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. Squadra Corse)

 Kenton Koch, of Glendora, California, did the race-weekend double by winning Round Eight of the SCCA Pro Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires, part of the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix Presented by Hawk Performance at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Sebastian Landy, of Great Falls, Virginia, finished second, just off the rear bumper of Koch. Ara Malkhassian, of Houston, finished third.

Canadian teenager Jesse Lazare parried intense pressure from championship leader Colin Thompson over the closing laps to earn his first career Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama victory Saturday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Lazare, 17, from Montreal, outran Thompson to the line by .173 of a second in the No. 31 Door Doctor/Moorespeed Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to win Round 10 of the season. He became the second-youngest overall winner in the 10-year history of the Porsche single-make series and the youngest Canadian driver to stand atop the podium.

"It was a long race," Lazare said. "I took out the lead early, and my plan was to get a good gap and maintain it. No mistakes, keep looking forward, and that's it - keep pushing. I love this track, been here many times. It was basically the first car track I ever raced on. I know the tricks, I know the spots to pass, and I know the spots I can get passed, and I had a great time."

Platinum Masters podium finishers (from left): Jay Patel, Kasey Kuhlman, David Calvert-Jones

Thompson, from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, padded his points lead to 152-138 over Angel Benitez Jr. with his second runner-up finish of the weekend in the No. 14 Kelly Moss/Porsche of Bucks County entry.

Benitez, from Valencia, Venezuela, finished third in the No. 05 Formula Motorsport/Avid Motorsport Porsche.Michael Lewis, from Laguna Beach, California, placed fourth in the No. 98Competition Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian entry. Christina Nielsen, from Aarhus, Denmark, rounded out the top five in the No. 25 NGT Motorsport 911 GT3 Cup car.

Sloan Urry, the winner of Round 9 on Friday, finished eighth Saturday in the No. 20 JDX Racing entry after spinning out of fourth late in the race.

Lazare started from the pole and led every lap. He maintained a steady lead of about one second over Benitez during the first half of the 45-minute race.

Gold Cup podium finishers (from left): Michael Levitas, Jeff Mosing, Patrick-Otto Madsen

But Benitez started to pour on the pressure late in the race as he and Lazare started to navigate lapped traffic. Benitez pulled to within .504 of a second with 13 minutes remaining, and the reduced pace due to traffic helped Thompson and Urry pull to within one second of Lazare, forming a four-way pack for the lead with 10 minutes left.

Benitez drove up to Lazare's bumper with seven minutes remaining, trailing by just .154 of a second. But he went wide in Turn 1 with about four minutes left, opening the door to second place for Thompson.

Urry also fell out of contention for victory with less than two minutes remaining with spin into the wall with less than two minutes remaining.

Gold Masters podium finishers (from left): Michael Levitas, Jeff Mosing, Mark Llano

The duel for the top step of the podium heated from a simmer to a boil between Lazare and Thompson on the final lap. Thompson looked inside and outside in a few of the corners on the challenging track, but Lazare remained unflappable all the way to the checkered.

Kasey Kuhlman, from Cincinnati, was the top finisher in the Platinum Masters (age 45 and older) class for the eighth time this season in the No. 15 Wright MotorsportsPorsche. Jay Patel was second in Platinum Masters in the No. 00 Dempsey Racing Porsche owned by actor andTUDOR United SportsCar Championshipdriver Patrick Dempsey, while David Calvert-Jones rounded out the Platinum Masters podium in the No. 12 Competition Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian entry.

Jeff Mosing, from Austin, Texas, completed a sweep of the Gold Cup (2010-13 model cars) and Gold Masters divisions with his victory in the No. 01 Topp Racing entry after a spirited battle for the entire race with Michael Levitas, who ended up second in Gold Cup and Gold Masters in the No. 35 TPC Racing Porsche.

Yokohama Hard Charger Award winner Mark Llano

Patrick-Otto Madsen finished third in Gold Cup in the No. 99 ANSA Motorsports 911 GT3 Cup car. Mark Llano finished third in Gold Masters in the No. 24 NGT Motorsports entry, his second podium finish of the weekend and his career. Llano also won the Yokohama Hard Charger Award for finishing 18^th overall after starting 26^th.

Rounds 6, 11 and 12 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama will take place Aug. 9-10 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Round 6 was rained out May 24 at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut.

For more information about Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, visitwww.gt3cupchallengeusa.com, follow hashtag #GT3USA @IMSA on Twitter or IMSA on Facebook.

ROUND 10 POST-RACE QUOTES:

JESSE LAZARE (No. 31 Door Doctor/Moorespeed, winner): "It was a long race. I took out the lead early, and my plan was to get a good gap and maintain it. No mistakes, keep looking forward, and that's it - keep pushing. I love this track, been here many times. It was basically the first car track I ever raced on. I know the tricks, I know the spots to pass, and I know the spots I can get passed, and I had a great time."

COLIN THOMPSON (No. 14 Kelly Moss/Porsche of Bucks County, second): "It was an unusual start, but it benefitted us. The front row was kind of all over the place, I guess head-battling each other. Angel (Benitez) took off a little more, and that, of course, was our line. Once we crossed the start-finish line, we all scattered, and I was able to grab three spots right off the bat, which is really difficult to do here and at any track, really. From there we just holding off Sloan (Urry) and hunting down Angel. There was a long stalemate in the middle of the race. Toward the end, Angel made a pretty big mistake going into (Turn) 1. He missed the apex, and I was able to scootch inside of him. From there I was just hunting down (Jesse) Lazare. I actually had no idea it was the last lap until the last two corners of the last lap. But Lazare had a really fast car. He was on his game, and he deserved that win."

ANGEL BENITEZ JR. (No. 05 Formula Motosport/Avid Motorsport, third): "I think we had a good pace at the start. Pretty much our tire pressure went too high at the end and the car started sliding on me in the last four laps. It was hard to try and keep the guys behind me. But that's racing. Sometimes you bet on something and it works out and sometimes it doesn't. We were expecting to have a longer race and that's just what happened. So we're happy to have the third place and still working for the championship."

KASEY KUHLMAN (No. 15 Wright Motorsports, first, Platinum Masters): "The Masters win feels really good today, but even more the sixth place overall. I hung with the lead pack and was closing on them in the end. I had the fastest lap of the race. It was a new lap race record for me and I'm really happy about that. The car today was awesome and I can't thank Wright Motorsports and the crew enough. It was a great weekend and I'm looking forward to Road America."

JAY PATEL (No. 00 Dempsey Racing, second, Platinum Masters): "It was a good start to the race. The team told me to stay low going into the second turn, and I stayed low and I got out in front of a couple of cars. A few got by me in (Turn) 3, but the goal was to stay focused and reel them back in. As the race progressed, that's what I did and worked on my technique and cornering ability of the car into each turn. I stuck with it and ended up here!"

DAVID CALVERT-JONES (No. 12 Competition Motorsports, third, Platinum Masters): "It was a tough race. The car was great. The guys from Competition Motorsports gave me a really good car after I crashed it badly in practice. The start was really hectic. I avoided some big contact, which was good. Two laps in, I got hit when we had that Safety Car. So I had to restart and chase them down. Caught up to the next group, I was running the same lap times as the leaders, so I was running really well and felt really comfortable in the car. I went to lay a pass on a guy going into (Turn) 2 side-by-side, and he just came down into me and spun me around. So I had to start again and chase them all down. But again a big thank you to everyone at Competition Motorsports for a great car and to Wheels Up, a great sponsor. I'm looking forward to Road America."

JEFF MOSING (No. 01 Topp Racing, first, Gold Cup, Gold Masters): "This has been a picture-perfect weekend so far. I'm really thanking my lucky stars to this point. Again I got a clean start and put some cars between me and (Michael) Levitas. There are really fast guys in this class, and I really don't want to mix it up with them. They ended up having to scruff while I just put my head down and put down good laps; that's all I did. But hats off to Todd and Paul at Topp Motorsports for getting the car upright for me."

MICHAEL LEVITAS (No. 35 TPC Racing, second, Gold Cup, Gold Masters): "Wow, what a race. Team TPC just handed me such a great car. I had so much to deliver. All I know is Patrick (-Otto Madsen) was giving me a great race, and he has been giving me great races all season long. And all the teams here, it wouldn't be any good without the great competitors. And I tell you what all I had to do was eat up the leader's time, but the Platinum guys got in the middle, and my throttle hung up. I knew (Jeff Mosing) had an issue because I saw him bobble. We were just trying to buy out each other's time off, so it was a great race."

PATRICK-OTTO MADSEN (No. 99 ANSA Motorsports, third, Gold Cup): "This weekend was especially tough for me because both Michael Levitas and Jeff Mosing both had a little more pace than I did, so I was really struggling to keep up with them. Levitas got me good, a little bump and little love tap into the sweeper there, so he got past me. But thinking championship, bringing her home in a second and third place in the weekend is pretty good, and I'm pretty happy about that. Special thanks to ANSA Motorsports and Jose Collado, my crew chief, for preparing an excellent car for me."

MARK LLANO (No. 24 NGT Motorsport, third, Gold Masters, Yokohama Hard Charger Award winner): "I have to tell you, it was an awesome morning. The competition is just insane. The car setup was just perfect, and the Yokohama tires were just like glue on the track. The more I pushed, it seemed like the more the tires were gripping. I just have to thank NGT for getting everything together and all the fans. I saw a bunch of veterans outside of Turn 5. They had an American flag and would put it in the air every time we came by. That just gave me more motivation. I'm very thankful for the series and for all those involved."

Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama

The IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama enters its 10^th season in North America as the one of Porsche's largest single-make Cup Challenge series in the world. The series produces intense, exciting competition for semi-professional and aspiring professional drivers in one of the world's most successful and iconic race cars, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Racing is divided into two classes - Platinum Cup, featuring the new 2014 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, which is based in on the current seventh generation of the street car, and Gold Cup, which is comprised of the previous version (2010-2013) of the race car. The series is the perfect platform for aspiring drivers to ascend to the highest levels of GT competition, such as the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. The series races at classic American road courses, providing thrills for drivers and fans.

IMSA

The International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) is the sanctioning body of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, the road-racing series resulting from the merger of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón and the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. IMSA also sanctions the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, as well as four single-make series: Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama; Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin; Ferrari Challenge North America; and Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America. IMSA is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership enables selected TUDOR United SportsCar Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.

(IMSA PR)

 International and American riders competing in this weekend’s GEICO Motorcycle U.S. Round of eni FIM World Superbike Championship, and AMA Pro Racing support classes will be further protected by Airfence deployed by the Roadracing World Action Fund (RWAF).

“We’re pleased to provide soft-barriers to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for this weekend’s World Championship event,” said John Ulrich, founder and president of the Roadracing World Action Fund. “a total of 96 sections of RWAF-owned soft-barriers, about 2,880 linear feet, were shipped to Monterey for installation in time for the green flag to wave.”
 
The Airfence technology is an invaluable safety feature for motorcycle racers. It serves to alleviate potential incidents and allows riders to go all out in their pursuit of victories and championships.
 
The Roadracing World Action Fund is a charitable organization whose mission is to help prevent race track injuries and has deployed these barriers, known as Airfence, at road and dirt track events nationwide. The inflated barriers are positioned in front of walls and other trackside obstacles to reduce the force of impact in the event of a rider crash.
  
Gill Campbell, CEO/general manager of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca said, “We are very grateful to the Roadracing World Action Fund for working with us to enhance rider safety at this event.”
 

Though the sun never quite poked through and light showers fell intermittently through the afternoon, seven race groups ran 30-minute timed races on Saturday at GingerMan Raceway for round seven of the SCCA Northern Conference Majors Tour.