Pigot Pulls Away for Smooth Victory in Trois-Rivières - Speedway Digest

Spencer Pigot stayed clean from green to checkered to win Round 8 of the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin on Sunday during the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivières (GP3R).

“It was a great race,” Pigot said. “We’ve been working hard all weekend, so I have to thank the Alegra guys for continuing to improve the car. Today was really good.

Pigot, from Orlando, Florida, beat championship leader Scott Hargrove to the finish by 8.499 seconds in the No. 21 Alegra Motorsports Porsche for his second victory of the season. The smooth, composed drive despite close battles with Hargrove and fellow title contender Chris Green earlier in the race was a successful contrast from Round 7 on Saturday, in which Pigot was penalized for bumping Hargrove into a spin early in the race.

“I knew I had the pace,” continued Pigot. “I just had to take advantage when I could but not take too many risks and end up in the wall, which is easy to do here. Just worked my way past Chris and Scott. It was good battling with them, as always. Really hard racing, but it was all clean today. Happy to get the win.”

Round 7 winner Green, from Montreal, finished third Sunday in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. He ended up .778 of a second behind Hargrove after stalking Hargrove’s No. 69 OpenRoad Porsche for the second half of the 45-minute race.

“We tried something new today because we knew it was going to be a little bit cooler on the track,” added Green. “It probably didn’t play out to our advantage. The car started coming in a little bit at the end, but at that point, it was tough. After contact with Scott (Hargrove) in the opening laps, I had a puncture in the rad (radiator), so I was kind of maintaining the temperatures and I was up to 160 degrees. It was pretty hot. Came in (after the race), and the thing was spitting fluid out of the car. They drove really well today. Congrats to Alegra. They did fantastic. I’m proud of my whole team. The Pfaff Motorsports car will be back at Mosport to take the two wins back.”

Hargrove, from Surrey, British Columbia, extended his Platinum Cup (2014 car models) championship lead to 16 points, 152-136, over Green with just two rounds remaining Aug. 30-31 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario. Forty points will be on the line at the finale, as the winning driver in each round earns 20 points.

“Good for the championship,” stated Hargrove. “I’m thrilled with that going into the last two races with a healthy lead. Definitely looking good there.”

Etienne Borgeat, from Montreal, finished fourth Sunday on the street circuit at Trois-Rivières in the No. 2 entry fielded by Quebec-based GT Racing.

Carlos de Quesada, from Odessa, Florida, rounded out the top five in the No. 22 Alegra Motorsports Porsche after snaking through the 11-turn, 1.53-mile (2.46 km) Circuit Trois-Rivières in lockstep with Borgeat and fellow Platinum Masters competitors Marco Cirone and Perry Bortolotti for position over the last 25 minutes of the race.

“My goal was to stay right behind Etienne (Borgeat),” de Quesada added. “I knew Etienne was running a good pace from the start, so I just stuck with him. I just kept on putting pressure toward the end. He was really starting to fall back. He was allowing Perry (Bortolotti) and Marco (Cirone) to catch back up with me. But I never really had a good window to make a good, clean pass, so just strategically I just decided to stay behind Etienne and defend my position for first in Masters.” (Can you catch Cirone for the Platinum Masters title?): “I can. It’s always a lot of luck with this. The two incidents I’ve had unfortunately have been with Marco and Perry, and it’s unfortunate that the one I’m fighting for the championship with is Marco. I’m just hoping that something happens to them at Mosport, and I can take that lead. I’ll just fight for first there and try to come out on top.”

Hargrove started from pole and drove away from Green and Pigot early in the race, buidling a lead of 2.485 seconds after eight minutes. But Pigot’s Porsche started to find its groove. Pigot dove under Green with a clean pass for second with 35 minutes remaining and zeroed in on Hargrove.

Seven minutes later, Pigot’s Porsche nosed to within a few meters of Hargrove’s car. Pigot then sliced under Hargrove, locking his wheels in a puff of white tire smoke into a corner, but hanging on for the pass for the lead. But one corner later, Pigot locked up again, letting Hargrove through for the lead.

But less than two minutes later, Pigot’s speed was too much for Hargrove to parry one more time. Pigot used another low pass at the apex of a corner for the lead with 25 minutes remaining, and he cruised away over the remaining laps for an easy victory.

Hargrove continued his streak of finishing first or second at all eight rounds this season.

“This race was pretty wild,” Hargrove said. “I got a great start, got away, and then started to lose the rear brakes a little bit. From then on, I was under pressure from both Spencer and Chris. Me and Spencer went back and forth a couple of times, and then he finally got me. And then Chris was pressuring me for the last 20 minutes of the race, and I was just able to hold on.

“Still a great result for the OpenRoad Porsche. Good for the championship. I’m thrilled with that going into the last two races with a healthy lead.”

Platinum Masters

Platinum Masters podium finishers (from left): Marco Cirone, Carlos de Quesada, Perry Bortolotti

De Quesada earned his second Platinum Masters (age 45 and older) victory of the season – both this weekend – after a perhaps the best battle on the track for the entire 45-minute race.

He had one eye out his windshield while chasing Platinum Cup driver Borgeat and another on his rear-view mirror, keeping tabs of Platinum Masters rivals Cirone and Bortolotti.

All four drivers were within two seconds of each other – often closer – throughout the final 30 minutes. The only change in position came when Cirone, from Toronto, snuck past Mark Motors Racing teammate Bortolotti, from Kanata, Ontario, for second in Platinum Masters with 13 minutes remaining.

But de Quesada, Cirone and Bortolotti continued to probe for openings for a pass until the checkered flag, without a whisper of the melees that filled Round 7 Saturday.

“I think it was one of our best races because the four of us had so much respect for each other out there, and no one wanted to hit anybody else even though we had opportunities to try to make a desperate attempt at a pass,” Cirone said. “But we all behaved.”

2013 Gold Cup champion de Quesada cut reigning Platinum Masters champion Cirone’s lead in the championship to eight points, 148-140, with two rounds remaining.

Gold Cup

Gold Cup podium finishers (from left): Tim Sanderson, Jerimy Daniel, Shaun McKaigue

Quebec resident Jerimy Daniel overcame a disappointing result Saturday to deliver himself the best 21^st birthday present possible – a Gold Cup victory in the No. 75 TRC Porsche.

Daniel, from Candiac, Quebec, didn’t finish Round 7 Saturday due to a punctured radiator in his car. But he led nearly the whole way Sunday for his fifth Gold Cup victory of the season.

Series rookie Daniel pulled to within two points of Gold Cup championship leader Tim Sanderson, 140-138, with just two rounds remaining in the tightest points race in the series. It was an ideal present for his 21^st birthday Sunday.

“It was a crazy race,” Daniel said. “It was really hot in the car, and I just tried to manage my race to stay in front and not do any mistakes like Tim did. He spun, so I just tried to stay in front and manage my race so I can keep my first place and give me this birthday present.”

Sanderson, from Pickering, Ontario, finished second Sunday in the No. 07 Alegra Motorsports/Northwest Atlantic Motorsports after winning Round 7 Saturday. He spun early in the race while hustling to chase Daniel and ended up 21.303 seconds behind Daniel.

“We didn’t quite have the start we had yesterday, so we were playing a little bit of catch-up. We were running strong with Jerimy, and I thought we were reeling him in a few times, getting a little bit closer. I know he was trying to conserve his brakes, I think.

“I just overcooked it in corner 2, and the car looped around on me a little quicker than I thought it would have, and I couldn’t grab it back. So happy birthday to Jerimy today.”

Shaun McKaigue, from Gilford, Ontario, finished third in Gold Cup in the No. 34 Fiorano Racing Porsche. It was his second Gold Cup podium of the weekend, as he finished second Saturday in Round 7.

Just 24 points separate Sanderson from fifth-place Ilker Starck in the tight championship chase in Gold Cup.

Silver Cup

Silver Cup podium finishers (from left): Keith Bass and Chuck Harris, with Porsche Cars Canada President and CEO Alexander Pollich

Chuck Harris returned to his winning ways in Silver Cup (2005½-2009 car models) with his seventh victory in eight rounds in the No. 50 Alegra Motorsports Porsche.

Harris, from Tampa, Florida, was eliminated from Round 7 on Saturday after hitting the wall. But the skill of the Alegra Motorsports team helped Harris return to the top step of the podium.

“I have to thank the Alegra guys for working all night to get the car back on track,” Harris said. “The car was perfect; it ran great. It was nice driving with a little cooler temperatures this morning, and I just tried to be a little more patient today. I had a good drive.”

Keith Bass, from Tampa, Florida, finished second in the No. 49 Alegra Motorsports Porsche after earning his first victory of the season in Round 7 on Saturday.

Harris leads the Silver Cup championship standings by 12 points with two rounds remaining.

Rounds 9 and 10 of the 2014 Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin – both 45-minute races – are scheduled for Aug. 30-31 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park at Bowmanville, Ontario. They are the final two races of the season.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.