Benitez Jr. Wins Lime Rock Park Rescheduled Round 6 at Road America - Speedway Digest

Angel Benitez Jr. won Round 5 of Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama competition at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut back in May, but he never got to defend his win in Round 6 because it was rained out.

That chance finally came Sunday with the addition of a third race to the regularly scheduled Rounds 11 and 12 at Road America, and the Venezuelan picked up right where he had left off at Lime Rock Park, taking the Platinum Cup win for the fourth time this season.

“We found something on the car just at the last minute, right after qualifying for the Road America races,” Benitez Jr. said. “It was disappointing for Rounds 11 and 12, but for the Lime Rock rescheduled race we knew we would start third with a good car.”

Benitez Jr. took the lead on Lap 2 in his 911 Porsche GT3 Cup car, and never looked back. A caution on Lap 12 bunched the field back up again, but he still beat second-place finisher Jesse Lazare to the checkered flag by 0.787 seconds.

“I just stuck to my plan, staying focused on getting this podium,” Benitez Jr. said. “I have to thank Porsche, my dad, Formula Motorsport and Avid Motorsports for all of their help. They support me even in the bad situations. I am more than happy to give them this win as a gift for all of the hard work they do for me.”

Lazare, driving for Door Doctor/Moorespeed, started ninth, and drove all the way up to second to collect his second Platinum podium finish of the weekend in Road America.

“I picked everyone off one by one, and took advantage of everyone’s mistakes,” Lazare said. “I am really happy with two podiums this weekend. Of course I would have liked three, but we will get it next time.”

Competition Motorsports driver Michael Lewis rounded out the Platinum podium with third in Round 6, capping off a lucrative points weekend in Road America that included three podium finishes.

“I had a couple of good looks and good dives, but in the end it was really clean racing,” Lewis said. “But as soon as I saw Benitez or anyone else I was racing try to dive inside, I had to lift and think about the points. I’m really happy with the team’s effort, and we will keep chugging along and try to get some more wins.”

Kelly Moss Motorsports driver Colin Thompson saw his points lead dwindle during the three rounds of racing at Road America. In the Round 6 race, he started and finished sixth.

Wright Motorsports driver Kristin Treager was involved in an incident on Lap 18, the final lap of the race, which forced the 45-minute sprint to end under caution.

Platinum Masters

Wright Motorsports driver Kasey Kuhlman continued his Platinum Masters domination with another win, his 10^th of the season.

David Calvert-Jones of Competition Motorsports finished second, firming up his second spot in the Platinum Masters division championship with his third podium of the weekend.

TPC Racing‘s David Williams rounded out the Platinum Masters podium in third.

Gold Cup/Gold Masters

Michael Levitas drove his TPC Racing 911 GT3 Cup car around Patrick Otto-Madsento win Gold Cup and Gold Masters honors in Round 6.

“It was a spectacular race, and we got a bit of redemption,” Levitas said. “The longer I drove the car, the more the gas tank went down and the faster it went.”

Gold Cup championship leader Patrick-Otto Madsen and his ANSA Motorsports team finished second, collecting his eighth podium of the season.

Topp Racing‘s Jeff Mosing finished third in Gold Cup, and also took home second-place Gold Masters honors.

Fred Poordad of Competition Racing rounded out the Gold Masters podium in third, his seventh Gold Masters podium of 2014.

Yokohama Hard Charger

Yokohama Hard Charger Winner Wayne Ducote

Kelly Moss Motorsports driver Wayne Ducotepicked up the Yokohama Hard Charger award in Round 6 for picking up three positions in the Gold Class.

“I had a good start and I stayed with it, which allowed me to pick off a couple of cars right from the beginning,” Ducote said. “Unfortunately I got taken out at the end of the race, but winning the Yokohama Hard Charger Award is a nice bonus!”

ROUND 6 POST-RACE QUOTES:

ANGEL BENITEZ JR. (No. 05 Formula Motorsport/Avid Motorsport, winner): “We found something on the car just at the last minute, right after qualifying for the Road America races. It was disappointing for Rounds 11 and 12, but for the Lime Rock makeup race we knew we would start third with a good car. I just stuck to my plan, staying focused on getting this podium. I have to thank Porsche, my dad, Formula Motorsport and Avid Motorsport for all their help. They support me even in the bad situations. I am more than happy to give them this win as a gift for all the hard work they do for me.”

JESSE LAZARE (No. 31 Door Doctor/Moorespeed, second): “We started ninth, and I just knew I had to make all the right calls and positions on the track. I picked everyone off one by one, and took advantage of everyone’s mistakes. Sloan (Urry) went for the pass on the inside in Turn 3, and I had to push him down the straight on the outside. As soon as I had room to go inside I went. I am really happy with two podiums this weekend. Of course I would have liked three, but we will get it next time.”

MICHAEL LEWIS (No. 98 Competition Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian, third):“It was a really good weekend for us in points. Starting on pole position twice was great. We swept that quite easily. In Race 1 we missed the start a little bit and finished second. We won Race 2 and then in this Lime Rock make-up race, we ended up third. I wanted to capitalize on our strong car. We started second and had a lot of pace to try and get around the leader. I had a couple of good looks and good dives, but in the end it was really clean racing. I was trying to manage the situation as best as I could, and maybe try to close the door. But as soon as I saw Benitez or anyone else I was racing try to dive inside, I had to lift and think about the points. I’m really happy with the team’s effort, and we will keep chugging along and try to get some more wins.”

KASEY KUHLMAN (No. 15 Wright Motorsports, first, Platinum Masters): “This was a tough race. Everyone drove really hard, and really aggressive. There were very few mistakes from the field, so I was not able to move up much. It was a battle just to hold my spot. This has been a long weekend with three races, but I’m happy to finish in the top-5. It was a great weekend, and I want to thank Wright Motorsports for a great car.”

DAVID WILLIAMS (No. 37 TPC Racing, third, Platinum Masters): “This was a great race. I had a little bit of a tough time finding the setup this weekend, but finally got it early in this last race. We had a good qualifying spot coming from Lime Rock, so those two things worked great for me today.”

MICHAEL LEVITAS (No. 35 TPC Racing, winner, Gold, Gold Masters): “It was a spectacular race, and we got a bit of redemption. It’s a little late in the weekend, but we finally found the car and I just love the way the chassis felt. TPC did an amazing job on the setup. The longer I drove the car, the more the gas tank went down and the faster it went. It just wanted to go. I’m really thankful for the team, my teammate Dave Williams, and to the other competitors in the class.”

PATRICK-OTTO MADSEN (No. 99 ANSA Motorsports, second, Gold): “This weekend was super tough. I started out the weekend running as high as second place, but dropped back to finish fourth in Race 1. In Race 2 I kind of out-braked myself, and locked them up, resulting in a flat spot and finished 10th. Today to finish off the weekend in second place is really the icing on the cake. After all that hard effort out there, I felt like I had the pace to be on the podium in every race. It is what it is, and I’m glad to be here in second place. I want to say a special thanks to my team ANSA Motorsports for an awesome car at a great place to race. Thank you to Porsche, Yokohama, Road America and everyone else who made this happen.”

JEFF MOSING (No. 01 Topp Racing, third, Gold, Gold Masters): “The race was going pretty good for us again. Topp Racing as always gave me a good car. I was picking up a bit of a push here and there, but nothing I couldn’t deal with. I was just trying to maintain carnage avoidance, especially trying to stay safe at the end of the race. Hats off to Kristin Treager, she really drove her heart out. She crushes it in the brake zone, and she got me in Turn 1, really clean and fair. I just hate to see what happened to her, and I was right behind it. I hope she’s ok and I hope she’ll be able to go racing with us again soon.”

FRED POORDAD (No. 02 Competition Motorsports, third, Gold Masters): “The race went pretty well, I was happy with the overall finish here. The past couple of years here I have not even seen the checkered flag. Competition Motorsports put a great car under me and we got a couple of lucky breaks throughout. Feels great and it is something to build on for the rest of the season.”

WAYNE DUCOTE (No. 68 Kelly-Moss Motorsport/Porsche of Bucks County, Yokohama Hard Charger Award): “I had a good start and I stayed with it, which allowed me to pick off a couple of cars right from the beginning. Unfortunately I got taken out at the end of the race, but winning the Yokohama Hard Charger Award is a nice bonus!”

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)

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Adam Sinclair

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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.