Lewis Finds Victory in Race 2 at Road America; Urry Second - Speedway Digest

Michael Lewis led from flag to flag of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama race Sunday morning to earn his third Platinum Cup victory this season for Competition Motorsports.

Lewis started on pole in the No. 98 Competition/Curb-Agajanian Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, and never faced a real challenge from second-place finisher Sloan Urry in the caution free race. The 23-year-old from Laguna Beach, Calif. returned to the top step of the podium for the first time since his sweep of Rounds 3 and 4 of Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA competition at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May.

“Having pole position for both of the races so far at Road America was very exciting,” Lewis said. “We finished second in Race 1, and we wanted redemption today. We got it, and we did it in style, checking out with a pretty big gap on the field.”

JDX Racing’s Sloan Urry drove a clean race, but lacked the speed to challenge Lewis for the lead.

“Race 2 at Road America went pretty well for us, but it definitely wasn’t perfect like yesterday when we won,” Urry said. “Michael Lewis ran a great race with the hammer down from the start. He got a good gap in the beginning, and then we were pretty much running identical lap times from there on out. Congrats to him on a great race.”

Door Doctor/Moorespeed driver Jesse Lazare started sixth in the Platinum class, and made several passes to finish third, collecting his third podium of the season.

“We had a great start, and had a nice outside pass right into the first corner,” Lazare said. “I saw my car was stable, and I was able to pick off one car at a time. I was really fast coming out of Turn 3 and getting great passes in Turn 5. Halfway through the race I had(Angel) Benitez, Jr. behind me, and I just didn’t make mistakes. I kept looking forward, and before I knew it the race was over.”

Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama Platinum championship leader Colin Thompson started Round 12 at Road America third, but fell back to finish eighth after several on-track incidents that subsequently resulted in spins. Angel Benitez, Jr. started the race second in championship points, and climbed from his ninth-place starting position to fourth in class during the race.

Platinum Masters

Platinum Masters podium finishers (from left): Charlie Putman, David Calvert-Jones, David Baker

After a hairy start, David Calvert-Jones finished atop the Platinum Masters division podium in Road America. It was the Australian’s seventh Platinum Masters class podium in 2014.

“I really blew the start and got overtaken by three cars after Turn 3, which was frustrating,” Calvert-Jones said. “I was on my own for most of the race, but I focused on turning the best lap times I possibly could.”

Dempsey Racing‘s Charlie Putman started sixth on the 4.048-mile track, and collected his second Platinum Masters podium of the weekend, finishing second.

Topp Racing driver David Baker drove from eighth to third in the No. 56 Topp Racing Porsche.

“It was a war of attrition out there on the track,” Baker said. “It was all about being consistent and staying out of trouble in Race 2.”

Gold Cup/Gold Masters

Gold Cup/Gold Masters podium finishers (from left): Jeff Mosing, David Ducote, Mark Llano

Kelly-Moss Motorsports driver David Ducote is batting a thousand after two Gold Cup starts and wins in as many days at Road America.

“We started out strong on the pole today,” Ducote said. “I just tried to really push hard in the faster sections where I could keep up with the 991’s, and stayed out of trouble,” Ducote said. “Kelly-Moss gave me a really good car, and I kept my head down out there.”

Jeff Mosing of Topp Racing followed Ducote to the checkered flag in Gold Cup competition.

Mark Llano, driver of the No. 24 SERKET Racing Porsche, completed the Gold Cup podium. Llano started fifth, and earned his third podium of the 2014 season on the 14-turn road course.

Yokohama Hard Charger

Yokohama Hard Charger Winner Michael Zuieback

Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama newcomer Michael Zuieback earned the Yokohama Hard Charger award for Round 12. He advanced his Gold class 911 GT3 Cup car 11 spots to finish 19^th overall.

“This is my first time running with the series, and I planned on just hanging in the back and staying out of trouble,” Zuieback said. “I got in a nice groove in the race today though, and passed several cars. It was so much fun. It’s great that Yokohama does this Hard Charger award.”

One more 45-minute timed race is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. (CT) Sunday for the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama series. The race will serve as a make-up event for Round 6 at Lime Rock Park, which was rained out in late May.

Follow the action through live through streaming video at fanschoice.tv, live timing at scoring.imsa.com/gt3-challenge-usa and live race details on Twitter @IMSALive.

ROUND 12 POST-RACE QUOTES:

MICHAEL LEWIS (No. 98 Competition Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian, winner):“Having pole position for both of the races so far at Road America was very exciting. We finished second in Race 1, and we wanted redemption today. We got it, and we did it in style checking out with a pretty big gap on the field. I put my head down and tried to run every single lap like it was a qualifying lap. Nothing went wrong for our car in this race, and we’ll knock on wood that it stays that way in Race 3 later tonight. The No. 98 Competition Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian Porsche was unreal today.”

SLOAN URRY (No. 20 JDX Racing, second): “Race 2 at Road America went pretty well for us, but it definitely wasn’t perfect like yesterday when we won. Michael Lewis ran a great race with the hammer down from the start. He got a good gap in the beginning, and then we were pretty much running identical lap times from there on out. Congrats to him on a great race. I’ll go back with the JDX Racing team to analyze what happened here in Race 2 to see if we can come back in Race 3 with a better pace to give Lewis a run for his money.”

JESSE LAZARE (No. 31 Door Doctor/Moorespeed, third): “We had a great start, and had a nice outside pass right into the first corner. I saw my car was stable, and I was able to pick off one car at a time. I was really fast coming out of Turn 3 and getting great passes in Turn 5. Halfway through the race I had (Angel) Benitez, Jr. behind me, and I just didn’t make mistakes. I kept looking forward, and before I knew it the race was over.”

DAVID CALVERT-JONES (No. 12 Competition Motorsports/Curb Agajanian, first, Platinum Masters): “I really blew the start and got overtaken by three cars after Turn 3, which was frustrating. I was on my own for most of the race, but I focused on turning the best lap times I possibly could. I managed to close the gap up to Christina Nielsen quite well. I think with a few more laps I could have gotten her. It was great racing, though.”

CHARLIE PUTMAN (No. 40 Dempsey Racing, second, Platinum Masters): “It was a pretty quiet race for me today in Road America. There were a few spins and incidents to avoid which always adds excitement in the early laps. After making it through that I ended up in a nice, sweet spot by myself and it became a nice Sunday afternoon drive!”

DAVID BAKER (No. 56 Topp Racing, third, Platinum Masters): “First I want to thank my sponsor Apex Capital and the folks in Ft. Worth, Texas for making this possible. Topp Racing gave me a great race car today. It was a war of attrition out there on the track. It was all about being consistent and staying out of trouble in Race 2.”

DAVID DUCOTE (No. 6 Kelly-Moss/Porsche of Bucks County, first, Gold Cup, Gold Masters):“Started out strong on the pole. I had a little trouble with a few platinum cars at the start, and we traded a few positions. I tried to hang on to the platinum cars as best as I could, but had a little trouble in the brake zones with the 991’s. I just tried to really push hard in the faster sections where I could keep up with them, and stayed out of trouble. Kelly-Moss gave me a really good car, and I kept my head down.”

JEFF MOSING (No. 01 Topp Racing, second, Gold, Gold Masters): “It was another picture perfect day for our Topp Racing Porsche GT3 cup car. The team just does a wonderful job with the car. I had the best car from the start to finish. I wasn’t able to get up there and give David a challenge, but I did conserve tires enough to keep Madsen and Levitas at bay. Thanks to Road America and Yokohama. I was really glad there weren’t any major accidents this race. Hopefully we’ll have a repeat for this afternoon in Race 3.”

MARK LLANO (No. 24 SERKET Racing, third, Gold, Gold Masters): “It was a very clean race with no yellow flags. We were pushing the whole way. Once we got out of Turn 1 and to Turn 3 and 5 it was amazing. Drivers are strong here. The crew at NGT did a great job with setup of the car. They worked pretty much all night to be ready for this race. I’m just thankful to have my family and my girlfriend here, and I’m very honored to bring this trophy home for the veterans.”

MICHAEL ZUIEBACK (No. 2 Competition Motorsports, Yokohama Hard Charger Award): “This is my first time running with the series, and I planned on just hanging in the back and staying out of trouble. I got in a nice groove in the race today though, and passed several cars. It was so much fun. It’s great that Yokohama does this Hard Charger award. It’s nice to be rewarded because that was definitely the most difficult racing I’ve ever done.”

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.