Martin Harvey to compete at Watkins Glen this weekend - Speedway Digest

Racecar driver Martin Harvey is expecting a lot of traffic and maybe some road rage this weekend at the 5.47-kilometre Watkins Glen road course located in the Finger Lakes region of New York, during rounds 5 and 6 of the Ultra 94 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama as they meet their GT3 Cup American counterparts. The North American Porsche GT3 doubleheader is billed as support races for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Last year, the driver of the number 08 Wingho Racing Porsche sponsored by McDonald’s of Berthierville and Joliette, and Porsche Prestige of Montréal, scored two class wins in the Canadian Gold championship on the 11-turn iconic track that was entirely repaved in 2015. It will be a different story this year for Harvey as he now competes in the tougher Platinum Masters championship for drivers 45-years and over, a separate contest from the highly competitive Platinum Cup main class, but they all share the same track.

More than 40 drivers from both sides of the border will face-off in a door-to-door two races competition. Thirty second-generation 2017 Porsche 911 GT3 are entered in the Platinum Cup Class, 13 of them in the Master Division. Add to this field, 10 first-generation Porsche 911 that will also share the same track but are competing in the Gold Championship. Tensions were high last year as series officials had to restart the race in two waves because there were too many incidents in corner one of the first race.

“Expectations are high when drivers from two countries meet, especially when there are lots of cars on the track fighting for the same piece of real estate,” said Harvey who is from Repentigny, Québec. “No one gives anything up on this sweeping, but sometimes quite narrow track. There is no way of knowing how each battle will go, especially if the weather takes a turn for the worse as predicted for Saturday. Optimistically, I am looking for a top-15 in the overall Platinum Class and at least a top-5 in the Canadian Master Championship. But it won’t be easy. “

This weekend marks the return of full track time activities for the Canadian Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Challenge drivers who will compete in two 45-minute races. Last time in Montreal, track time was reduced to less than 30 minutes for each race, but it was the price to pay for competing on the same track as Formula 1. At the Glen, two open practices will be held on Thursday, June 29. On Friday, the lone qualifying session will be run in the morning with round 5 of the series scheduled to start a 5:50 p.m. EDT. On Saturday, July 1, the green flag for the second race of the weekend will be waved at 10:30 a.m.

A full report of both races will be issued this Saturday.

Fans can follow the action on live timing and scoring as well as live streaming video for all practice sessions, qualifying and the two races on the IMSA website network at http://scoring.imsa.com/ or at http://porschegt3cupcanada.imsa.com/ by clicking on Live Video and or Live Timing & Scoring.

Author
Recent Posts

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.