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Porsche Customer Teams To Compete In GTD Classes At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Porsche Motorsport's focus for Sunday’s Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is on the GTD classes of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The event will not feature the overall GTP class for LMDh hybrid prototypes like the Porsche 963. Instead, the two-hour, 40-minute race will highlight the GTD Pro and GTD classes as well as the LMP2 class.
The race at Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada will see two Porsche 911 GT3 R race cars representing the German sports car manufacturer. This event marks one of two rounds this season where the world’s fastest sports cars are absent from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The LMDh cars that make up the GTP class will not be present at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP).
"The weekends where the majority of the focus is on the GT3 cars are always special events for us," said Volker Holzmeyer, president and CEO of Porsche Motorsport North America. "GT racing is the heart of Porsche racing. It is where we got our start, it is how we made our name and it is where we draw from when we develop future generations of Porsche 911 road cars."
Two Porsche 911 GT3 R customer cars are on the 34-car entry list for Sunday’s showdown at CTMP. In the GTD Pro class, AO Racing’s No. 77 "Rexy" entry holds the top spot in the Team championship. Drivers Seb Priaulx (United Kingdom) and Laurin Heinrich (Germany) lead the Driver standings with five races remaining in the season.
In addition to these entries, High Class Racing continues its inaugural IMSA season with a single Porsche 911 GT3 R in the GTD class. Drivers Andrea Fjordbach (Denmark) and Kerong Li (China) have placed their team into the top 15 after five rounds.
Historical Significance
The track at CTMP has been a significant venue since its founding in the early 1960s. Canadian racing legend Ludwig Heimrath, Sr., won the first sports car race held there in a Porsche 718 RS60 in 1961. Hurley Haywood followed in 1975 by winning an IMSA round at CTMP with a Porsche 911 RSR.
From 2002 to 2007, Porsche secured multiple victories at CTMP with various models including four-consecutive wins with 911 GT3-based race cars and back-to-back wins with Team Penske's RS Spyder. The last overall win for Porsche at CTMP was in 2010 when Romain Dumas and Lucas Luhr drove a Porsche RS Spyder Evo to victory.
Race Details
The race will air live on USA Network beginning Sunday, July 14 at 11:00 a.m. EST/8:00 a.m. PST. Flag-to-flag coverage will stream on Peacock while IMSA Radio will provide full race commentary and post-race highlights live on IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com, and Sirius XM channel 206 (Web/App channel 996).
Laurin Heinrich expressed his excitement about racing in Canada for the first time: "I’m really looking forward to my first-ever race in Canada... We’re still leading the championship... We hope to possibly extend our championship lead again."
Driver Overview
GTD-Pro class (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
- AO Racing No. 77: Laurin Heinrich (Germany) / Sebastian Priaulx (United Kingdom)
GTD class (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
- High Class Racing / MDK Motorsports (No. 86): Anders Fjordbach (Denmark) / Kerong Li (China)
Schedule Highlights
Friday, July 12:
- Free practice from 1:45 – 3:15 p.m.
Saturday, July 13:
- Free practice from 10:35 – 12:05 p.m.
- Qualifying from 4:00 – 4:15 p.m.
Sunday, June [Correct Date]:
- Race from 11:05 a.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Porsche Cars North America, Inc., established in Atlanta since its inception in1984, serves as an exclusive U.S. importer of various Porsche models including the iconic Porsche Experience Center featuring driver development tracks and business centres both in Atlanta and near Los Angeles.
With over three decades of motorsport success boasting more than thirty thousand wins globally, Porsche continues to uphold its legacy through innovation and performance excellence across its dealership network and customer experiences throughout North America.
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