AUSTIN, Texas (Sept. 16, 2015) – Angel Benitez Jr. isn’t giving up the fight in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.
Benitez, from Miami, is in third place in the Platinum Cup standings – 58 points behind championship leader Elliott Skeer – with just 80 points to be awarded in the four remaining rounds this season in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned Single-Make Series. But he still unleashed the quickest overall lap, 2 minutes, 13.577 seconds, during two practice sessions Wednesday at Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
The hot lap by Benitez came during the warmer, afternoon session in the No. 05 JDX Racing Porsche, as the air temperature climbed into the low 90s under a blazing Texas sun. He was third overall in the morning session on the 20-turn, 3.4-mile circuit at COTA.
Championship contender Jesse Lazare, from Montreal, was second overall at 2:14.045 in the No. 21 Kelly-Moss Motorsports Porsche. Lazare is second in the Platinum Cup standings, 19 behind Skeer.
Platinum Masters championship leader Kasey Kuhlman, from Cincinnati, was third overall at 2:14.781 in the No. 15 Wright Motorsports Porsche.
Series veteran Kuhlman is on the verge of his second consecutive Platinum Masters championship. He leads Jay Patel by 46 points and needs to finish Rounds 13 and 14 this week at COTA with a lead of at least 40 points to lock up the title.
Michael Schein, from New York, was fourth overall with his lap of 2:15.140 that led the morning session in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports entry. Lucas Catania, from Cazenovia, New York, rounded out the top five at 2:15.187 in the No. 26 NGT Motorsport Porsche.
Series leader Skeer was tied for eighth overall at 2:15.864 from the afternoon practice in the No. 14 Wright Motorsports Porsche. He didn’t participate in the morning session due to a mechanical problem.
David Ducote, from Houston, was the quickest driver in the Gold Cup and Gold Masters classes with a best lap of 2:17.184 in the No. 6 Kelly-Moss Motorsports Porsche. Ducote also led both classes in the morning practice at 2:18.988.
Gold Cup and Gold Masters championship leader Jeff Mosing, from Austin, Texas, was second overall in both classes at 2:17.567 in the No. 01 TOPP Racing Porsche.
Mosing leads Mark Llano by 71 points in Gold Cup and by 60 points in the Gold Masters class and only needs to lead by 40 points or more in both classes to seal the championship. It would be his second consecutive Gold Masters title.
Qualifying will start at 8 a.m. (CT) Thursday, Sept. 17, with Round 13 taking the green flag at 12:30 p.m. that afternoon.
Round 14 will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18 and finish under the floodlights at COTA, the only night race of the season. Both races are 45 minutes each, sharing the spotlight with the FIA World Endurance Championship and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship during the Lone Star Le Mans event.
Race Coverage
Live streaming: Both races at www.imsa.com
Live timing: All on-track sessions at scoring.imsa.com or on new IMSA mobile app for iOS, Android or Windows
TV: Delayed television coverage will be provided Oct. 3-4 on major network affiliates in numerous U.S. markets by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Visit http://www.imsa.com/porsche-gt3-cup-usa-channel-finder and enter your ZIP code into the box at the bottom of page to check availability in your area.
Twitter: Live text commentary from all sessions at @IMSALive
For more information about the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, visit www.gt3cupchallengeusa.com, follow hashtag #GT3USA @IMSA on Twitter or IMSA on Facebook.
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