A look back and ahead at the Porsche Centre Oakville Motorsport schedule
In 2015, we at the Policaro Automotive Family and Porsche Centre Oakville threw ourselves into the world of motorsport and partnered with Alegra Motorsports to field a team in the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin, perhaps the premier single-make racing series in the country. Two years later and we’re continuing to build on our successes and invest heavily in motorsport. We’re extremely proud of the team’s progress, including several victories, as well as recovering from setbacks. The combined effort required to put a car and a driver over the finish line at some of North America’s most high-stakes races, let alone over the line before anyone else, is herculean.
In 2016 we had a spectacular race season with team driver Daniel Morad winning the Ultra 94 GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama Platinum Class Championship after a hard-fought battle with rival Scott Hargrove of Open Road Racing. The year kicked off with an epic collision between the two on turn three at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, which was caught on camera.
Over the season, the two ultra-competitive drivers remained no strangers to contact as they pushed toward the championship. In fact, even their final encounter of the season was in keeping with the theme of the year.
After many ups and downs and plenty of twisted metal and melted rubber, the team prevailed, and Morad, in just his second season back behind the wheel after a professional hiatus, managed to take home the Platinum Class championship and help guide the squad to the team championship. Morad also raced in the final four events of the GT3 Cup Challenge USA and in doing so became the first ever driver to clinch a Porsche GT3 Cup North American Championship, which requires a driver to compete in GT3 Cup races on both sides of the border.
At the GT3 Cup wrap party in Atlanta later that year, Alegra Motorsports team principal Carlos De Quesada announced his intention to run in the WeatherTech Patron North American Endurance Cup with a Porsche GT3 R, starting with the iconic 24 Hours at Daytona alongside teammates Morad, Jesse Lazare, Michael de Quesada (Carlos’ son) and Michael Christensen. Fast forward to January 2017 and the actual event. The young team was considered the underdogs in the GTD class. Michael de Quesada, at 17 years old, would be the youngest driver in the field. It’s fair to say that they were hardly on the radar. What looked like inexperience on the surface, however, was anything but. Jesse had recently won the Platinum Class championship in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama and Michael was coming off a Gold Class title in the same series, plus, ten years previous in 2007, Carlos and the Alegra Motorsports team won the very event at Daytona. They were poised for success and, sure enough, they executed, winning the 24 Hours at Daytona and kicking off the 2017 race season in an impressive fashion.
Porsche Centre Oakville and Policaro Motorsport are pleased to be sponsoring Michael de Quesada and the Alegra Motorsports team again this year in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada. His first race took place this past weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park where he placed 6th after veering off track in turn five and losing position. But he was able to recuperate some points in the 2nd race on Sunday, reaching the podium with a third place finish.
The rest of the season promises to be another exciting one with GT3 Cup races in support of the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, and the Honda Indy Toronto approaching. Follow Porsche Centre Oakville on Facebook and Policaro Motorsport on Instagram for behind-the-scenes coverage of the races, and all the latest news and results.
Date Posted: May 24, 2017