As regular readers of The Garage know, Canada has a played an important role in Porsche’s rich racing history. Some of the top Porsche drivers over the past 5 decades have been Canadians, while the wildly popular Rothmans Porsche series of the 80’s was considered by many to be the top single marque series of all time.
“Canada has always been a part of the Porsche motorsport family,†said Joe Lawrence, President and CEO of Porsche Canada. “Canada was the stage for one of the most competitive one-make Porsche series in the 1980s and Mosport has hosted the American IMSA GT3 Challenge every year. It’s great to once again have a Canadian series and Porsche Canada looks forward to playing a more active role in the worldwide Porsche motorsport community.â€Â
With that history in mind, Porsche announced today that Canadian race fans will once again be able to cheer for a Porsche series on home soil instead of just seeing them on television. The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada is the 20th such series around the globe, and will take place at 3 separate events in Ontario and Quebec.
Series Schedule
- May 14, 15 at Calabogie Motorsports Park, just outside of Ottawa.
- June 3, 4, 5 at Circuit ICAR, at Mirabel, near Montreal.
- July 23, 24 at Mosport as part of the Mobil 1 Presents the Grand Prix of Mosport American Le Mans weekend.
Competitors will be driving Porsche GT3 Cup cars which are derived from the popular GT3 RS road car specifically for the Challenge Cup world wide. The series is being coordinated by IMSA, an organization that has a long history at Mosport and also organizes the American GT3 Cup series. For the Mosport round, American competitors will be included on the entry roster. This combination of both series very well make the GT3 Cup the most exciting race of the weekend.
The Rothmans Porsche series included some of the top names in motorsport 20 years ago and many of those drivers are still active in racing. While the entry list has yet to be finalized, one has to wonder if guys like Ron Fellows, Ken Wilden and Richard Spenard are going to be drafted into service.
Keep checking back, as we will be sure to keep you up to date on any series developments as the season approaches.
Great news. I was Ahmad Khodkar's Crew Chief the first 2 yrs of Rothmans Porsche – with Heimrath Racing, then Commercial Motorsports (Rick Bye). Later I was Turbo Cup Series Scrutineer & Tech Inspector. That was great racing & cool drivers. I had fun drives in Ahmad's 944 & 930 Turbo (modded!!), both street & Solo2. Spenard & Bye drove me on Nelson & Fabi (at AJAC Testfests that I worked) in 911s & Boxsters – all excellent laps. MacBits.
I always love to watch Porsche racing. It's both fun and entertaining. Can I watch this one on TV?