Oh Canada! What week it has been for the country, from the Women’s World Cup Final in Vancouver, to the opening of the Pan-American Games in Toronto. It’s been a banner week for the nation, and it would all wrap up with the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship invading Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for the Mobil 1 Sports Car Grand Prix.
Three of the TUDOR classes would take to the track on Sunday – the Prototypes, GT Le Mans, and PC classes. Wayne Taylor Racing and his son Ricky Taylor (#10 Konica Minolta Chevy) would sit on pole for the prototypes, while James French (#38 Performance Tech Motorsports Chevy) would be on pole in PC. Meanwhile, Porsche continued their hot June and July by putting Nick Tandy (#911 RSR Porsche) on pole, to become the first repeat pole sitter in class history.
The race in the prototype class would be primarily contested between Wayne Taylor Racing and Action Express Racing for the first half of the race, as Ricky Taylor would swap the lead back and forth with Dane Cameron (#31 Whelen Chevrolet). However, when Cameron had a tire go down near 90 minutes remaining, that opened the door for Ozz Negri Jr. (#60 Curb Records Honda) to take the lead. Cameron would work his way back to the front, and would lead up until a final pit stop for a splash of fuel with under ten minutes remaining. That would cost the #31 car the victory, as the Taylor brothers behind the wheel of the #10 car would take the victory at CTMP.
Meanwhile, in the GT Le Mans category, it was Porsche all race long. The duo of Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet were in control for the entire race, never seeing the #911 Porsche out of the lead. This would be the second win for Porsche in the GTLM category this season, and first for the factory team.
Finally, in PC, after James French’s #38 Oreca Chevy stopped on course while leading, the lead was handed to a bevy of drivers, but finally Colin Braun (#54 CORE Autosport Chevy) wrestled the lead away. The championship leader along with teammate Jon Bennett would take the easy victory in the category.
Next up for the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship will be the Northeast Grand Prix on Saturday, July 25 at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut. Coverage can be seen live on the IMSA app and website, and on Sunday, July 26 on Fox Sports 1.
