Top Five Finishes Highlight JDX Racing's Wet Montreal Weekend in Porsche Carrera Cup
JDX Racing drivers Alex Sedgwick and Zachary Vanier each earned top-five finishes in Porsche Carrera Cup North America presented by RAFA Racing, while Elias De La Torre finished in the points twice and Madeline Stewart earned a career-best finish last weekend on a very wet Montreal circuit.
Though the doubleheader races at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in support of the Canadian Grand Prix were scheduled for 45 minutes, the reality of situation in a deluge of rain was very different.
Saturday’s race began on a damp circuit and a light rain but ran just three laps before the skies opened up. The race was red flagged to allow cars to swap to rain tires and rejoined behind the safety car but never returned to green.
Sedgwick drove the No. 98 PT Autosport/Byers Imports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup forward two spots in that time to finish fourth, but the effectively shortened race cost Vanier two positions from his spot on the grid and into seventh.
Sunday was officially designated a rain race on the grid, putting all cars on rain tires prior to the green flag. Sedgwick and Vanier’s No. 9 Technica Mining/Byers Imports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup held on in the top five through the opening 15 minutes until the race’s first of two full course caution periods, with De La Torre climbing into the top 10 from his 12th position on the grid as well.
When the second full course caution period came after five minutes of wet racing, Sedgwick and Vanier were nose to tail in fourth and fifth, with De La Torre’s No. 4 HCB Yachts/iKon Boats/Byers Imports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in ninth. Stewart was 12th in the Pro class behind the safety car in her No. 82 Spool Imports/Porsche Columbus Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Unfortunately, that’s where all four would remain as track clean-up continued and time expired with the field behind the safety car – with Sedgwick and Vanier the first two spots off the podium and Stewart with the best finish to date in her rookie season.
The strong weekend for Sedgwick moves him to third in the Championship, tied with his teammate Vanier, after six of 16 total races. De La Torre now sits ninth in points, while Stewart scored her first career Carrera Cup points on Saturday and added to her tally on Sunday.
After two consecutive events in support of Formula One, JDX Racing and Porsche Carrera Cup North America returns to a slot on the traditional IMSA calendar at Watkins Glen, June 20-22.