IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama Event Preview

Utah Grand Prix

Dates:       April 26-29, 2012

Track:       Miller Motorsports Park

Location:  Tooele, Utah

Race 1:     30 minutes

Race 2:     45 minutes

Series:      Round 2 of 8 in 2012 IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama

The poetry in motion of a Porsche racing is not a common sight, but Utah residents will be in for a treat when 27 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars gather to race at Miller Motorsports Park this weekend at the Utah Grand Prix.

The IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama features semi-professional drivers racing head to head in the largest single-make series in North America. During each GT3 series race, two classes race at the same time. The Platinum Cup class features 2010 - 2012 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, while the Gold Cup class includes Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars from 2005 1/2 through 2009.

Utah-native Madison Snow, a 16-year-old driver in the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama series, will enter his home race at Miller Motorsports Park with an impressive resume and high hopes for a strong result.

In 2011, after scoring his first-ever GT3 Cup win at Miller Motorsports Park, Snow went on to become the youngest driver in history to win a Porsche one-make cup championship. He racked up five wins and five pole positions in just 13 starts in his rookie season, racing in the series’ Gold Cup division.

In the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the series’ first race of the 2012 season, Snow stepped up to the Platinum Cup class highest finish with Snow Racing/Wright Motorsports, registering a highest finish of 13th.

Platinum Cup race winners at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring were Kelly Moss Motorsports’ Tim McKenzie in the first race and Effort Racing’s Michael Mills in the second race. Angel Benitez Jr., driving for Ansa Motorsports, won both Sebring races in the Gold Cup division.

In total, 27 different drivers from 14 different race teams will compete in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama division at the Utah Grand Prix. Five other racing series will compete under the Utah Grand Prix umbrella, including Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, Pirelli World Challenge, Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA West, Pacific F2000/FF and NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.

For more information on the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama series and drivers, visit http://www.imsachallenge.com and follow the series on Facebook and Twitter.

On-track GT3 Schedule:

Thursday, April 26:
9:50 a.m. – 10:35 a.m.     Test Session #1; Outer Course
3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.      Test Session #2; Outer Course

Friday, April 27:
8:00 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.       Practice Session #1; Outer Course
11:35 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.   Practice Session #2; Outer Course
3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.      Qualifying; Outer Course

Saturday, April 28:
12:30 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.     Race #1; Outer Course

Sunday, April 29:
1:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.      Race #2; Outer Course
GT3 Cup Challenge Box Score at Miller Motorsports Park

IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama:

The IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama is one of three official Development Series sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). It is also the largest one-make series in North America. The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama produces intense, exciting competition for semi-professional drivers alongside some of the most promising career-minded GT drivers in one of the world’s most successful and iconic race cars, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, and on some of North America’s most hallowed road racing circuits.

To learn more about the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama, visit imsachallenge.com on the Web, http://www.facebook.com/gt3cupchallenge on Facebook and @GT3Challenge on Twitter.

About Yokohama Tire Corporation:

Yokohama Tire Corporation is the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., a global manufacturing and sales company of premium tires since 1917. Servicing a network of more than 4,500 points of sale in the U.S., Yokohama Tire Corporation is a leader in technology and innovation. The company’s complete product line includes the all-new AVID® Ascend™ – the first mass-market tire using Yokohama’s breakthrough orange oil technology – as  well as tires for high-performance, light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus, and off-the-road mining and construction applications. For more information on Yokohama’s extensive product line, visit http://www.yokohamatire.com