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March 20th, 2018 : For a second full season in the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup, driver Patrick Dussault and Lauzon Autosport joined Canadian and American drivers on the legendary Sebring circuit in Florida this week. For this first round of the race, Dussault is pleased, completing his work week with a spectacular rise of 11 positions in a 2nd day of exciting racing and finishing 5th in the Canadian series, in addition to accumulating valuable points in the championship.Work began Wednesday, under the hot Florida sun, with 2 practices to test early-season adjustments. The preparation of the car is, again this year, handled by the specialists of GT Racing, who have a lot of experience in the series and who are very familiar with the GT3 and its racing settings. “The team did a very good job, the car behaves very well on the track, but I still have not reached the times I was aiming for in the 2 practice sessions. I was looking forward to the qualification to really push the car to its limits!” said the 26-year-old driver from Ville Lorraine. Unfortunately for him, the qualifying session was prematurely stopped after 3 laps after a red flag caused by another driver. Patrick, like many others, found himself unable to achieve an optimal time before the end of the shortened qualification, which would have placed him in a more advantageous position on the starting grid. So, it is in 19th position that Patrick started the race with a major challenge in front of him.After pushing hard for forty-five minutes of regulation time, this first race ended with twenty complete laps, allowing Dussault’s GT3 number 77 to land in 7th place in the Canadian category and 16th in combined categories. In Friday’s second race, Dussault brilliantly crossed the finish line in 5th position in the Canadian division and in tenth place overall counting all 34 cars of both categories.Mission accomplished for Dussault in this first round of 6 events of the season spread until September. Patrick intends to take advantage of the experience he gained in his first season in the series (last year) to perform well and deliver great visibility to his sponsors including Porsche Lauzon, Porsche South Shore and Construction Vincent & Dussault who are supporting him and the team.Canadian compatriot Zacharie Robichon was victorious in the second race, adding to his previous success on the day before when he also finished 1st in the Canadian series and second overall.
Patrick Dussault draws a positive assessment of his time on American soil. “Sebring was a good back-on-track exercise, I brought the car back in one piece, despite the aggressiveness of the Americans on the track in both events and I feel like I’m fully prepared for the second round of the season on May 19th and 20th, on the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park circuit in Bowmanville, Ontario. I have a good car, I am backed by a great team and it’s a circuit that I know well. So I’m very confident!” explains the Canadian driver.
Photos Courtesy of Lauzon Autosport