Perfect day for Canadian Jesse Lazare at Laguna Seca

Lazare, from Montreal, beat Lucas Catania to the finish of the 45-minute race by 7.412 seconds. The victory was his third in four starts this season in the No. 21 Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. He also won Round 3 Friday and Round 1 in mid-March at Sebring International Raceway.

"Zero problems," Lazare said. "The car was absolutely phenomenal. It was so perfect."

Catania, from Cazenovia, New York, preserved his Platinum Cup championship lead with his second consecutive runner-up finish at this event in the No. 26 NGT Motorsport Porsche. Ricardo Perez, from Mexico City, earned his third podium finish of the season by placing third in the No. 02 JDX Racing Porsche.

Lazare started from pole for the second consecutive race and wasted no time establishing his dominance. He built a 1.505-second lead after one lap around the 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit and expanded that margin to 5.8 seconds after just 10 minutes.

The gap grew to nearly nine seconds over Catania during the second half of the race, as Lazare never was challenged. The race was caution-free, giving Catania no chance to try to attack Lazare on a restart.

"Jesse was really quick," Catania said. "I put my head down and tried to push, but I just couldn't catch him. I tried to stay consistent and slowly pulled away from the pack, and it worked out and I finished second. It's a good points weekend."

Lazare pulled to within 11 points of leader Catania with the two victories, trailing 74-63. Rounds 5 and 6 are on his home asphalt, at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve - only a few miles from his home - on June 10-12 during the Canadian Grand Prix Formula One event in Montreal. That event also will feature the first-ever joint races between the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama and the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama.

"I'm so excited for Montreal," Lazare said. "It's my hometown. I love the track. It's 10 minutes from my house. I'm going to love to race against the Canadian series. I know all of my sponsors are going to be there to support me, and I'm going to put on a good show for them."

IMSA