Season ReCap Blog 6: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
The Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin Series traveled back to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Mosport) for Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2013 season. David Ostella returned to his home track after a rough two rounds of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.
Mosport, near Toronto, played host to both the U.S. and Canadian series, giving Ostella the chance to pull double duty. He pulled out two second-place finishes in the Canadian series while landing a sixth- and fourth-place finish in the U.S. series.
1. Back to Canadian soil and back home. After a weekend like Watkins Glen, did being at a track you know as well as Mosport build your confidence for the weekend or did you feel the need to prove yourself?
David: “I didn’t feel like I needed to prove myself. It gave me confidence just knowing that I was back home and on a track I knew well. After the disappointing weekend before, it was easy to give the team confidence that we will do well at Mosport since it is my home track, and I have already proven that I can win.”
2. You pulled double duty racing in both series. Is it hard to switch back and forth? How big of a difference is there in the setup of the car?
David: “It wasn’t too bad going back and forth because we really just focused on the setup for the Canadian series, as that was the one I was going for the championship in. We fooled around with a little bit of setup in the U.S. series but didn’t go too crazy.”
3. Did you ever find yourself confusing your data analysis?
David: “With the data we just had to make sure we labeled it right away to make sure we didn’t get confused with all the track time I was getting. It was very helpful, though, having more track time as it helped me get to know the car that much better. It helped the team a lot, too.”
4. The U.S. series was for pride while the Canadian race was for points. In which race were you more worried about your performance?
David: “I was definitely more worried about performing in the Canadian series, but at the same time I wanted to make sure I didn’t have any on-track incidents in the U.S. series, as the races were back-to-back on both days. I needed to keep the car in good condition to ensure I could still compete for the championship. Every race counts, and a minor incident in the U.S. race would have ruined my standing in the Canadian series.”
5. You almost made the podium in the U.S. series. What kept you out of having one of the top spots?
David: “The main reason for the U.S. series performance was the fact that we didn’t focus on setup at all for the weekend. I think we could have been on the podium, but running the Canadian series at the same time put our priorities elsewhere. Also, the tires were a lot different than the Michelin tires. That was one thing that was hard to adjust to, as I couldn’t push the same way on the Yokohamas as I could do on the Michelins due to the fact we didn’t know much about the tire.”
6. You earned two second-place finishes in the Canadian series. Is that almost as tough as not landing on the podium in the U.S. series because you were so close to being on the top step?
David: “Not getting the top spot at Mosport was a bit upsetting, with my whole family there to watch, but just getting on the podium was important. The team and I knew that just getting the most points as possible was going to be the goal for each race to make sure we could secure the championship.”