WeatherTech.ca Racing is ready to take on the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Mobil 1 Sportscar Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park this weekend, July 11-13.
Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) returns to the track formerly known as Mosport having won the American Le Mans Series GTC race there last year. Teammate Leh Keen (Charleston, S.C.) is ready to repeat with MacNeil in the No. 22 WeatherTech.ca Racing Porsche at the challenging 2.4-mile, 10-turn undulating natural terrain road course located 30 minutes north of Toronto.
The duo had a tough Watkins Glen recording their worst finish of the season in 12th. Not resting, they grabbed a plane to Le Mans, France where they won the Le Mans Classic race in their category behind the wheel of a 1974 Porsche RSR. The finish at The Glen only dropped the duo from second to third in the GTD standings, but they are poised to gain back what was lost just two weeks ago.
“Even though we had a tough outing at Watkins Glen, it didn’t hurt as bad as a 12th finish should have,” MacNeil said. “Last year I was able to win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with Jeroen Bleekemolen and I am looking forward to doing the same with Leh this Sunday. We had a fast WeatherTech Porsche at Watkins Glen and we should have the same hot rod this weekend.”
“The Le Mans Classic is a great event,” he continued. “All of those great cars with Le Mans 24 hour racing history coming back to compete on the eight mile track is great. You really appreciate how far technology has come when you compare a 1974 Porsche RSR that we drove to the new GT America. I think I like paddle shift better than the old heel-and-toe method. Leh and I won the event in our class, so we are bringing a little French momentum to Canada.”
Keen likes the fast Canadian Tire Motorsport Park circuit.
“We had a fast WeatherTech Porsche at the Glen and we are real excited to take it up north to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park,” Keen said. “Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is a superfast track, so we will have a fast car on a fast track! It doesn’t get much better than that in racing. Two years ago Cooper and I finished second up there and this year we are hoping to do one better. It is going to be pretty wild out there with all the different classes and 41 competitors, but actually very similar to 2012 with the speed of the cars. The track owners have been doing a great job improving the facility and run off areas to make it safer and a nicer place to race.”
“Cooper and I have been busy in between the two races,” he continued. “We were over at Le Mans this past weekend doing the Le Mans Classic, which is a huge vintage event. The biggest vintage race in the world by far. We were in the WeatherTech Porsche, a 1974 RSR, and were able to win our category! Which is a very competitive class being the early 70s Porsche RSR is such a popular collector car and a blast to drive. We had a lot of fun over there.”
Alex Job, team owner, has five wins at the track located just north of Toronto since 1999.
“We had some work to do after Watkins Glen,” Job said. “Leh and Cooper rebounded quickly and raced over to France to run the Classic which I hope is good therapy after The Glen. They ran well together in 2012 finishing second and Cooper won the GTC race here last year. We will try and carry the speed over from The Glen and put a whole race together for a strong finish.”