Over the past weekend, TPC Racing went back out racing in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Series. Michael Levitas has not been out to Laguna Seca in six years, so he was very excited to get out there.

The weekend started off rough for Mike in the 36 TPC Racing/Teamspeed.com Porsche GT3 Cup though. Having never driven a 997 GT3 Cup at Laguna Seca before, there was a lot for Mike to learn in a short period of time. At first, Mike went out and drove the track to re-learn it and then worked on the chassis setup. Making small changes, Mike got a bit of a better feel for the car, but still not 100%.

In qualifying, the guys made the wrong call when it came to setting the tire pressures, making them too high. They made another change for Race 1 and Mike was really feeling positive. On lap 8 though, Mike went to pass in turn two but three cars wide which did not work out so well for him.

During that battle in turn two, Mike got into someone that checked up on him causing impact and damaging our front radiators which put us out of the race.

The guys worked hard and got the car together, and also made a huge setup change after Mike sat down and spoke to long time friend and driver, Spencer Pumpelly. We were honored to be working with TRG (The Racer's Group) over the weekend as they transported our 36 TPC Racing/Teamspeed.com GT3 Cup out to Laguna after they ran the Baltimore Grand Prix.

With the advice from Spencer Pumpelly and the guys at TRG, we were ready to go on Sunday for race 2 of the weekend. Mike would be starting dead last in the field and he knew that he had his work cut out for him.

Mike raced hard, let the car come to him and drove like never before! He took advantage of others battling and also capitalized on mistakes made by others. During a restart, two cars went side by side on the front straight and ended up spinning. No one knew where to go, but Mike made the right decision and gained huge position! Now that he was up toward the front and chasing down the leaders, Mike knew that he had a good car under him and was able to hang with P3. Running very competitive lap times and with the way things were looking, Mike thought he could pass for third. When he thought that chance could come, another caution came out.

Being that Mike started dead last and worked his way up to fourth, TPC Racing won the Hard Charger award! Mike was happy to receive this award and is also excited to run in next weeks race during the Petit Le Mans weekend and Road Atlanta.

TPC Racing was honored to be working with Kevin Buckler's TRG operation. "After years racing against TRG,I was thrilled to say the least when the opportunity was presented to join the TRG team for Laguna,said TPC Racing team owner and driver Michael Levitas. I was really struggling with the track setup,but the crew at TRG help to diagnose the data and we made a bold change for race 2 and followed Pumpelly's advise to wait for the tires to come in and let the car roll over and be patient. Starting dead last out of 38 cars 9th in class, cautions were the only thing saving the top 3 cars. They were running nose to tail when the 36 car found them on the final caution not to go green. I was putting .7 sec a lap and pulled right in behind the third place car. It was a great race! Thanks to all at TRG, and I look forward to working with them again at Road Atlanta. We are honored to have the TRG logo on our car."

TRG was a great group to be with, and also a positive group that supported us throughout the weekend even when they had many other cars to look after. "It was a pleasure to re-unite with my old racing buddy and competitor, Mike Levitas, said team owner Kevin Buckler. TRG & TPC are 2 of the longest standing brands on the sportscar scene & I really love it when we work out good fun partnerships like this. Mikes a great driver & a welcome addition to our cast of characters at TRG!!!"

 

Nice. I could take him. LOL