BOWMANVILLE, Ontario – The first race of the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Acura weekend featured the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama and it was over nearly as soon as it began.

Roman De Angelis scored his fourth victory of the season on Saturday morning in the No. 79 Mark Motors Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car after a strong start at the drop of the green flag.

The 18-year-old from Belle River, Ontario, started on pole alongside Jeff Kingsley in the No. 16 Policaro Motorsport Porsche, but was unchallenged heading into Turn 1 as Kingsley struggled to get up to speed. De Angelis reveled in the clean air, going on to win by a staggering 14.598 seconds.

“It was pretty difficult to be honest with you,” said De Angelis, who will start from the No. 1 spot for Race 2 on Sunday morning. “We struggled a bit with rear grip. We had a shock go bad yesterday in qualifying and to replace that overnight, you never really know how these shocks are going to break in or how they’re going to act. So yeah, the left rear was a bit sketchy in all the right-handers, so I just kind of had to adapt to the way the car was.

“It was definitely not an easy one for us but once again I can’t thank Mark Motors enough. We’re pulling away in these points and we just need to keep doing that.”

While initially dropping to third place at the start, Kingsley bounced back to regain the runner-up position ahead of Patrick Dussault in the No. 77 Lauzon Autosport Porsche. This is the first podium for Kingsley since winning the first race of the season, also at CTMP as part of the annual Victoria Day SpeedFest held in May. This is Dussault’s third podium of the year.

Meanwhile in the Platinum Masters class, it was an exciting race for winner Marco Cirone in the No. 88 Porsche for Mark Motors Racing. After starting seventh on the grid, Cirone moved up to fourth place and was eagerly looking to steal the final overall podium spot from Dussault in the final minutes. Coming onto the frontstretch, however, Cirone got loose as he peeked inside Dussault’s Porsche and spun.

Fortunately for Cirone, the battle for third was well ahead of the rest of the field, so he was able to recover and continue on for the Platinum Masters victory and overall fourth-place finish.

“I’m very happy with the Masters win, but to be quite honest in my heart I had that third place, man,” said Cirone. “I was going for it so hard and perhaps that was the problem, that at the end there I wanted it so bad that I tried too hard and I lost control unfortunately.

“But still a great drive by Patrick and Jeff Kingsley and super congratulations to my partner, Roman. I just want to thank the Mark Motors team, Liza and Michael (Mrak), for being here and supporting us. Thank you to IMSA and a special thank you to (Porsche factory driver) Kevin (Estre), the new Porsche Cars Canada coach. He really helped me out and is a wonderful person.”

Earning the Yokohama Tire Hard Charger Award for gaining the most positions in the 45-minute race was Michael Levitas in the No. 37 TPC Racing Porsche. Levitas – who won the most recent Platinum Masters race at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal last month – moved up from 13th to ninth and finished just off the Masters podium, with a fourth-place finish in class.

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario – The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Le Mans class is often considered the most competitive form of GT racing in the world and every so often something extraordinary happens that reaffirms that claim.

Such was the case Saturday’s qualifying at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park when the entire GTLM field – eight drivers representing four different manufacturers – at one point held the provisional pole during the final five minutes of the 15-minute session.

The driver who topped the leaderboard when it mattered most was the No. 24 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE of Jesse Krohn. He lapped the 2.459-mile circuit in one minute, 13.086 seconds (121.123 mph) to score his first WeatherTech Championship pole, leading a front row sweep for BMW in the GTLM class for Sunday’s Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Acura.

RELATED: Braun Repeats As Canadian IMSA Pole Winner

The lap was a track record for the GTLM class, besting Nick Tandy’s pole-winning time from last year of 1:13.517.

“Finally, I’ve waited for this for a long time,” said Krohn, who will team with co-driver John Edwards on Sunday. “We went for the good ol’ one-lap banger. We put it all on one lap. We know it’s going to be critical on tires here to win the race. The more you can save in qualifying the better you can have for the race. Definitely a great job from the guys giving me the car I have today. The lap was good, really good, to be honest. I don’t think there was any more I could have given.

“It’s going to be an absolute dog fight as always. It’s really tight, and there is no room for mistakes. We almost had a clean weekend at Watkins (Glen), but one little error really puts you back in this class. So all we need to do is have a clean one, no little mistakes on track or in the pits. And really just do a flawless fast race.”

Joining Krohn on the front row is teammate Tom Blomqvist, who qualified second in the No. 25 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 with a lap of 1:13.548. Ryan Briscoe qualified third in the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT, followed by the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Pilet and No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR of Laurens Vanthoor.

In GT Daytona, Turner Motorsport and Robby Foley gave BMW a sweep of the GT division poles at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Qualifying the No. 96 BMW M6 GT3, Foley earned his first career Motul Pole Award by posting the fastest lap of the session in the GTD class at one minute, 16.172 seconds (116.215 mph). Sunday’s Mobil 1 Sports Car Grand Prix Presented by Acura will be his 11th WeatherTech Championship start.

“It was a great car,” said Foley, who will co-drive with Bill Auberlen. “We’ve been working through a lot of changes in the practice sessions and for qualifying we just tried to put a perfect lap together. I think I left maybe a little bit on the table, but I got most of it and it was good enough for pole. The track changed a little bit there from morning to afternoon. I think we gained some temp, so it was a little bit different and I was able to put together a decent enough lap and put it on pole.”

His pole kicked off what would be a sweep of the GT pole positions for Sunday’s Mobil 1 Sports Car Grand Prix, as Jesse Krohn in the No. 24 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE topped the charts in the following GTLM qualifying session.

“It’s one of my favorite tracks,” said Foley of CTMP. “It’s super high commitment. You’re on edge the entire lap. Especially for qualifying when you have a little more on the tire, just being new, low fuel, you’re just trying to maximize and do everything for that last little bit, and it’s a big lap. I had to dig deep for that one. I was P2 for a while, about two-tenths off, I had to kind of put it all together there at the end. So it’s definitely gratifying to get a pole here, it takes everything.”

Looking to defend their CTMP victory from 2018, Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen will start the No. 33 Riley Motorsports-Team AMG from outside the front row after Keating posted a qualifying time just .081 seconds off of Foley’s.

A pair of Acura NSX GT3s from Meyer Shank Racing will make up the second starting row. Last week’s winners from the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, Trent Hindman and Mario Farnbacher in the No. 86 Acura, will start third alongside the No. 57 Acura for Heinricher Racing with Katherine Legge and Bia Figueiredo in fourth.

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario – He did it again.

One year after taking the overall pole position for the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Acura for the first time with a track record lap, Colin Braun broke his own track record to win another Motul Pole Award in qualifying for Sunday’s two-hour and 40-minute IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race.

Braun posted a best time of one minute, 5.452 seconds (135.250 mph) in the No. 54 CORE autosport Nissan DPi, exceeding his 2018 record lap of 1:06.375. It was his 18th career top-level IMSA pole and his fourth at CTMP (he also had Prototype Challenge class poles in 2012 and 2016).

RELATED: BMW Sweeps Canadian GT Poles

He and co-driver Jon Bennett also are the race’s defending winners and already have four previous wins at CTMP with PC class wins in 2013, 2015 and 2016 to go with the overall and Prototype class victory last year. They’ll go for five on Sunday.

“I’m excited to be on pole here, at a track that I love, and Jon Bennett loves,” said Braun, who scored the first pole for a Nissan DPi since Pipo Derani did it in qualifying for the 2018 Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. “I think no matter what car we’re in we always have good confidence here. This is a track we run well at, so that tends to make us feel like we’re going to be fast here.

“You unload and you are fast, and that’s a sort of self-fulfilling cycle. We just feel really good about always coming up here. I’m happy to be on the pole, tomorrow is a long race and a different mindset, and it takes of lot of things to win. Honestly, we didn’t even do a mock qualifying run. We just worked on our race car in all three practices, and got Jon in the car, and just stuck to our plan. I feel good about what we have for a race car for sure.”

Bennett will share the front row with Helio Castroneves in the No. 7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi. Castroneves logged a best qualifying lap of 1:05.526 (135.097 mph) in the car he shares with co-driver Ricky Taylor.

After scoring a breakthrough victory last Sunday in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, Jonathan Bomarito and co-driver Harry Tincknell will go for their second straight win from third on the grid in the No. 55 Mazda Team Joest RT24-P DPi. Bomarito qualified the car at 1:05.780 (134.575 mph).

WeatherTech Championship DPi points leaders Juan Pablo Montoya and Dane Cameron will look to extend what is currently a scant, one-point lead over No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R co-drivers Felipe Nasr and Derani. Montoya has a slight advantage on the starting grid after putting the No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 fourth with a lap of 1:05.872 (134.387 mph).

Nasr will start sixth behind fifth-place qualifier Tristan Nunez in the No. 77 Mazda Team Joest RT24-P. Nunez clocked a best lap of 1:05.913 (134.304 mph) and will co-drive with Oliver Jarvis on Sunday; Nasr’s best lap was a 1:06.080 (133.964 mph).

In the LMP2 class, Kyle Masson collected his second WeatherTech Championship Motul Pole Award. Masson’s best lap was a 1:08.211 (129.779 mph) in the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA.

“Qualifying went really well,” Masson said. “It’s awesome to be back here this year and to have the weekend start out extremely successfully compared to the way it turned out last year. It was a big disappointment last year with the turn one incident in practice one. So, to make it through qualifying and to actually get the pole, it’s a big morale boost for the team going into tomorrow.

“This track is very fast. We had a great car coming into the weekend and the Performance Tech crew just dialed it in. We’re right where we need to be for the race.”

MANSFIELD, Ohio – Afternoon showers along with an unfavorable evening forecast have forced Mansfield Motor Speedway and Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series officials to cancel Saturday’s Freedom 50.

The event will not be made up. All tickets and camping that were purchased online in advance will be automatically refunded to the original payment method.

The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series returns to action with a doubleheader on July 11-12 at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill. Both events will be complete programs, highlighted by $12,000-to-win main events.

It is the Gold Cup final that most hoped for: On Sunday, the United States meet Mexico with CONCACAF glory on the line. Ahead of the big game, we asked Jeff Carlisle (U.S.) and Tom Marshall (Mexico) to evaluate the form of the team they cover.

United States

Just prior to the Gold Cup, the U.S. men's national team looked to be a shambles, having been thrashed 3-0 by Venezuela in a friendly that followed a 1-0 reverse to Jamaica four days earlier.

While there were some extenuating circumstances -- fitness and the absence of key players being two -- the results and performances did nothing to hint that better days were ahead.

Everything was being questioned, from the ability of those on the roster to the methods of manager Gregg Berhalter, who had been on the job for all of six months. It seemed like little progress had been made since the World Cup qualifying failure 20 months ago.

It has been some turnaround since then. From having to appeal for calm ahead of the tournament opener, Berhalter is preparing to lead his side into Sunday's final, having won five straight games while conceding just one goal.

The Gold Cup might be maligned and the U.S. has the advantage of playing on home soil, but its competitive nature nonetheless poses a different test. Opponents Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Curacao and Jamaica do not constitute the big hitters of the international game, but Berhalter's men were in no position to take anything for granted.

The path to a Chicago showdown with Mexico has at least seen the Americans beat the teams that it is supposed to beat. Moreover, there have been moments of aggressive pressing and dynamic play on the ball.

So what has changed since those deflating friendly defeats? Some of it is a function of time: Berhalter has had four more weeks to impart his system and philosophy, while players have bonded on and off the field, be it over crosswords, video games or cooking contests.

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Fitness has also been a factor: Aaron Long has shaken off injury woes and been a consistently strong presence in the back, offsetting the loss of usual starter John Brooks. The same is true of midfielder Michael Bradley. Jozy Altidore has taken longer, but started the semifinal against Jamaica and is primed to make a major contribution.

But the biggest difference is that Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie are playing close to their peak level. Both arrived in camp following short rest at the end of their club seasons and, after taking a while to get going, Pulisic has been a menace running at defenses and with his finishing, while McKennie tore Jamaica apart with his passing and late runs into the box.

Berhalter deserves credit for his tactical flexibility. Heading into the tournament, all eyes were on a system that included a hybrid right-back/center midfield role. The idea, was to get "stability and activity" in the center of the park, which is Berhalter-speak for safety with the ball and defensive tenacity.

However, the withdrawal through injury of Tyler Adams -- the player for whom the system was implemented -- saw Berhalter move to a more conventional back four, with McKennie dropping deeper to help Bradley on the defensive side of the ball. There have been hiccups, most notably against Curacao when the two were often not on the same page, but in other games the U.S. looked more stable.

There has been much talk about what would constitute success for the U.S. at the Gold Cup -- Berhalter has talked of little else than winning the tournament -- but the last month has seen progress and a sense that order is being restored as young talent begins to prove itself on the international stage.

A win on Sunday would only accelerate the process. -- Jeff Carlisle

Mexico

As boring as it may sound, there has not actually been one attention-grabbing reason why El Tri has swept away pre-tournament concerns to reach the final.

The elephant in the room had been players not involved, who include Javier Hernandez, Carlos Vela, Jesus "Tecatito" Corona, Hector Herrera and Miguel Layun, but the page has long been turned by coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino, who has insisted those who are here can challenge absent names for places ahead of the next World Cup.

Perhaps helped by the fact that only five of the squad has won the Gold Cup before, there has been a hunger and seriousness about Mexico, even when coming up against lesser opponents like Cuba, ranked 175th in the world, and Haiti, who are 101st.

In this regard, Martino has set the tone. In March, he was blunt with Corona for not showing sufficient dedication to report for camp when injured and has not been much less intense since, firing off criticisms about the lack of VAR and officiating. Indeed, Martino is not known known as a coach who likes press attention, but he has had plenty to say!

Behind the scenes, Martino has worked constantly with his players to ingrain 4-3-3 as the Plan A formation, stressing that Plans B and C simply do not exist. The priority has been to firmly establish the playing "idea," as he says in Spanish.

And things have gone relatively smoothly for a Mexico side that has been backed by huge crowds wherever it has gone, although needing 120 minutes and penalties to get past Costa Rica in the quarterfinal and then extra time to put away Haiti in the semis is cause for some concern.

The biggest single issue has been chance conversion, which has at times undermined Mexico's dominance of possession and territory. Elsewhere, Martino accepts that his team leaves itself vulnerable at the back when he talks of pushing players forward, playing the game in the opposition's half and leaving gaps on the transition, unless the ball can be regained quickly.

In terms of key figures, Edson Alvarez has been handed the crucial holding midfield role. Martino spoke at length to the 21-year-old ahead of training on Friday and maintaining defensive balance will be vital with Christian Pulisic in form and likely to be drifting between the lines.

Team leaders, Andres Guardado, Guillermo Ochoa and Raul Jimenez have guided the younger players around them and the veterans will be important on Sunday, with Martino set to field a starting XI that should not contain too many surprises.

Ochoa is the undisputed No. 1, with full-backs Luis "Chaka" Rodriguez and Jesus Gallardo set to start alongside Hector Moreno and Carlos Salcedo in defense. Alvarez anchors the midfield, with Jonathan dos Santos and Guardado ahead of him. Up forn, Jimenez will be supported by Rodolfo Pizarro and either Uriel Antuna or Roberto Alvarado.

One accusation against El Tri is that performances have deteriorated as the summer has gone on, but the truth is that the last few weeks have led to this defining moment. If Mexico wins, the Gold Cup will be deemed a success, but a loss would be slated as failure and bring about the first real pressure upon Martino. -- Tom Marshall

Hampshire 450 for 6 (Donald 173, Holland 143, Northeast 59) v Warwickshire

Ian Holland scored his maiden first-class century and Aneurin Donald reached three figures for the first time since joining Hampshire during the first day of their Specsavers County Championship fixture with Warwickshire.

Holland provided the glue to the Hampshire innings having been promoted to open, while housemate Donald added the flair and fireworks. The pair smashed an 82-year record for the fifth wicket for Hampshire, as they clubbed 262 together, beating the 235-stand between Gerry Hill and Donald Walker at Portsmouth in 1937.

Hampshire were also boosted by Sam Northeast's half-century; on the day he was called up for the England Lions squad to face Australia A at Canterbury next weekend.

Warwickshire had elected to field without a toss on a green-tinged wicket, under glorious blue skies. They were able to call on Olly Stone for the first time this season. Fast bowler Stone has been sidelined since January after picking up a bone stress injury in his lower back while on England duty in the West Indies.

After almost seven months out it only took 19 balls before he found himself back in the wicket-taking fold as he located Felix Organ's outside edge, the ball flying to the second slip. Stone didn't take long to grab a second scalp as India Test star Ajinkya Rahane caressed a boundary first ball before nicking to Will Rhodes as first slip next ball.

With the ball nipping around, and Hampshire 31 for 2, Northeast and Holland needed to rebuild. And they did with a 98-run stand, which negated the new ball and built a strong foundation for the rest of the day's play.

Northeast fell for 59, after a 54-ball fifty, soon after lunch when Oliver Hannon-Dalby produced a near-unplayable delivery to find an edge behind. Rilee Rossouw provided a precursor to what was to come with a typically entertaining 34 before he was bowled off his pads by a spearing delivery from spinner Jeetan Patel.

From then on in it was Holland and Donald dominating the Warwickshire bowling. Holland was boosted up the batting order to replace the out-of-form Oli Soames and Joe Weatherley, who has broken his ankle, as he returned to the side.

He was watchful to reach a 103-ball fifty and continued to climb to three figures while allowing the attacking to be done from the other end. Holland, who rose to fame in Australia for winning reality cricket TV show Cricket Superstar, eased past his previous best of 58 before reaching a ton in 201 deliveries - bringing up the milestone with a deft sweep.

While Holland grafted for his runs, Donald looked at ease from ball one as he scored at a comfortable run-a-ball, picking up a half-century in 48-balls. The 22-year-old Welshman, who joined from Glamorgan at the end of last year, went on to his first century since July 2016, his breakthrough double ton, in 103-balls.

But it was his next 20 balls which left the Ageas Bowl with a collective jaw-drop as he moved from 100 to 150 with sixes and fours galore.

Holland reached 143, as he showed some attacking intent before he edged Stone behind to end the mammoth partnership. Donald also failed to see out the day when he top edged the final ball to deep square leg - he ended on 173 with five sixes and 21 fours from 143 balls. Hampshire closing on 450 for six.

England have handed Lions call-ups to Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley, two young openers who could come into Ashes contention, for next week's four-day match against Australia A at Canterbury.

Sibley, of Warwickshire, is currently the leading run-scorer in Division One of the County Championship, with 922 at 70.92, while Kent's Crawley is fourth with 639 at 42.60. Both are set to make debuts for the Lions, alongside Gloucestershire batsman James Bracey and Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson, who are included in a provisional XI.

There has been much uncertainty around England's Test top three, following the retirement of Alastair Cook and the absence of a regular No. 3. Andy Flower, the Lions head coach, suggested that the players selected would be "looking to stake a claim" for the Ashes, with Sibley perhaps the leading candidate after a stellar run of form.

Sibley helped Warwickshire win promotion last season and started 2019 by extending a sequence of hundreds to six in successive first-class matches. This week he compiled a career-best 244 against Kent at Canterbury, overhauling the 242 not out he made as a teenager at Surrey in 2013 (making him the youngest double-centurion in Championship history).

"We're really looking forward to a great challenge against a very experienced Australia A side, some of whom will be looking to stake a claim for Ashes selection," Flower said. "We've got a very good squad of players travelling with us to Canterbury; one that's more than capable of delivering a positive result.

"Lions selection is always tricky. We've got an eye on the England team's short-term needs ahead of a busy winter schedule, but we're looking at some medium- and long-term prospects as well. We also need to respect the counties' needs during this busy time in the domestic season.

"While some players will be playing at this level for the first time, there is plenty of experience in our squad too. This will be a great learning opportunity for all these players and a chance to test themselves against a strong opposition."

There is England experience in the side, with wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, who played five of six Tests over the winter, batsman Ben Duckett and spinner Jack Leach among those previously capped. Somerset's Lewis Gregory, who is the leading pace bowler in the Championship with 44 wickets at 12.93, won an England call-up in 2015 but has yet to feature at international level.

Also included are Essex seamer Jamie Porter, who was close to a Test cap last summer; Lancashire's rapid young faster bowler Saqib Mahmood; and Hampshire batsman Sam Northeast, who will be a contender to captain the side.

England Lions squad: James Bracey, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Sam Northeast, Jamie Porter, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley

Oklahoma City All-Star guard Russell Westbrook and his agent, Thad Foucher, are engaged with Thunder general manager Sam Presti about the next steps of Westbrook's career, including the possibility of a trade before the start of next season, league sources told ESPN.

The two sides have 11 years of history together, and both understand that the time has likely come to explore trade possibilities for Westbrook, league sources said.

In the aftermath of All-Star Paul George pushing the Thunder to trade him to the LA Clippers to partner with free agent Kawhi Leonard, Oklahoma City's window to advance in the playoffs has seemingly closed. The Clippers' return to Oklahoma City of five future first-round picks, two pick swaps and All-Rookie point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander marks the beginning of the reshaping of the Thunder roster.

The remaining four years and $170 million on Westbrook's contract is no longer sensible for a noncontender.

For the Thunder, this marks the first look at a possible franchise reset since the team moved to Oklahoma City from Seattle, with Westbrook, 30, the final player remaining from the original team that relocated.

Westbrook was faced with a similar situation in 2016 in the wake of Kevin Durant's departure to the Golden State Warriors but, after weighing options, elected to renegotiate his contract and sign an extension with the Thunder. Oklahoma City used that agreement as a springboard to extending its window, trading for George the following summer as Westbrook signed a five-year supermax extension to become the highest-paid player in NBA history at the time.

Circumstances are different in a few significant ways now, though, with Westbrook's age, current contract and position of the Thunder.

The Thunder could rework the roster to try to remain competitive around Westbrook and Steven Adams, although that scenario is unlikely. Operating well over the salary cap with a projected salary tax payment of $43 million with the existing roster, the Thunder were in cost-cutting mode before George's trade and will only accelerate on that front now.

Westbrook has had three consecutive seasons of averaging triple-doubles and was voted the NBA's MVP in the 2016-17 season.

ESPN's Royce Young contributed to this report.