The Montreal Motorsport team that participated in the World Challenge | Highlands News-Sun

“I want to thank Jean-Frédéric for putting so many resources into putting this project together,” said Tagliani. “It should be a really good year. I would also like to thank the sponsors who are supporting us in this adventure, not forgetting the people behind the scenes who made it possible for Jean-Frédéric to touch the car, which was the first challenge.

LaBerge hasn't been racing professionally lately, but was a mainstay in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada series about 10 years ago. He looked forward to getting the competitive juices flowing again.

“It's exciting to be back racing and behind the wheel of the Porsche 992 GT3 R in the GT World Challenge,” said LaBerge. “It's even better to start this adventure with Alex.”

Not only is the Quebec team based in the province, but so are the sponsors. Talyana was in a relationship with several of them in the past.

“It's great to see St. Hubert, who I've represented for years, on the front of a Porsche,” said Tagliani. “The yellow and red NASCAR Canada car in St. Hubert's colors that we introduced last year at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières was a crowd pleaser as the brand is well embedded in Quebec culture.

Known simply as “Tag” to his fans, Tagliana has competed in a variety of series over the years, including IndyCar, GRAND-AM, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Truck Series. He won the pole for the 2011 Indianapolis 500 but had to retire from the race.

He was looking forward to racing the Porsche, which he hadn't driven much.

“It's exciting because we all have a career wish list and with all the cars I've been lucky enough to drive throughout my career, I find this next chapter very exciting because we're all Porsche enthusiasts,” he said.

The team's debut will be May 3-5 at Sebring International Raceway during the Fanatec GT World Challenge America tour. Tickets are available at showpass.com.