For Jimmy Llibre, that breakthrough moment at Road America wasn’t just a Porsche Carrera Cup North America race win — it was the release of years of pressure, sacrifice, and unwavering belief.
In the opening race of Round 5, Race 1, he launched a bold move from third on the grid right at the green flag, grabbing the lead in the opening turns. From there, he controlled the pace like a seasoned veteran and took his first series victory by more than 1.5 seconds.
Crossing the line, the emotions hit him hard. He’d envisioned himself on the podium so many times before, but had been thwarted — most painfully in Miami.
“In the middle of the race, I was already imagining myself on the podium, taking the trophy,” Llibre recalls. “Then I told myself, ‘Jimmy Llibre, please focus. Finish the race.’ We’d been so close before — in Miami, I thought we had it, but we got a ten-second penalty.”
This time, he was thinking about all the hard work it had taken to get here.
“When I crossed the line, I was almost crying, thinking about my family and the people who supported me. It had taken such a long time to get this result.”
That first-lap move wasn’t luck; it was years of preparation. The morning of the race, Llibre studied archive footage from 2020 to 2023, hunting for a template.
“In 2021, I saw Trenton Estep make this great move into Turn 1,” he explains. “I thought, if I get a good start, I can do that too. So I focused on the green flag, ready to go. When the race started, I went for it — just like I’d visualized — and it worked perfectly.”
The move paid off beautifully, setting the tone for the win.
Jimmy Llibre’s journey began far back, long before Carrera Cup became a realistic target. He started karting at eight, inspired by a family that lived and breathed motorsport. His grandfather and grandmother were steeped in local racing in the Dominican Republic, and his uncles and father had both driven.
At first, he wasn’t interested.
“I went to support them, but I didn’t really like it,” he says. “It was just normal for me to be there — until one day in the pre-grid, watching my father and uncles, something inside told me, ‘Jimmy, you have to do this. You have to feel this adrenaline.’”
Money was tight. The family struggled to make ends meet. But Llibre did well in school, and his father used that as a springboard.
“On my birthday, he gave me a kart chassis — without an engine,” Llibre says. “Every afternoon after school, I’d sit in it and imagine I was racing. Six months later, he managed to get me an engine, and we started practicing.”
At 12, Llibre represented the Dominican Republic in karting in Germany — a trip that almost didn’t happen. His family faced a visit from a bailiff that very morning.
“My father had the race money and the car keys,” he says. “He just said, ‘Take what you need, but this is not for you,’ and we got in a taxi to the airport.”
They flew. They won.
That win ignited everything. Llibre returned home and went on to score four national championships in the Dominican Republic, then moved into touring cars — Honda Civics, Toyotas — and finished second in his first season. He even tested Formula 4 in Argentina.
One day, he and his father were watching the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup on TV.
“My father said, ‘Jaimito, one day, we’re going to go there,’” he recalls. “I told him he was crazy. He said, ‘Just believe.’”
Llibre began campaigning on local media — appearing on every TV channel he could — asserting that he aimed to represent the Dominican Republic in Porsche one-make competition.
“A lot of people told us we were crazy,” he says. “They said there’s no motorsport culture here and that finding $300,000 to race was impossible. But instead of discouraging me, it motivated me even more.”
An opening appeared when a company offered him a test in a GT4 car in Spain — something Llibre initially thought was a tease. Two weeks later, he was on a plane. At Lechner Racing, with Porsche Supercup star Larry ten Voorde as his coach, he proved himself.
“I’d only driven that car on my simulator at home,” he laughs. “At the end of the day, I was one of the fastest. They wanted me to race, but I didn’t have the sponsorship.”
Determined, he began visiting potential sponsors every day. The persistence paid off with a drive in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Central Europe series during the pandemic. Stepping into that professional environment was eye-opening — from data engineers to race strategy.
“In my first race, I qualified P5 and finished P5,” Llibre says. “Later that same day, it rained — and that was my moment. Without a radio, I didn’t know where I stood. I crossed the line, saw my father jumping in the pits — I had won.”
That victory caught the attention of a wealthy family back home, who offered to cover the costs for his next race.
“I’m still grateful to them because they still support me today,” he says. “In the next race, I qualified on pole and won both races.”
Stepping into a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car for the first time was another shock.
“I thought I’d smash everyone,” Jimmy Llibre admits. “But as soon as I accelerated, I thought, ‘What are you doing!’ The power was insane compared to the Hondas and Toyotas I’d driven.”
His debut ended in a crash, but Miami 2022 — Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama’s first support race with Formula 1 — presented another chance. A new track meant everyone started from zero, and Llibre seized the moment.
“I topped practice, grabbed pole, and won,” he says. “Hearing the Dominican Republic’s national anthem on that podium was indescribable. I cried. Hundreds of people chased me back to the paddock for photos and autographs.”
Back home, the president invited him to the National Palace.
“That was really the start of my professional career,” Llibre says.
Adapting to racing overseas wasn’t easy. New language, new culture — and the fact that the Dominican Republic is far better known for producing baseball players than racing drivers — made the challenge even greater.
“It was hard because there was no motorsport culture,” he explains. “People thought racing was just a hobby for rich people. My results helped change that. Now, more kids are karting, and companies see motorsport as a real sport.
“My family literally sacrificed everything for me. People would tell them they were crazy—putting everything they had into the belief that their kid had a dream and some talent, without knowing for sure how it would turn out. From the very beginning, they trusted me completely and gave everything to make this happen.”
He also credits Porsche for giving him the platform to build his career, and also the support of Jacinto Peynado, owner of the Porsche dealership in the Dominican Republic.
“Since my first race in Europe, he’s been supporting me,” Llibre says. “Now the country treats motorsport like any other sport — and that was one of my goals from the start.”
Returning home after the Carrera Cup Road America win, the reception was emotional.
“People were watching in supermarkets, in airports — everywhere,” he says. “When I came home, the media and fans were waiting at the airport. The country is proud. They love Carrera Cup because it’s competitive.”
Even in a team environment, pressure and rivalry are constants — your teammates are also your competitors. But at ACI Motorsports, Jimmy Llibre has found something different.
“It’s like a family,” he says. “Curt Swearingin believed in me from the beginning. Our engineer, Adam Tanner, has taught me everything about the car and setup.”
He also credits teammate Yves Baltas for helping push the team forward.
“Yves has been a great teammate,” Llibre says. “We push each other hard, and that makes us both better. He’s also become a good friend away from the track, and that’s rare in this sport. Having someone like that in your corner is huge.”
Jimmmy Llibre’s victory at Road America has also boosted his championship campaign. With 116 points already on the board after just five rounds — compared to a total of 126 across all of last season — the Dominican Republic racer is on pace for his strongest Carrera Cup season yet. His next opportunity to add to that tally comes next month, when the championship heads to the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Round 6.
