Riley Dickinson reminded his 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup North America competitors at Sebring International Raceway just why he is a former champion in the series.
The 2023 Pro title winner returned with a vengeance after a one-year hiatus and completed an opening round sweep with Kellymoss.
After scoring the Race Brew Pole Award and subsequent Race 1 win on Thursday, Dickinson started from the pole position once again and led flag-to-flag en route to the double victory at Sebring by more than five seconds.
“It’s definitely been a great feeling to be back and after yesterday, definitely learned a lot,” said Dickinson after his second victory. “That was my first time for a full Carrera Cup race on Yokohamas, so I certainly learned how the tire builds throughout the race.
“Ultimately, I think we made a couple of adjustments in the positive direction on setup, and it feels good to be back.”
Ryan Yardley proved to be a valiant contender with Topp Racing but came up shy of the win at Sebring – finishing second in both contests. Meanwhile, JDX Racing’s Zachary Vanier improved race-over-race by finishing sixth on Thursday and landing third on the podium on Friday by less than a second.
In the Pro-Am class, JP Martinez has officially burst onto the Carrera Cup scene in his debut with ACI Motorsports, scoring both wins in Rounds 1 and 2. While Martinez fell back to second behind Pro-Am competitor Alan Metni at the start of race 2, the Miami-based racer regained the top spot before a lengthy yellow flag a few minutes into the contest.
“It feels amazing, and I can’t ask for a better start to the season with two wins, with a fast lap, with the poles,” said Martinez. “I’m really happy. I want to give a big thank you to ACI, the guys over there rock. The car was amazing and felt good today.
“It’s going to be a fun season, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Metni wound up runner-up for the second consecutive day with Kellymoss, while Martinez’s ACI Motorsports teammate, Marco Cirone, finished third just as he did the day prior.
Ruckus Racing’s Scott Blind continued his Porsche dominance with a weekend sweep of his own in the Masters class less than two weeks after securing wins in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama and Porsche Endurance Challenge North America.
“Sebring and PMNA, they’ve been really good to me,” Blind acknowledged post-race. “Porsche has really been good to me these last couple weeks. The team, I can’t say enough how great they are and how well they’ve done with this car and help from Andrew Davis. I don’t know, we’re just on a roll.”
Following behind Blind was Richard Edge with ACI Motorsports in second and JTR Motorsports Engineering’s Peter Atwater in third, mirroring Thursday’s results.
An enormous stage awaits Porsche Carrera Cup North America as the series joins Formula One at the Miami Grand Prix for its next doubleheader. Round 2 is scheduled for May 2 – 4.
All race replays throughout the 2025 season are available on the IMSA & Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube Channels, and on Peacock.
Race 2 Podium:
Pro
- Riley Dickinson
- Ryan Yardley
- Zachary Vanier
Pro-Am
- JP Martinez
- Alan Metni
- Marco Cirone
Masters
- Scott Blind
- Richard Edge
- Peter Atwater
Full race results can be found here, and all photos can be found here.
Riley Dickinson capped off a dominant day at Sebring International Raceway, capturing the Race Brew Pole Award on Thursday morning and securing the first Porsche Carrera Cup North America presented by Penfed victory of the season later in the afternoon.
The 2023 Pro class champion led flag-to-flag in his return to the series after a hiatus in 2024 and drove his Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to the checkered flag with a margin of more than five seconds.
“I feel much better now, certainly,” said Dickinson after the win.
“That was a long night last night, just going through everything, going through qualifying this morning and for the race this afternoon. It was a lot of hard work to get here, for sure.
“A huge thanks to everyone back at Kellymoss for all their hard work in the offseason to get this program ready to go. It was a bit of a last-minute deal, and it’s good to be back.”
Ryan Yardley – last year’s runner-up in the Pro class title hunt – finished second to begin his championship campaign with Topp Racing. Jimmy Llibre and the ACI Motorsports crew finished third.
Another ACI Motorsports driver, JP Martinez, had an exceptional day, starting first and finishing first in the Pro-Am class. However, Alan Metni was hot on his heels in the closing minutes of the race, ultimately coming up shy by .337 seconds of the win. Metni’s Kellymoss Porsche split an ACI Motorsports duo, with Marco Cirone finishing third.
“I’m so happy, I’m so stoked,” said Martinez. “I couldn’t ask for more in my debut race – to top the charts in practice and qualifying and finish first place in the first race. It was tough. Metni was behind me until the last lap and we were battling out. I’m happy I could hold him off, and I’m thrilled with first place.
“I want to give a big thank you to ACI. It was all teamwork, and all the guys there did an awesome job. They setup the car, all the coaches, so I’m really happy.”
Meanwhile, in the Masters class, Scott Blind has now visited victory lane in Sebring three times this month – in Porsche Endurance Challenge North America and Porsche Sprint Challenge North America nearly two weeks ago, and on Thursday afternoon in Carrera Cup. The Ruckus Racing Porsche was untouchable throughout the contest, as Richard Edge with ACI Motorsports finished second and Peter Atwater with JTR Motorsports Engineering finished third.
“This is amazing, I love Carrera Cup,” Blind expressed after the race. “My focus this year is Carrera Cup and to win here at Sebring; it’s just fantastic.
“Porsche Sprint Challenge has been a huge help. Practicing those starts here at Sebring was important because you know how sketchy it can be in Turn 1. Having those extra starts, it really helped a lot.”
Race two of round one will race into the darkness at Sebring International Raceway, starting at 6:15 p.m. ET. The race will be streamed live on IMSA and Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube Channels, IMSA TV, Peacock, and the Porsche Motorsport North America social channels on Facebook, Linkedin, Threads, and X.
Race 1 Podium
Pro:
- Riley Dickinson
- Ryan Yardley
- Jimmy Libre
Pro-Am:
- JP Martinez
- Alan Metni
- Marco Cirone
Masters:
- Scott Blind
- Richard Edge
- Peter Atwater
Full race results can be found here, and all photos can be found here.
Riley Dickinson continued his strong return to Porsche Carrera Cup North America by posting the fastest lap in qualifying and earning the Race Brew pole award ahead of Thursday’s season-opening race.
At Sebring International Raceway, Dickinson – the 2023 Pro class champion – ran even quicker in qualifying than his pace-setting lap in Practice 1 on Wednesday. The Kellymoss driver and his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car lapped the historic circuit at two minutes, 1.689 seconds.
“I’m just looking to continue developing the car and continue developing my craft,” Dickinson explained. “We have a long season ahead, of course, and it always feels good to get the first one out of the way. I was definitely worrying about it a bit last night, just going through the lap in my head and how we could get it done.
“All in all, it was a good session and I’m glad to be back.”
Ryan Yardley – who was quickest in Practice 2 – and Matheus Leist followed in second and third place, respectively.
In the Pro-Am class, JP Martinez rocketed to his first Race Brew pole position in the series and as a newcomer to longtime Porsche team, ACI Motorsports. Alan Metni, last year’s Pro-Am champion, and Martinez’s fellow ACI teammate, Marco Cirone, finished second and third on the qualifying time charts.
“The car felt great,” said Martinez. “The setup changes that we did were on point. It was nice and cool, and the car was fast. So I sent it and I got pole, so I’m really happy with that.
“Definitely in the race, I’ll be on the defensive. Obviously, I want to finish the race clean, there are a lot of competitors. But I want to go fast and that’s what I do. I want to go fast, but be clean.”
In the Masters class, Porsche Endurance Challenge North America race winner Scott Blind found first again and will start from the top spot on Thursday ahead of Peter Atwater and Rob Walker.
“The guys nailed the setup, they got the tire pressure just right,” said Blind. “We got it done on the first stint, so on the first set of tires, and it was perfect.
“I’ve got a bunch of fast guys behind me, so I want to have a clean Turn 1. Once I can get around Turn 1, it’s going to be a pretty good clean race. I just have to hold them off, and I think I can do it.”
Thursday’s first race (4:55 p.m.) will be shown live on IMSA and Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube Channels, IMSA TV, Peacock, and the Porsche Motorsport North America social channels on Facebook, Linkedin, Threads and X.
Race 2 is scheduled for Friday at 6:15 p.m. ET.
