PMNA, Author at Porsche North America

Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America opened the 2023 race season with the most intense competition in the history of the three-year old Porsche one-make race series.

With the 41-car field racing twin 40-minute races on the 3.74, 17-turn Sebring International Raceway, the all Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car series was elevated on and off track again entering the new season. With no full course cautions in either the morning round one or evening round two, all three classes stayed in close step throughout both races.

The only driver that never came under fire was Riley Dickinson (New Braunfels, Texas). The three-year veteran of the series drove the No. 53 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car to Pro class victories in both races.

• Pro class winners.
Race 1 and 2. Riley Dickinson (No. 53 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).

• Pro-Am class winners.
Race 1. Moisey Uretsky (No. 44 Accelerating Performance Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).
Race 2. Efrin Castro (No. 65 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).

• Am class winners.
Race 1. Scott Noble (No. 10 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).
Race 2. Mark Kvamme (No. 42 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup)

Highlights.
• Kellymoss streak. Kellymoss underwent a rebranding entering the 2023 season, but one thing that did not change: the results. The Madison, Wisconsin-based race team has won the Pro class of every Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America race held at Sebring. 2023. Riley Dickinson (both), 2022. Kay van Berlo (both), 2021. Seb Priaulx (Race 1), Kay van Berlo (Race 2)

• Green to Checker. Riley Dickinson raced from pole position to victory lane in both rounds.

• Pole Sweep. Dickinson earned the pole position for both races during Wednesday’s 30-minute qualifying session. The Texan was the only driver to break the two-minute, one-second mark (2:01.667), sweeping the two fastest laps and earning the top grid spot for each race.

• Green, Green. Despite intense competition throughout the field, both 40-minute races went green throughout. No full course caution flags slowed the competition.

• All 34. Despite his young age of 20, Riley Dickinson has started every Carrera Cup North America race held. He debuted in the series’ premier here at Sebring in 2021. Today was his second and third overall victory in the series.

• First-Timers. Series rookies Tom Sargent (No. 17 McElrea Racing) and Will Martin (No. 9 JDX Racing) finished second and third place, respectively in Race 1. Sargent repeated as runner-up in race two. Porsche veteran but Carrera Cup rookie Jason Hart earned third place in race two.

• Champ Car Hero. Champ Car veteran Dan Clarke raced one Carrera Cup weekend Porsche Sports Car Together Fest at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2022. The retired open-wheel driver piloted the No. 64 NOLASPORT Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to a pair of fifth-place finishes.

• Shoulder to the grindstone. Am class rookie and round one winner Scott Noble was making his first racing starts since rotator cuff surgery in October.

• Broadcast. All races air on the Peacock streaming app, on IMSA.tv and at PorscheCarreraCup.us before being archived on Porsche Motorsport North America TV: (https://www.youtube.com/c/PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica). The experts of IMSA Radio provide commentary and color for the 16-round championship’s race calls.

• Online. Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America has re-launched its website to a much more interactive and information-rich landing location: www.PorscheCarreraCup.us .

• Next Up. The Grand Prix of Long Beach. Streets of Long Beach, California. April 14 – 16.

Quotes.
Riley Dickinson, No. 53 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Winner, Race 1 and 2.
“I can’t thank Porsche enough for putting on such a great event for us to start out the season. They are putting so much into the series to bring it up on the world stage. It does not go unnoticed. Overall, a great weekend for us. I have been wanting to get the sweep for so long. This is something I will remember for a long, long time. I am going to take nothing for granted. I am going keep striving to get better. These drivers in this series are very, very good. They kept us honest. These races are so incredibly hard to win. I never take anything for granted. We will just keep on working to make the next one better.”

Efrin Castro, No. 65 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Pro-Am Winner, Race 2.
“We had some good testing and we qualified really well. Just getting used to the new guys in the Pro-Am field this year. It is a big field this year. I was just running my race and figuring it out. At the end I just started attacking and that is how I got the win. It was just non-stop battles. Only towards the end did we start separating. It is going to be an intense season for sure.”

Mark Kvamme, No. 43 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Am Winner, Race 2.
“It is a whole team effort. I have to give a big shoutout to the guys. It’s been a good off season and I am looking forward to this season. The quality of this class… Scott Noble is fast; he is very fast. You look at the front of the grid and it is intense out there.”

Scott Noble, No. 10 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Am Winner, Race 1
“I had a good qualifying session and got pole. I had some Pro-Am [drivers] ahead of me and some behind me, and I thought that was an advantage. That gave us a little gap. There is something special about Carrera Cup. The competition is so fast. They don’t make mistakes. I was deeply impressed by the way MDK put the car together and I was impressed with the way the guys drove with respect and fast.”

Kellymoss’s Riley Dickinson got his 2023 campaign off to a roaring start with a dominant performance, clinching the Pro class pole position for the opening rounds of the 2023 Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America at Sebring International Raceway.

The 20-year-old Texas racer put in an impressive string of blisteringly quick lap times across the 30-minute session before securing the top spot with a time of 2:01.667, nearly four-tenths of a second clear of MDK Motorsports’ Jason Hart and JDX Racing’s Will Martin.

Heading the charge in the Pro-Am category, 2021 champion Efrin Castro is already making clear his intentions to reclaim the title this season. His pole-setting lap time of 2:03.135 in the Kellymoss Porsche 992 puts Castro three rows clear of closest class rivals, Marco Cirone (ACI Motorsports) and Moisey Uretsky (Accelerating Performance)..

Equally as impressive was the Am-class pole performance of series debutant Scott Noble, whose top time of 2:03.963 places the MDK Motorsports entry firmly amongst the Pro-Am contingent. Wright Motorsport’s John Goetz and Noble’s MDK teammate (and 2022 champion) Mark Kvamme complete the Am top three, amid the bumper 41-car grid gathered for the first battle of the season.

Today’s opening rounds of the 2023 Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup can be seen live by clicking here

Driver Quotes:

Riley Dickinson, Pro Pole: “It’s a great start to the season, I’m obviously happy with that. A huge thank you to Kellymoss for all their hard work between the test and up to now. I feel like we’re in a good spot, obviously, the conditions this morning were a little bit mixed, I think the track is going to develop quite a bit during the day, so it’ll be interesting to see where it goes, but we’re obviously in a good spot. Now we go back to work!”

He was a race winner in 2022, now @KellyMossRacing’s @RileyD253 has kicked off 2023 with pole in #Porsche @Deluxe Carrera Cup North America at @sebringraceway.
–#CarreraCupNA | #Porsche pic.twitter.com/HCpV4wD0v3

— Porsche Motorsport North America (@PorscheRacesNA) March 16, 2023

Efrin Castro, Pro-Am Pole: “Starting the season with a pole is amazing. I didn’t think I was able to do it because we had some trouble in practice two, and I didn’t really get that many laps in, but I started working with my coach, Morris Scott. We just sat down and looked through the data and figured some things out, and I was able to pull out half a second on my best lap, which gave me the pole and I’m very excited about it.”

Scott Noble, Am Pole: “Last year, we raced SRO GT4 America and won the championship with my Pro coach, Jason Hart. We decided to make a big move and step up to the Carrera Cup, where I wanted to be able to benchmark myself against the fastest young Pros as well as the Pro-Ams. The first time out I got a P1 pole position so I’m incredibly excited for my coach, Jason Hart, and team MDK. This is my first time with them, and they’ve put together a great car and worked until 3.30 in the morning getting the car prepared. And I’m really excited just to be on this platform that Porsche puts on, it’s just first class and a lot of fun. I love my family for letting me have this type of joy out there.”

Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) and Deluxe Corporation have announced the creation of the Porsche Deluxe Female Driver Development Program. Effective immediately, the new Deluxe-supported initiative will provide a further opportunity to female race car drivers participating in the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid North America. Sabré Cook is named as the first recipient of the new scholarship. The Grand Junction, Colorado-native secured her seat in the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America by virtue of winning an all-female driver shootout hosted by Kellymoss at the end of 2022. The two-time Carrera Cup North America championship-winning operation will field the veteran open wheel and GT racer in the No. 37 Deluxe Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car beginning with the premier one-make championship’s season-opening rounds at Sebring International Raceway, March 15 to17.

In addition to its title partnership in the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America, as previously announced, Deluxe joins with PMNA to further promote the participation of female race car drivers across all levels of the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid North America. The Minnesota-based financial leader will back the Kellymoss prepared Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car that Cook will drive in the Pro class of the 2023 one-make race series. Further, both Cook and the Kellymoss organization become official representatives of Deluxe throughout the race season and in promotional events. Beyond backing by Deluxe, PMNA will assist Cook with event entry fees and one-on-one mentoring with Porsche Motorsport legend, Patrick Long.

Sabré Cook joins the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America for the first time in 2023. However, she is no stranger to racing success or to the Porsche brand. In fact, in 2021, she became the first female driver in the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama to have a podium finish (Circuit of The Americas). It was a success she earned during a one off race weekend in the Porsche-only series while contending in the W Series, an all-women’s formula car championship that acted as a feeder to Formula 1 ®. Having started in small displacement single-seat, open wheel formula cars in 2017, Cook moved up the ranks into the F3-based W Series where she earned several top ten finishes. She moves fulltime to Porsche one-make racing in 2023.

Where to watch

All rounds of the 2023 Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America will again be found on a wide range of streaming options. The NBC Peacock streaming app, IMSA.tv and PorscheCarreraCup.us will all provide live coverage of each 40-minute race. Once the checkered flag has fallen, all rounds will be archived on the series YouTube channel: Porsche Motorsport North America TV. The experts of IMSA Radio will again provide commentary and color for the 16-race championship’s race calls.

Comments

Volker Holzmeyer, President and CEO, Porsche Motorsport North America.

“One our primary objectives at PMNA is to nurture young talent. We recognize the importance of drawing more female talent into the paddock at all levels. The most visible opportunity to showcase our objectives is from the driver’s seat of our Porsche one-make series. As we developed our relationship, we found ourselves of the same mind with Deluxe. When we combine with their commitment and that of Kellymoss, we can now provide Sabré all the tools she needs to challenge for the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America championship in 2023.”

Sabré Cook, driver, No. 37 Deluxe Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

“Being the first recipient of the Kellymoss scholarship is such an incredible opportunity. To have Porsche and Deluxe as main supporters of that program, I feel really prepared to take advantage of this opportunity that lies before me in 2023.”

Victoria Thomas, co-owner/CFO, Kellymoss.

“We are excited to have Deluxe and Porsche as partners to recognize the value of supporting women in motorsports. The goal is to bring more women forward as drivers, as technicians, as engineers and definitely as fans. Together, this group is going to be very powerful in producing a lot of awareness and we believe that will bring the change.”

Daniel Niccum, Vice President, Business Development, Deluxe Corporation.

“It is vital to the strength of our culture, economy and country that everyone has equal footing to achieve. The Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America is founded on this concept. Every driver has the same equipment to prove her or his talent. That is fundamental to what we do at Deluxe, and we could not be prouder to be partnered with Porsche in this significant new Female Driver Development Program, to be represented by a stellar talent in Sabré and the championship-winning Kellymoss organization.”

Porsche Motorsport North America is set to contest its most dynamic Porsche Carrera Cup North America season to date. The premier one-make race series in the United States and Canada will be renamed the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America while also expanding its stage in 2023. The Carrera Cup North America will join Formula 1 twice, NASCAR once and the IMSA/IndyCar doubleheader at Long Beach in the upcoming season. These marquee events come in addition to three of IMSA’s most popular rounds. Highlighting the calendar will be the championship’s appearance at the Porsche Rennsport Reunion VII in Monterey, California.

Entering its third season, Porsche and the International Motorsports Association (IMSA) signed a continuing alliance with North America’s top road racing organizer to remain the official sanctioning partner for Carrera Cup North America on this continent. Eight event weekends will host 16, 40-minute rounds of the all-Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car championship starting at Sebring, Florida in March. All events will be streamed live to an international audience of Porsche and motorsport enthusiasts.

Top tier of Porsche Motorsport Pyramid North America schedule.

The year will open alongside one of the world’s most prestigious endurance events, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. As it has since the one-make championship’s inaugural season in 2021, the year will take its first green flag at Sebring International Raceway. In 2023, the all-Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car series will debut March 15 to 17 as part of “Super Sebring” alongside the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship. The official pre-season test will take place at Sebring March 6 to 7. A month later, the three-class championship (Pro, Pro-Am and Am) will travel to the west coast for the first of two California rounds. Joining the IndyCar Series and IMSA WeatherTech Championship, Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America will play a key support role at “America’s Monaco,” the Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 14 to 16.

The summer ushers in a string of firsts and landmark events. For the first time in its history, Carrera Cup North America will support the pinnacle of open wheel racing, Formula One. Much like the Mobil 1 Porsche Supercup does in Europe, the May 5 to 7 Formula 1 CRYPTO.COM Miami Grand Prix will present the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car race as its top support series. The ultra-popular South Florida event will be the first of two races in the United States at which Carrera Cup North America will join F1. From Miami, the caravan will travel north to the Finger Lakes region of New York state to race as part of IMSA’s Six Hours of The Glen weekend at Watkins Glen International, June 22 to 24.

Once the season midpoint is behind the Porsche-only series, the second-half of the year will open at a staple of U.S. road racing, Road America, “America’s National Park of Speed”. However, unlike previous years, the road car-based series will join the stock cars of NASCAR’s Xfinity Series, July 28 to 30. From one of the great road courses to the greatest race track in the world, the Carrera Cup North America will compete for a third time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 2021 and 2022, the Porsche series raced as part of the marque’s Sports Car Together Fest. For the new season, the series joins the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s return to The Brickyard on September 15 to 17.

Rennsport is German for Race Sport. In 2023, Porsche will put on a full display of its commitment to motorsport by making the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America its headline racing event at Porsche Rennsport Reunion VII. The WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca event will be held September 29 to October 1.

The season will conclude at a new course to the top one-make series in North America. Marking its second appearance with F1 at the Formula 1 LENOVO United States Grand Prix, the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America will crown its three class and team champions at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) October 10 to 22 in Austin, Texas.

Deluxe secures naming rights, grows footprint within the Porsche family

After being introduced as a premier partner and team sponsor at the start of the 2022 season, Deluxe Corporation will expand its connection with Porsche, securing naming rights to Porsche Carrera Cup North America in 2023. As naming rights partner for the series, Deluxe Corporation will have branding on every car. The now familiar logo will be prominent on the front and rear windshield banners, rear wing endplates and front bumpers. In addition to acquiring the naming rights of the series, now to be known as the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America, the Minneapolis-based company will also hold naming rights of the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup Drivers Lounge at the track and the annual Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup Celebration of Champions to be presented at the season closing event at Austin, Texas. In addition, the Porsche 911 Turbo S that paces the field will be known as the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup Safety Car providing a further branding showcase for Deluxe throughout the season both on and off the track.

Providing Deluxe touch points across the entire Porsche network, it extends its relationship to include official partnership with Porsche Cars North America as well as the Porsche Experiences Centers in Atlanta and Los Angeles.

Where to watch

Comments

Volker Holzmeyer, President and CEO, Porsche Motorsport North America.

“Porsche Carrera Cup debuted with a very high standard in North America in 2021. Each year since, we have continued to focus on taking the product to the next level. With the addition of F1 and NASCAR we perfectly complement the events we offer with our traditional partners IMSA and IndyCar. This brings us very close to the mix we feel provides the best stage for our drivers, teams and partners on which to display what they do so well. This is the mix we have been striving for.

“This is shown in the journey Deluxe is taking with us. Deluxe was introduced as a premier partner in 2022 and after one year have stepped up to take a crucial role within our motorsport program within North America. Deluxe has proven to be an exceptional partner to our motorsport community through a range of bespoke products and services they have delivered to our sport, teams and partners. They have supported our entire business to ensure that the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup Championship continues to deliver the bespoke program to market. We are looking forward to continue to work with Deluxe in 2023 and have our best year yet.”

Barry McCarthy, CEO, Deluxe Corporation

“Porsche and Deluxe are two of the most respected and trusted brands. Expanding our relationship to become the title sponsor of the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup is a natural next step of this relationship. Coupled with our broader business relationship, this sponsorship is mutually beneficial, driving value for all.”

2023 Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup Championship Schedule.

March 15 – 16	Sebring International Raceway	IMSA/WEC
April 14 – 16	Long Beach Street Course	IndyCar/IMSA
May 5 – 7	Miami International Autodrome	Formula 1®
June 22 – 25	Watkins Glen International	IMSA
July 27 – 29	Road America	NASCAR
September 15 – 17	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	IMSA
September 28 – October 1	WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca	Rennsport Reunion 7
October 20 – 22	Circuit of The Americas	Formula 1®