UPDATE: Riley Dickinson fails post-qualifying technical inspection, relinquishing Race Brew Pole Award to Jimmy Llibre.
Rain or shine, or “everything in between,” Riley Dickinson (Kellymoss) is a powerhouse driver at Miami International Autodrome, and he continued that dominance with his second consecutive Race Brew Pole Award on Saturday.
In a mixed-conditions qualifying session that came following a late-morning rainstorm, Dickinson’s quickest time of the Pro class clocked in at one minute, 56.410 seconds, just shy of his own track record from 2023 by .396 seconds.
“It was pretty crazy out there,” said Dickinson, who is also undefeated this year after two race wins at Sebring International Raceway in March. “Two-for-two now for Carrera Cup having a pretty wild qualifying session. Had a bit of moisture in the air, had a bit of drizzle, had a bit of dry, a bit of wet, a bit of damp, it was kind of everything in between. Somehow, someway we were able to put it through and I was able to get the lap whenever it counted.
“I can’t thank everyone at Kellymoss enough for their hard work. This was a tough one going into it, given the fact that I did not race here last year. A lot of the other drivers who are very good, they drove here last year. I was a bit on the backfoot, but ultimately was able to get it done and I’m looking forward to the race later today.”
Jimmy Llibre – the only driver to find the top of the leaderboard this weekend aside from Dickinson in Practice 1 – will be hot on his rival’s tails starting in second place. The Dominican Republic native and ACI Motorsports driver has a hefty following of family and friends onsite at Miami, which he considers his home track.
Starting third is Ryan Yardley (Topp Racing) with his best performance of the weekend after finishing 10th and fourth in the two practice sessions.
In the Pro-Am class, Marco Cirone (ACI Motorsports) will lead his field to the green flag after qualifying with a lap of one minute, 58.591 seconds. Cirone – who posted his quickest time in the closing moments of the session – looks to capitalize on his two third-place finishes from Sebring to land on the top step in Miami.
“Oh boy, I just went for it,” said Cirone. “The crew gave me a fantastic car and each time I went out, the car felt better and better. It was really tricky at the end there because it started to rain and I couldn’t really tell if it was wet or not. But I just put my head down and said ‘I’m going for it’ and that’s it.”
Charging behind Cirone will be Angel Benitez (FMS Motorsport) – making his season debut in Carrera Cup at his hometown circuit – in second place and James Sofronas (GMG Racing) in third.
While Scott Blind (Ruckus Racing) will start first in the Am class, he is evermore eager to mix with the Pro and Pro-Am class drivers as he’s done in previous rounds. Blind starts 13th overall on the grid for Race 1.
“This is so special down here at Miami, the Grand Prix,” reflected Blind. “This goes out to the team. They are just amazing guys and for me to be out here running around with these badasses, it’s just amazing. I can’t say enough how wonderful it is.”
Saturday’s activities for Porsche Carrera Cup North America continue with Race 1 now scheduled for 6:05 p.m. ET
Race 2 on Sunday is set for 10:15 a.m. prior to the Formula One race at 4 p.m.
The pair of Carrera Cup races at the Miami Grand Prix will be shown live on Peacock; 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.
Qualifying
Pro
1. #91 Riley Dickinson
2. #2 Jimmy Llibre
3. #78 Ryan Yardley
Pro-Am
1. #84 Marco Cirone
2. #5 Angel Benitez
3. #14 James Sofronas
Masters
1. #45 Scott Blind
2. #13 Todd Parriott
Latest news
Returning to the spotlight of the Miami Grand Prix for a third consecutive year, Porsche Carrera Cup North America launched the weekend with two Friday sessions and a 28-car field.
Running at the Miami International Autodrome circuit, the quickest lappers of the field are no stranger to the Magic City.
Jimmy Llibre (ACI Motorsports) topped the Pro class in Practice 1 with a time of one minute, 57.362 seconds. It kicked off a highly anticipated weekend in Miami for the Dominican Republic native, who brings a large contingent of followers this weekend.
“It feels great to be here in Miami,” said Llibre. “I also feel like it’s my home track because all my people from the Dominican Republic are here, and my sponsors. The team is doing a really good job, the car feels great and let’s see if we can do the same in qualifying and both the races.”
Ultimately, though, Llibre’s time would not stand by the end of day, as Riley Dickinson (Kellymoss) posted Friday’s fastest lap by nearly half a second at one minute, 56.685 seconds in Practice 2.
Dickinson has not skipped a beat in his return to Carrera Cup after a one-year hiatus – winning both opening rounds at Sebring International Raceway in March – and expressed a strong appreciation for his return to Miami. Not only did he sweep the event’s two rounds in 2023, but he still currently holds the track record amongst Carrera Cup drivers.
“Definitely better than Session 1 for sure,” said Dickinson of the track conditions in Practice 2. “We had the sun go down a little bit, so cooler conditions out there which was nice. I love this track, it’s so much fun to drive. It’s one of my favorites on the calendar this year. It’s definitely good to be back, I was pinching myself last year watching everyone on track in 2024. So, glad to be back in the Cup car here at Miami and I’m excited for the rest of this weekend.”
Rounding out the top three Pro drivers in Practice 1 were Zachary Vanier (JDX Racing), who captured his first Carrera Cup series win at Miami in 2024, and Dickinson in third. Llibre placed second in Practice 2 alongside ACI Motorsports teammate, Yves Baltas in third.
JP Martinez, a Miami resident also with ACI Motorsports, gave local fans someone to cheer for by finishing atop the Pro-Am class standings in both sessions on Friday. Despite being in his Carrera Cup rookie season, Martinez enters the weekend as the class championship leader following two wins just up the road at Sebring in Rounds 1 and 2.
Martinez’s quickest time came in Practice 2 at one minute, 58.159 seconds, evening landing him in the top 10 overall.
A quartet of Pro-Am drivers rounded out the top three across both sessions – two additional ACI Motorsports competitors, Kenton King and Marco Cirone, alongside Alan Metni (Kellymoss) and James Sofronas (GMG Racing).
In the Masters category, Scott Blind (Ruckus Racing) looks to increase his points lead and series dominance following a weekend sweep at Sebring in March.
Saturday’s activities for Porsche Carrera Cup North America begin at 11 a.m. ET with the driver autograph session open to fans in the paddock. Qualifying follows at 1:40 p.m., with the Race 1 green flag scheduled for 5:50 p.m.
Race 2 on Sunday is set for 10:15 a.m. prior to the Formula One race at 4 p.m.
The pair of Carrera Cup races at the Miami Grand Prix will be shown live on Peacock; 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.
PRACTICE 1
Pro
- #2 Jimmy Llibre
- #9 Zachary Vanier
- #91 Riley Dickinson
Pro-Am
- #4 JP Martinez
- #74 Kenton King
- #99 Alan Metni
Masters
- #45 Scott Blind
- #13 Todd Parriott
PRACTICE 2
Pro
- #91 Riley Dickinson
- #2 Jimmy Llibre
- #15 Yves Baltas
Pro-Am
- #4 JP Martinez
- #84 Marco Cirone
- #14 James Sofronas
Masters
- #45 Scott Blind
- #13 Todd Parriott
Latest news
The 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup North America has kicked off with a host of spectacular new liveries, plus some familiar crowd favorites back on track.
But which one is your favorite? We’ve lined up all 32 entries from Sebring in a bracket, and you get to choose your favorite. It’s the motorsport equivalent of March madness!
Take a look at the stories on our Instagram profile, and you can vote to choose which cars will go through from the round of 16 and which ones will be eliminated.
You can vote on every story over the next week, and we’ll reveal the most popular livery on Wednesday, March 26.
March 20: 8 stories (round of 16)
March 21: 8 stories (round of 16)
March 22: 8 stories (round of 8)
March 23: 4 stories (1/4 finals)
March 24: 2 stories (semi-finals)
March 25: 1 story (final)
Who is going to finish with bragging rights for the best-looking Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the championship this year? We’ll find out in 7 days!
While the name at the top of the timesheet for the opening practice of Porsche Carrera Cup North America was very familiar, Riley Dickinson knows his return to the championship in 2025 is going to be a huge challenge.
The 2023 series champion set the fastest time of the morning practice session of 2.02.384 to top the timesheet for Kellymoss ahead of teammate and series rookie Aaron Jeansonne with JDX Racing’s Zachary Vanier in third.
“It’s great to be back in Carrera Cup and to be back with Kellymoss for the 2025 season. We had a good first day to build off of, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the event develops,” Dickinson said.
“This year is undoubtedly going to be a fight all year long with so many talented drivers in the Pro field. Having 19 cars in Pro makes qualifying tomorrow morning all that more important to get right.
“Once the green flag drops tomorrow afternoon, Carrera Cup will certainly put on a show for those at the track spectating as well as those tuning in for the live broadcast of the races.”
In the afternoon session, the rising track temperature impacted the times with last year’s series runner-up, Topp Racing’s Ryan Yardley, setting a fastest time of 2:03.103
Dickinson was second fastest for Kellymoss, with former Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup racer Michael de Quesada putting the Alegra Motorsports car in third.
“The track definitely degraded in the afternoon session as the day got hotter, but it was an interesting practice for us,” Yardley said.
“Obviously, it’s a nice way to finish for us in P1. But tomorrow is what counts. I’m looking forward to qualifying tomorrow and hopefully have the TCS car up front again.
“I think the track has changed so much since the test last week. So everyone is trying to catch up with the track and try to read that as best we can. It’s gonna be interesting tomorrow.”
In the Pro-Am class, it was former Sprint Challenge racer and series rookie J.P. Martinez who headed the times in both practice sessions.
Last year’s champion Alan Metni was P2 in both sessions, with Marco Cirone third fastest in session one and James Sofronas P3 in session two.
Last week’s Porsche Endurance Challenge North America GT3 Cup winner Scott Blind was the fastest man in the Masters class in the morning, while another Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama graduate Peter Atwater was fastest in the afternoon.
Blind headed Atwater and Richard Edge (ACI Motorsports) in session one with Edge and Blind taking P2 and P3 in session two.
Cars return to the track tomorrow morning for qualifying at Sebring International Raceway at 9:15 a.m., with the opening race of the 2025 season going green at 4:55 p.m.
Tomorrow’s first race will be shownlive 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.
While the winners in motorsport will celebrate with champagne, the driver who earns the pole position in this year’s Porsche Carrera Cup North America will celebrate with beer – not just any beer – the first alcohol-free, 0.0% racing-inspired beer – Race Brew.
PT Autosport in partnership with Momentum Brewery will sponsor the Race Brew Pole Award for all rounds of this year’s Porsche Carrera Cup North America championship which kicks off at Florida’s Sebring International Raceway this week.
The first winner of the Race Brew Pole Award will be crowned this Thursday after the qualifying session at 9:15 am local time.
This year’s Porsche Carrera Cup North America will feature 16 races over eight race weekends. All drivers will compete with identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup machines split into three different age brackets – Pro (under 35), Pro-am (35 to 50) and Masters (over 50).
“The collaboration between PT Autosport and Momentum Brewery came together through the common goal of providing an alcohol-free beer to the racing community that is high-quality, refreshing, and enjoyable among family, friends, and competitors,” said Alex Sedgwick, PT Autosport’s Head of Operations and Driver Development, who is supported by Race Brew in a soon-to-be announced Porsche race program.
“What better way to enjoy a successful qualifying than with an alcohol-free, 0.0% racing-inspired beer.”
PT Autosport is dedicated to providing merit-based motorsport industry opportunities for diverse individuals with high integrity, grit, and coachability achieved through a development program for young aspiring drivers, engineers, mechanics, and other professionals. Drivers can apply for the program at: www.drivershootout.com.
Over the past two seasons, PT Autosport combined with JDX Racing to field Sedgwick in Carrera Cup. The British ace finished fourth in last year’s championship and scored a race victory at Watkins Glen.
Momentum Brewery, founded in NY in 2023, is at the forefront of premium craft brewing for non-alcoholic beer, thanks to their groundbreaking German-engineered “Genius Yeast.” This innovative yeast and process naturally limit alcohol content to below 0.5% ABV while preserving the authentic craft beer experience.
Additionally, Race Brew will be the official sponsor for the Porsche Carrera Cup safety car for the second half of the 2024 season. This year’s safety car will be a 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS.
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