More than 100 drivers, 30 cars, and 20 teams are set to contest the inaugural Michelin 992 Endurance Cup powered by Porsche Motorsport this Saturday at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium – a line-up that includes a host of North American-based stars.
The 12-hour race will be contested by teams running the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992), which is used in Carrera Cup and Sprint Challenge competition across the globe, including the Porsche Carrera Cup North America and Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama.
The star-studded international entry list will feature a dozen racers who are regular competitors in North American competition, including the championship leaders in both Carrera Cup (Loek Hartog) and Sprint Challenge (Jared Thomas).
Four racers from the JDX Racing stable, including two members of the Mobil 1 Porsche Female Driver Development Program, are amongst the line-up for Spa.
Sprint Challenge racer Therese Lahlouh will be joined by her Porsche Endurance Challenge coach and co-driver Nik Romano, while Carrera Cup stars Alex Sedgwick and Madeline Stewart complete the line-up.
“In addition to my Sprint challenge program, I was keen to try a couple of European races, and when they announced the 992-only race at Spa, that fulfilled a dream for me,” said Lahlouh, who teamed with Romano to finish second in the Road America round of the Porsche Endurance Challenge North America.
“I’d love to do the Spa 24 one day, but this event is an excellent opportunity to race in Europe without the complications of mixed-class racing. I’m obviously very familiar with the 992, so that takes out another variable, and we have a bit of an all-star JDX squad competing together.
“Nik has been the only coach I’ve ever had, and we’ve been co-driving together in the Endurance Challenge; I’ve been helping Madeline this year, and I know she is excited to get some more seat time, and Alex is the only one of of us who has raced at Spa before so he has some experience we can lean on.
“We’re also bringing over our engineer and car chief from JDX, so it will be a great opportunity to go racing together.”
New Zealander Stewart heads to Spa for her first-ever opportunity race in Europe after an impressive performance in her most recent round at Road America in Carrera Cup, where she scored a career-best seventh place in race one and just missed out on a top ten in race two.
“This is a fantastic opportunity, and I can’t thank Therese enough for making it happen,” Stewart said.
Racing at Spa in a 12-hour event with a Porsche 992 Cup car is truly the best of both worlds—I get to compete on one of the most iconic tracks in the world while gaining valuable experience in endurance racing with a car I’m already familiar with.
“My goal is to learn and absorb as much as possible, using this experience as a stepping stone in my career.”
British racer Sedgwick became the 14th different winner in Porsche Carrera Cup North America at Watkins Glen in June but now gets to return to Spa in a car that is significantly faster than what he drove here last time.
“I’m super excited for Spa. It’s a very cool opportunity that Therese has put together for us to go and race in Europe,” Sedgwick said.
“It will be my first race in Europe since 2022. My Spa experience was actually aboard a Citroen C1 back in 2018 in a club-level 24-hour race. Track experience is obviously a big help, but it will be a little different in a Cup car.
“I’m looking forward to helping everyone get up to speed, and I think we should have a pretty strong lineup across the board. Hopefully, We’ll come away with a good result and see everyone gaining important endurance experience.”
Other Carrera Cup race winners competing at Spa include 2022 series champion, Canadian Parker Thompson and the other first-time race winner from Watkins Glen this year, New Zealander, Ryan Yardley.
Porsche Endurance Challenge North America Road America round winner Charlie Hayes and current points leader will be joined by regular teammate Reinhold Krahn. Former Carrera Cup racer Thomas Merrill will also be part of their line-up.
Thompson and Thomas will drive with Sprint Challenge racer Anthony McIntosh who is also cross-entered in a second Muehlner Motorsport entry with Yardley.
Saturday’s race will kick off at 9:45 am local time, racing into the night and finishing 12 hours later at 9:45 pm. You can follow the North American-based stars in action live on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@992EnduranceCup
Entry list: https://992-endurance-cup.com/pdf/entrylist/michelin-992-endurance-cup-2024
Schedule: https://992-endurance-cup.com/pdf/time-schedule/michelin-992-endurance-cup-2024
The local Wisconsin star-studded Kellymoss team scored its fifth Carrera Cup victory at Road America in round 10 of Carrera Cup North America with Loek Hartog going back-to-back in his debut weekend at “America’s National Park of Speed.”
The result by the Pro championship leader also mirrors the performance of 2023 champion Riley Dickinson who also scored a pair of wins last year. The inaugural win for Kellymoss came in 2021 with Kay van Berlo – all three drivers behind the wheel of the team’s “Racing for Childrens” livery.
Hartog was dominant over the 40-minute journey, winning by 11.268 seconds. JDX Racing’s Zachary Vanier bounced back after contact in round nine on Saturday to finish second, while front-row starter Dan Clark earned series newcomers Era Motorsport its first-ever podium in third.
The victory was the Dutchman’s fifth win of 2024, and his was his first back-to-back clean sweep of the weekend – two wins, two poles and two fastest laps.
“A weekend sweep here in Road America, the home ground of Kellymoss, I’m very happy with this race,” Hartog said.
“We pulled away with a margin of more than 11 seconds. This is how I like it – and we got the fastest race lap too – I couldn’t be happier. It was also very nice to win on my dad’s birthday. It’s been a very special day.”
Both Porsche Mobil 1 Female Driver Program members Madeline Stewart (JDX Racing) and Sabre Cook (Era Motorsport) continued their strong weekends at Road America. Stewart just missed out on scoring her second top-ten finish in 11th, while Cook was set for her second top-ten finish of the weekend until suffering a fuel system issue late in the race.
In the Pro-Am class, James Sofronas (GMG Motorsport) scored his third win of the season with a strong run. Sofronas previously won the opening round at Sebring and backed that up with another victory at the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
After scoring two wins in a row, Pedro Torres (ACI Motorsports) crossed the line in second place ahead of Baby Bull Racing’s Moisey Uretsky who has climbed within one point of class points leader Marco Cirone.
”It feels great to be back in the winner’s circle. We needed this one,” Sofronas said.
“We didn’t quite have the car yesterday, and it was frustrating because I love racing here. The GMG guys worked all night. They definitely gave 100 percent effort. They didn’t give up on their approach. Today, the car was completely different, way better, with more front grip and better balance, plus we had great brakes.
“So that’s what you need here. The best part is winning convincingly is we did it without any yellows or my competitors falling out. That is what makes me more proud of this one than some of the others. But it feels good because Road America is the best place in the country to race.”
It may have taken 24 rounds for Chris Bellomo to finally take his first Porsche Carrera Cup North America class win, but only one more day to score his second.
The Kellymoss racer went back-to-back with a pair of wins at Road America. ACI Motorsports pair Matt Halcome and Richard Edge swapped their finishing positions from round nine, with championship leader Halcome earning second in round ten and Edge in third.
Bellomo edged closer to Halcome in the points standings but remains 41 points adrift with six rounds remaining.
“It definitely took a while to get the first win but I’m very happy with the sweep on the weekend,” Bellomo said.
“I’ve been working really hard with the guys at Kelly Moss just trying to improve. Matt and Richard have been really tough all year.
“I’m still pretty far behind in the championship, so I’m just trying to do my best, keep improving every week, and see what happens by the end of the season, but I’m not expecting anything.
Porsche Carrera Cup North America action returns in six weeks when the championship heads to the fabled Indianapolis Motor Speedway for rounds 11 and 12 on September 20-22.
Porsche Carrera Cup North America championship leader Loek Hartog took his fourth victory of 2024 today with a stunning lights-to-flag win for Kellymoss today at Road America.
After qualifying on pole, Hartog was first into turn one and never headed throughout the 40-minute journey.
Despite multiple on-track incidents, the race was disrupted by only a single yellow flag period when Scott Blind suffered contact, spun, and was later stuck on the circuit.
“That was a good one – lights to flag – I’m very happy with that,” said Hartog
“I lost power steering halfway through, so that was tough. A lot of stuff happened on track, but I managed not to be disturbed by it.
“It’s been very nice to have my family here this weekend. Of course, halfway through the year, I’ve done the season without them and it’s now kind of nice to show them what I’ve been doing over here.
“It’s very special to celebrate with them. Tomorrow is my dad’s birthday, so I hope to win for him as well tomorrow.”
Alex Sedgwick (JDX Racing) finished second, 4.383 seconds behind Hartog, with Jimmy Llibre (ACI Motorsports) in third.
For the first time in series history, two female drivers finished in the top ten, with Porsche Mobil 1 Female Driver Program members Madeline Stewart (seventh) and Sabre Cook (ninth) earning strong points hauls.
The on-track action included a turn-one spin for Efrin Castro (Kellymoss) and a turn-five multi-car incident on the opening lap, which earned Michael Cooper (Baby Bull Racing) a drive-through penalty.
Late race contact between Kellymoss teammates Alan Metni and Jake Pederson resulted in heavy damage for both cars with one lap to go.
In the Pro-Am class, ACI Motorsports’ Pedro Torres won for the second time in a row, ahead of Marco Cirone and Jeff Mosing.
“I had a good start and was able to miss some of the issues that happened in turn five,” Torres said.
“I actually had a great track position but made a mistake on the carousel, and both Madeline (Stewart) and Michael (McCann) got by me. After that I overcooked the fronts and had to manage the pace thereafter.
“Marco (Cirone) was on me, but I was able to keep up the gap on the high-speed stuff and manage the low-speed stuff.
“The guys did an amazing job. You know, you can see what Curt (Swearingin) has done with the team and now everyone at ACI is getting podiums now. He has made a massive investment here and that’s showing.”
In the Masters class, we had a first-time winner, Chris Bellomo, who took his first series victory. The Kellymoss driver led home ACI Motorsports teammates Richard Edge and points leader Matt Halcome.
“It was nice to get just about a full race in. It was good, hard racing, really clean with the ACI guys, Richard and Matt.
“There was a little bit of craziness going on, but I was able to get through it, do my laps, and end up getting back on the podium. It’s been long overdue, and I’m super happy and thankful for Kelly Moss as well.”
Teams will return on track tomorrow for round ten of the championship at Road America at 11:35 a.m.
The Kellymoss workshop is just a little over 100 miles from Road America, and the team used that local experience to dominate qualifying across all three classes today in Porsche Carrera Cup North America.
Pro class championship leader Loek Hartog topped the times in qualifying for the third time this season. After a red flag disrupted qualifying, Hartog’s rivals were close to the Dutchman when the session restarted with 15 minutes remaining.
Hartog was one of several drivers to make a final attack on new tires, and he put the pole position beyond doubt with a blistering final lap of 2:07.962 – 4/10ths of a second clear of his rivals.
“ The fresh tires did a good job for me today, but the Kellymoss team did too,” said Hartog.
“P1 by 4/10ths is of course, something that we’re very happy with as a team.
“It’s definitely the way to go here, you want to start in front since it’s a very twisty track, a track that I really enjoy.
“Starting both races from the pole is definitely something I’m very happy with.”
In the Masters class, Chris Bellomo completed the trifecta for Kellymoss – topping the qualifying times ahead of Matt Halcome and Richard Edge.
“The car felt really good. It was unfortunate to have the red flag, but they did a great job cleaning up and getting us back on track,” Bellomo said.
“I got a chance to go to another set of stickers, and the car was fantastic. I was very happy with it.
“This place is challenging. It’s long. It has a little bit of everything, and I’m really looking forward to the race, getting through that start cleanly and having a good day.”
Round nine of Porsche Carrera Cup North America goes green on Saturday at 11:45 a.m., with round ten scheduled for Sunday at 11:35 a.m.
Castro’s teammate and fellow former championship winner Alan Metni was second fastest today, while Jordan Wallace made it a Kellymoss 1-2-3 in the Pro-Am class in their “home” race weekend.
Ruckus Racing star Scott Blind was the man to catch in the Masters class today – finishing just 0.016 of a second ahead of John Goetz with Chris Bellomo in third.
The cars and stars of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America will be back on track at Road America for practice two at 9:35 a.m. (Central), with qualifying scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
Porsche Carrera Cup North America championship leader Loek Hartog continued his impressive form by leading the opening practice today at Road Atlanta but Dan Clarke’s performance in second place with a brand new team was equally impressive.
Kellymoss racer Hartog stopped the clocks with a time of 2:09.706, but Clarke came within 0.093 of a second in his first drive with series newcomers Era Motorsport.
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship regulars debut in the championship this weekend with Clarke and Sabre Cook in the Pro class and Kenton King in Pro-Am.
“I really wasn’t expecting to be P2, and I didn’t know about it until after the checkered flag, Clarke said.
“It’s day one for us so we’re just settling in – trying to feel things out. We only had some old tires to throw at it as well. I really didn’t expect to be P2, but I’ll definitely take it.
“I’m sure everyone here is pretty happy. They deserve it because everything’s new for them, and they’ve had to really scramble to get ready.
“I appreciate everything that Era have done for us.”
Watkins Glen race winner Ryan Yardley was third fastest while other old faces in new places put in sold top ten runs on debut for their new teams – Michael McCann in P7 for Kellymoss and Yves Baltas ninth for GMG Racing.
After being caught in the round eight opening lap crash at Watkins Glen, reigning Pro-Am champion Efrin Castro bounced back to lead the class in opening practice at Road America.
“We were fast in Watkins Glen too, but we didn’t finish the race because of the accident,” Castro said.
“It’s a good feeling to be P1 in the first practice. That really sets the tone for me for Road America. That is a really positive start, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend. I have a great team behind me at Kellymoss. We’ve been working hard and looking for a good result.”
Castro’s teammate and fellow former championship winner Alan Metni was second fastest today, while Jordan Wallace made it a Kellymoss 1-2-3 in the Pro-Am class in their “home” race weekend.
Ruckus Racing star Scott Blind was the man to catch in the Masters class today – finishing just 0.016 of a second ahead of John Goetz with Chris Bellomo in third.
The cars and stars of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America will be back on track at Road America for practice two at 9:35 a.m. (Central), with qualifying scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
The 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup North America season is becoming one of the most intensely fought title chases in series’ history.
No one can rest easy entering the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America from August 1 – 4.
The 4.048-mile, 14-turn “National Park of Speed” offers one of the greatest tests to drivers in a series where success comes down to the pilot behind the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car and the team behind them in an all-Porsche paddock.
Fast, technical and demanding a razor’s edge balance of patience and aggressive driving, the Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin track is an old-school style nemesis to the next generation of Porsche champions.
The premier one-make championship has eight rounds remaining across four race weekends and no class championship – Pro, Pro-Am or Masters – is a lock.
In fact, the contenders in Pro and Pro-Am have changed in each weekend run thus far.
While Loek Hartog (Netherlands) has remained atop the Pro class running order nearly all season, his pursuers have changed regularly each round.
The Pro-Am class leaders have also swapped the top spot seemingly every lap and, while Matt Halcome (Dallas, Georgia) has remained at the top of the Masters class, the 2021 Pro-Am 991 class champion knows one misstep can close the gap quickly.
Practice gets underway on Thursday, August 1 with the 40-minute round nine taking the green flag on Saturday, August 3 and its twin, round ten, on Sunday, August 4.
ROAD AMERICA FAST FACTS
- Field. 36 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars are entered for the weekend.
- Pro class. 15 Pro-Am class. 12 Masters class. 9
- Teams. 11 race teams are represented across all three classes.
Track Record:2:07.586, Riley Dickinson, No. 53 Kellymoss, set in 2023
2023 Race Winners
Pro.
Race 1. Riley Dickinson, Kellymoss
Race 2. Riley Dickinson, Kellymoss
Pro-Am.
Race 1. Efrin Castro, Kellymoss
Race 2. Efrin Castro, Kellymoss
Masters (then known as Am).
Race 1. Scott Noble, MDK Motorsports
Race 2. Scott Noble, MDK Motorsports
Point Leaders.
Pro. Loek Hartog, No. 24 Kellymoss
Pro-Am. Marco Cirone, No. 84 ACI Motorsports
Masters. Matt Halcome, No. 55 ACI Motorsports
Entrants. MDK Motorsports
Schedule. All times Central
Thursday, August 1.
3:00 p.m. – 3:40 p.m. – Practice 1
Friday, August 2.
9:35 a.m. – 10:05 a.m. – Practice 2
5:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. – Qualifying (all classes)
Saturday, August 3
11:45 a.m. – 12:25 p.m. – Race 1 (40-minutes)
Sunday, August 4
11:35 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – Race 2 (40-minutes)
Hometown heroes.
Kellymoss brings a record nine entries to its “home” race at Road America. The operation, started in 1988, is housed in an 80,000-square-foot facility in the capital city of Wisconsin, approximately 90 miles away.
In 2023, Kellymoss won two of the three classes (Pro and Pro-Am) in both rounds here. The operation also won here in the first year of the series as well. Past Kellymoss Road America race winners Efrin Castro (Dominican Republic) and Alan Metni (Austin, Texas) are both entered this week. Castro is the only driver capable of back-to-back wins at Road America having earned both race titles here in 2023.
Legacy track.
Road America is a “Legacy Track” on the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup schedule. The track joins Sebring International Raceway, Watkins Glen International, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta as tracks that hosted the premier one-make race series in its 2021 debut season. Road America, Watkins Glen, Sebring and Indianapolis have hosted a Carrera Cup weekend each season.
Back home.
After one year racing in support of the NASCAR Xfinity Series here at Road America, Carrera Cup North America is back on the IMSA SportsCar Weekend in 2024
Porsche Driver Development Workshop.
Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) continued its long tradition of preparing the next generation of professional race drivers. The 2024 Porsche Driver Development Workshop was held in Mooresville, North Carolina July 18 – 19 at Team Penske, factory partner to Porsche in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTP class.
Ten drivers received valuable career experience in sessions with experts from the disciplines of physical training, nutrition, technology, media and career planning. The workshop was held exclusively for Porsche EBOOST North America Junior Program and Porsche Mobil 1 ® Female Driver Program North America drivers.
PT Autosport to continue driver program.
PT Autosport’s Aspiring Driver Shootout program continues this season, with 88 drivers making the cut to the second round of deliberations. Each applicant was asked to submit answers to both video and written questionnaires and a personal profile, with up to 12 aspiring drivers to be chosen to attend the November 11 – 13 Shootout at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The winner will earn a driver partnership package of up to $250,000 for the 2025 and 2026 racing seasons, with second and third also receiving scholarships toward a racing school.
Changes and opportunities.
Since the most recent round at Watkins Glen International, June 20 – 23, a major change to the entry list left drivers scrambling for new homes. When MDK Motorsports announced their departure from the series on June 28, race winners Yves Baltas (New York City, New York) and Dan Clarke (Indianapolis, Indiana) as well as frontrunners Sabré Cook (Grand Junction, Colorado) and Kenton King (San Marino) were need of new teams. All four found rides in time for the weekend. Baltas moved to veteran Porsche entrant GMG Racing while Clarke, Cook and King moved to Era Motorsport.
A new Era.
The events of June 28 brought the plans of one sports car racing team forward several months. While Era Motorsport intended to enter the Porsche Carrera Cup North America in 2025, the opportunity to draft two of the Pro class’s top drivers, Dan Clarke (Indianapolis, Indiana) and Sabré Cook (Grand Junction, Colorado) as well as Pro-Am driver Kenton King (San Marino), changed those intentions.
It assembled a program to support a three-car effort in the series effective immediately. The team was founded in the United Kingdom in 2018 and expanded to North America in 2020.
With an entry campaigning in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s LMP2 class already on its resume, the Porsche Carrera Cup North America was a natural place for the team’s Indianapolis, Indiana-based operation to expand. Era has an LMP2 class win at the Rolex 24 At Daytona LMP2 (2021) and won the Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 championship in 2021.
To the point.
The battle at the front of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America standings is heated. Loek Hartog (Netherlands) continues to sit atop the Pro class standings with 150 points.
The driver of the No. 24 Racing For Children’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car prepared by Kellymoss has three wins and two additional podium finishes including a pair of second places at the most recent weekend at Watkins Glen International.
A victory in round eight – the second race at “The Glen” – moved Alex Sedgwick (United Kingdom) and the No. 98 PT Autosport Porsche readied by JDX Racing into second place with 119 points.
The position swap came when Michael Cooper (Huntington, New York) missed the podium at Watkins Glen in the No. 88 Baby Bull Racing Porsche. Cooper holds third place just ahead of Ryan Yardley (New Zealand).
The Pro-Am class is even more intense as the top spot again swapped back between the two leading contenders at Watkins Glen.
Marco Cirone (Canada) took advantage of a low points haul in round eight by Moisey Uretsky (Miami, Florida) to drive the ACI Motorsports No. 84 into a 13-point lead in the class.
Meanwhile, former class champion Alan Metni (Austin. Texas) used a round seven win to jump into the top three. Having only missed one podium in the first eight races of the season, Dallas Georgia’s Matt Halcome continues his firm grip on the Masters class padding his lead to 43 over Mark Kvamme (Columbus, Ohio).
However, Kvamme has withdrawn from the series moving Chris Bellomo (Portola Valley, California) to the effective second position in the title chase.
Kellymoss once again holds the upper hand in the Entrants standings with 151 points. With MDK Motorsports withdraw, the Madison, Wisconsin-based Kellymoss is the effective leader in the category. JDX Racing (139 points) and Topp Racing Performance (127) follow in second and third place.
224 points remain available for the season. To collect all the points, a driver would need to win each round, win the pole position and set the fast race lap for each remaining race.
A victory pays 25 points, second place 20 and third place is awarded with 17 points. A pole position is worth two points while a fastest race lap will add an additional point to the total of a driver in each class.
Broadcast.
Races air live at PorscheCarreraCup.us, on the IMSA YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@imsaofficial, on the Peacock streaming app and at IMSA.tv. All are archived on the Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica.
On the web. www.PorscheCarreraCup.us.
