McElrea Racing’s “Aussie assault” on the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America is set to expand for the final four rounds of the 2023 championship, with Bayley Hall joining the team alongside championship front-runner and fellow Australian, Tom Sargent.

Hall drives for McElrea Racing in the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia championship – scoring three top-10 round finishes this season in what is effectively his second full year of one-make Porsche competition.

He qualified a career-best third in Townsville and finished fifth overall last time out at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia and sits less than 60 points outside the top four in the championship.

Hall has already completed a pair of tests in the United States, including one at Road America and another at the Circuit of the Americas, where the final two rounds will be staged at the US Grand Prix in October.

“This opportunity to race with my home team on an international scale will be very eye-opening but an experience I am very grateful to take head-on and make the most of every minute,” Hall said.

“The United States is so passionate about sports, and I cannot wait to experience that for myself from the driver’s side’ and immerse myself in it.

“When I was seven years old, I made my Dad take a detour on a USA family holiday to visit Laguna Seca, but I have never been to Texas, so yes, I’m very excited. I’m very much looking forward to this incredible experience and ticking off another two iconic tracks from my bucket list that I had set goals to race on.

“There are a few differences in Carrera Cup North America. Most notable ones are that the cars use ABS and have rolling starts, which is different from Carrera Cup Australia. Also, they have two 40-minute races over the weekend, which will provide plenty of laps to learn and grow from.

“I’ve taken inspiration from both Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen, who have both raced in the US and rustled some feathers. I’m excited for when it’s my chance to do the same.

“The American championship is still extremely competitive, and it will be a great challenge for me to adapt to the tracks as quickly as possible and also endeavor to make a name for myself in another country.”

With three Carrera Cup championship wins and a star-studded alumni list, which includes current Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 racer Matt Campbell, McElrea Racing expanded this year to launch a North American program for the first time.

They hit the ground running in March at the pre-season test, with Tom Sargent topping the timesheets at the pre-season test. With four rounds remaining, Sargent is second in the Pro driver’s points, while the team sits third in the team’s standings. 

“Last year we threw Bayley into the deep end in Carrera Cup due to Covid not allowing a Sprint Championship for him to learn from; he pretty much had to learn how to drink from a fire hose, and he certainly did,” McElrea said.

“This year, he’s been able to gain another level of confidence by building on his experience from last year. He’s done everything we’ve asked of him, he’s a brilliant student & he’s exceeding our expectations. He’s fast, he’s dedicated & he’s hungry.

“The opportunity to test in America arose, and like Bayley always does, he grabbed it with two hands & impressed at the test, opening up this opportunity to race in the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America championship.

“It will be a challenge for him, but he’s proven his adaptability skills over the last 18 months, and we can’t wait to see what he can do.”

Hall will make his US debut at the iconic Porsche Rennsport Reunion event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca next week from September 29-October 1, before competing at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas for the support event at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix on October 20-22.

Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America uses identical cars to the Australian championship, except for the addition of ABS braking.

Twelve months ago, Texas racer Riley Dickinson scored his first ever Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America race win – fast forward 12 months, and the 21-year-old now has an additional nine victories to his name and is set to collect the Al Holbert Cup in October as 2023 series champion.

The Kellymoss racer picked one of the biggest stages in world motorsport to score these career-defining results. His first win came at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and with two additional wins at the same venue this weekend, he now has an unbeatable lead in the Pro championship points despite the fact there are still four rounds remaining.

His eight victories to date in 2023 also establishes a new record for the most overall wins in a single season in the Carrera Cup championship – a record he has a chance of extending in the final four rounds at the upcoming Rennsport Reunion at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.

Dickinson also locked the Porsche Motorsport North America Junior Program title with two race weekends remaining.

One of Dickinson’s last remaining fellow championship hopefuls, Tom Sargent, was today involved in a lap-one, turn-one melee with Sean Varwig and Jimmy Libre, which also sent several drivers up the escape road. Sargent’s hopes of a recovery were further dented when he was assessed a drive-through penalty.

That was not the only drama on the opening lap. Rafa Racing Club Pro-Am racer Marco Cirone had finished on the podium in second place yesterday, but today, he unknowingly suffered radiator damage in turn one.

By the time he arrived at his braking point at the end of the back straight, coolant exiting his car had turned him into a passenger and collided heavily with Porsche Motorsport North America Deluxe Female Development Program racer Sabre Cook.

Both cars suffered extensive damage, and Cook was transported to – and later released – from hospital after exiting the car with pain in her left foot.

After yesterday’s race only lost one competitor during the 40-minute journey, Varwig, Cirone, and Cook were joined on the sidelines today by Pro class racers Michael McCann, Jason Hart, and Travis Wiley.

At the chequered flag, Dickinson has opened up a lead of more than five seconds ahead of JDX Racing’s “British Invasion” duo of Will Martin and Alex Sedgwick.

“To think twelve months ago that I was able to win my first race here in Indianapolis and then a full year after the fact, to go win the championship at the same track is quite special,” Dickinson said.

“This is hands down one of the coolest venues we go to throughout the year. There’s so much history here, and it’s pretty special to have all the Racing for Children’s kids here this weekend with us. To deliver them a championship this year is very special. 

“I have to say a huge thank you to everyone at Porsche Austin, back at home for all their support and of course, everyone at Kelly Moss for all their hard work. They’ve put in long hours, day and night, throughout the year.

“I’m absolutely excited about this one. We’re definitely going to go celebrate pretty hard tonight.”

Dickinson’s close friend and Kellymoss teammate Efrin Castro took another step closer to earning his second Rafa Racing Club Pro-am title with his second win at Indianapolis today. 

Castro won the championship in 2021 and has now recorded four wins in succession and six in total this year. Remarkably, he also went back to back here in Indianapolis last year.

Joining him on the podium today were 2021 Pro-am champion Alan Metni and GMG Racing’s Kyle Washington joined him on the podium.

In the Am class, MDK’s Scott Noble and Mark Kvamme, plus Wright Motorsports’ John Goetz combined for a remarkable statistical anomaly this weekend. The trio of drivers finished in that order – 1-2-3 – in both practice sessions, qualifying, and both races this weekend.

The two wins by Noble squeezed the Am championship points gap down to 18 points from 34 points prior to this weekend. Noble has now scored four consecutive race wins as he attempts to chase down Kvamme for the crown – his MDK Motorsports team owner and 2022 series champion.

Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America points leader Riley Dickinson took another step towards becoming the first American-born driver to be crowned as champion after another dominant victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today.

After starting from pole, the Kellymoss driver jumped into the lead from McElrea Racing’s Tom Sargent, who held off a hard-charging Alex Sedgwick (JDX Racing).

While Dickinson charged ahead at the front, the Pro-class pack behind him was getting aggressive. Jason Hart (MDK Motorsport) earned a 10-second penalty for contact with Sedgwick – moving him from second at the finish to ninth.

Australian Tom Sargent was looking to record his sixth second-place finish of the season but suffered contact at turn 12 with about 10 minutes remaining. JDX Racing’s Will Martin had to serve a drive-through penalty for the incident, which spun Sargent around but fortunately left him pointing in the right direction.

Sargent recovered to finish fifth with Martin in P9 at the checkered flag.

Joining Dickinson on the podium was British-born “local hero” Dan Clarke. The former Champ Car racer and Indianapolis resident crossed the line in second place ahead of Sedgwick.

MDK Motorsports’ Jimmy Llibre equalled his season-best finish with fourth.

“It was a great race for the Kellymoss team. Going into the weekend, we felt pretty confident, but we were able to fine-tune some stuff in practice,” Dickinson said.

“Fortunately, from the start, the people behind us started to get into a fight, and we were able to pull away. The whole race I kept thinking about what to do if there was a full course caution but that never happened, and we were able to go on to the victory. 

“This was a huge one for Racing For Children’s. We have our ‘crew chief’ Dorian here; it is his birthday today, and we have Ford here as well; he was my crew chief here last year as part of the Racing For Children’s program. 

“Ultimately, we are here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and there is no better place to do this. I’m looking forward to what we can do tomorrow. Thanks to everyone at Kellymoss, Racing For Children’s, and Porsche of Austin.”

Should Dickinson triumph in this year’s championship, he will become the first American-born champion. Inaugural champion Seb Prixaulx was born and raised in Guernsey (one of the Channel Islands in the English Channel), while Canada’s Parker Thompson was crowned champion last yaer.

There are now five rounds remaining in 2023 – one at Indianapolis on Sunday and two each at the upcoming Rennsport Reunion VII at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and the US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas.

In the Rafa Racing Club Pro-Am class, Dominican Republic racer Efrin Castro won his third race in a row and his fifth in total in 2023. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has proven to be a happy hunting ground for the Kellymoss racer who has won six races from seven starts at “The Brickyard.”

Canadian Marco Cirone (ACI Motorsports) crossed the line in second place ahead of GMG Racing’s Kyle Washington.

Remarkably, in the Am class, today’s result mirrored both practice sessions and the qualifying times. Scott Noble took his third win in a row and his fourth in his first season in the championship ahead of his MDK Motorsports team boss Mark Kvamme, and Wright Motorsports’ John Goetz. The trio of drivers have filled the same positions in every session so far this weekend.

The Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America will be back on track at Indianapolis at 9:40 am on Sunday (September 17) for round 12 of the 16-round championship.

Kellymoss racer Riley Dickinson scored his first-ever Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America win here at the Indianapolis Motorsport Speedway 12 months ago – since that day, the Texan has continued an incredible charge, which included scoring pole position at “The Brickyard” today.

Remarkably, Dickinson has added seven more victories to his resume and currently holds a 102-point lead in the Pro championship standings.

In qualifying today, he stopped the clocks at 1 minute, 24.953 seconds – the fastest ever seen in three years of Carrera Cup competition here in Indianapolis.

McElrea Racing’s Australian racer Tom Sargent will join Dickinson on the front row after qualifying second, with JDX Racing’s Alex Sedgwick in third place.

“There’s so much history here, so to get my first pole here in Indianapolis is something pretty special,” Dickinson said.

“A huge thank you to everyone at Kellymoss, as always. They’ve been working extremely hard behind the scenes, and we’ve been putting in the work and effort to get to this position.

“It’s been a great day for our team. My teammate Sean Varwig qualified really well, and Efrin Castro is on the pole in Pro-Am.

“This is where I scored my first win last year, which was really special. We’ve been working on bringing some of the lessons we learned here last year and putting them to good use to hopefully get back to victory lane again.”

In the Rafa Racing Club Pro-Am class, Castro again showed his impressive speed by scoring pole position today. The Dominican Republic-born racer arrives in Indianapolis after scoring back-to-back victories at Road America.

However, at Indianapolis this weekend, he’ll face stiff competition from inside his own team, with Alan Metni returning to Carrera Cup competition this weekend. After winning the Pro-Am championship last year, Metni has stepped up the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship alongside Porsche Motorsport North America Selected Driver, Kay van Berlo.

Metni qualified second-fastest today ahead of Canadian racer, Marco Cirone.

The Am class will again feature a battle of the teammates. MDK Motorsports founder Mark Kvamme leads the championship by 34 points, but his teammate Scott Noble keeps closing the gap.

Noble set the fastest time in qualifying today ahead of his team boss, Kvamme with Wright Motorsport’s John Goetz third fastest.

The Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup combatants will contest two races this weekend over the IMSA Battle on the Bricks weekend. Saturday’s 40-minute race goes green at 2:30 pm, with Sunday’s final race scheduled for 9:40 am.