Ex-Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup racer Gustav Burton will go down in the record books as winning a milestone race in the history of the championship – the 50th round of the series which began here at Sebring International Raceway in 2021.
The 21-year-old British/Danish racer started from pole and was never headed throughout the 40-minute journey, with the series racing into darkness for the first time.
The MDK Motorsports recruit, who started on pole for Friday evening’s race, led flag-to-flag in the 40-minute journey, which was disrupted on the opening lap by an incident between JDX Racing’s Madeline Stewart and round one Pro-Am winner, James Sofronas.
At the checkered flag, Burton led Kellymoss’ round one winner Loek Hartog to the finish but the Dutchman was given a ten-second post-race penalty for jumping the start on the restart.
New Zealander Ryan Yardley made it two podiums from two races and three consecutive podiums by finishing second today. After an unlucky season in 2023, Yardley finally scored his first podium in the final round at COTA last year and now has a three-race streak going.
“It’s been a strong start with two good practice sessions, P1 and P2 qualifying, plus a second and a win in the two races – plus we are leading the championship,” said Burton
“It really couldn’t have gone that much better. We still have some work to do as a team. We can’t get complacent. I definitely didn’t have as much pace as Loek did in the closing stages of that race.
“But we’ll debrief and come back stronger in Miami. I have to give a huge thank you to MDK and Mark (Kvamme) for giving me this opportunity – we’re ready to win a championship.”
After dominating qualifying in Pro-am, Alan Metni’s day turned sour when he was forced out on the opening lap on Thursday. The 2022 Pro-am champion bounced back on Friday to take his repaired Kellymoss entry back to victory lane.
The win by Metni also brought an end of James Sofronas’ run of success – the Porsche veteran having won his first three race starts in the class before today.
Completing the Pro-am podium was ACI’s Marco Cirone and Kenton King, who earned his first podium for MDK Motorsports.
The Masters class had Matt Halcome first across the line, but a penalty gave Carlos De Quesada the win ahead of Halcome and Kyle Washington.
The Porsche Carrera Cup North America teams will now set their sights on rounds three and four of the championship at the Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix from May 3-5.
PAGID Racing and Porsche Carrera Cup North America will continue their partnership in 2024, with every competitor in the prestigious one-make championship relying on PAGID Racing’s brake pad technology.
PAGID Racing is the official brake pad partner for Porsche Carrera Cup North America, the 16-round championship for the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup machines that begins this week at Sebring International Raceway. Sebring will be the first time that the Porsche Carrera Cup championship will be conducted at twilight, with the race to finish in darkness providing a spectacular setting to conclude the first round of the championship
PAGID Racing and Porsche Motorsport have a long history dating back to 1986. PAGID brake pad products have been used across multiple generations of 911 GT3 Cup machines and raced in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and other Carrera Cup championships worldwide.
The PAGID Racing brake pads provide racers with a combination of bite, friction, excellent controllability, and braking modulation.
PAGID Racing is the exclusive motorsport brand of TMD Friction Holdings. With facilities in Leverkusen & Essen (Germany) and Troy (USA), TMD Friction Holdings can quickly develop and manufacture brake friction solutions according to customer-specific technical requirements.
“Porsche Carrera Cup is the most prestigious one-make championship in North America. Our technical and marketing partners must also be at the highest level, and that’s why we have relied on PAGID Racing since the debut of this championship in 2021,” said Volker Holzmeyer, President and CEO, Porsche Motorsport North America.
“Our partnership with PAGID Racing continues to allow the drivers and our customer teams to exploit the full potential of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car on the great circuits of North America, including at three Formula One races in 2024.”
The 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup North America calendar features 16 rounds over eight race weekends. Formula 1 races at Miami, Montreal, and Austin will be a highlight, along with major IMSA races at Sebring, Watkins Glen, Road America, Indianapolis and Road Atlanta.
“PAGID Racing and Porsche have had a long and successful partnership, and we are thrilled to continue that into 2024,” said Matthew Greenman, PAGID Racing, Head of Global Motorsports.
“Braking is a vital part of performance, and that is why PAGID Racing and Porsche have a great partnership. We have worked together for many years to ensure that when our racers press the brake pedal, they can do so with absolute confidence.”
Today’s spectacular opening round of the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup North America was dominated by ex-Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup driver Loek Hartog, but plenty of stars made headlines throughout the field at Sebring International Raceway.
Hartog was dominant from pole position but the other classes also were full of action with Pro-am racer James Sofronas taking his third consecutive win in only his first three races, and series returnee Matt Halcome earning the Masters class victory – 12 months after he last raced in the series.
Today’s opening round of the 2024 series also marked the debut of Yokohama as the official tire supplier for Porsche Carrera Cup North America – the new deal creating a stepping stone for racers graduating to Carrera Cup from Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama.
Stepping aboard the Kellymoss Racing for Children’s entry for his debut, Hartog today showed the speed that also made him a race winner in Mobil 1 Supercup in Europe.
He was chased to the finish by another Supercup racer making his series debut. MDK Motorsports’ Gustav Burton finished second in his first-ever US race – the British/Danish racer holding off a strong early challenge from Topp Racing’s Ryan Yardley.
Yardley scored his first series podium in the final race of 2023, but it didn’t take him long to earn his second – the New Zealander held second place early in the race today before crossing the line third at the checkered flag.
JDX Racing’s Alex Sedgwick finished fourth, making it four teams in the top four, while another rookie, ex-Indy NEXT racer Colin Kaminsky, finished fifth.
“This was my first race in the US, so to hit the ground running and finish with a win is very rewarding,” Hartog said.
“There were a lot of things that were new for me – my first rolling start and the restart also but the car was on rails today.
“Today, we really showed our true colors, so I hope it’s a strong message for the rest of the year. The competition is quite strong, but we sort of showed that everybody should look out for us.”
The Pro-am class battle was filled with action, with front runners Alan Metni and series debutant Jordan Wallace spinning off track after contact on the opening lap. Sadly for Metni, his race was over on the opening lap, while Wallace was able to stage a fightback to eventually cross the line seventh at the flag.
James Sofronas continued his remarkable run in the series. After his first weekend at COTA last year, the GMG Racing driver scored two wins from two starts and has now made it three wins from three starts.
Sofronas led home ACI Motorsports duo Marco Cirone and series returnee Pedro Torres.
Twelve months after last racing in series here in Sebring, ACI Motorsports’ Matt Halcome brought his “Mystery Machine” livery back to Carrera Cup with a victory in the Masters class today.
Chris Bellomo had dominated practice and qualifying but could only manage second place today ahead of Richard Edge – another ACI Motorsports driver giving the Chatanooga-based team four podiums in total across Pro-am and Masters.
Porsche Carrera Cup North America will be back on track on Friday with the first-ever series race that extends into darkness. The capacity 40-strong field will face the green flag at 7:15 p.m. before finishing 40 minutes later under the Sebring night sky.
The 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup North America may have a host of fast young stars joining the grid, but in today’s opening practice sessions at Sebring International Raceway, a series veteran topped the times.
Running a single-car team in 2024, McCann Racing’s Michael McCann set the fastest time of the day in the morning session when the 28-year-old stopped the clocks at 2 minutes, 4.094 seconds.
McCann joined the series for the first time in 2022, McCann climbed the podium for the first time at Long Beach and repeated that performance at the Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix.
McCann today headed Kellymoss’ former Mobil 1 Porsche Supercup ace Loek Hartog and series returnee Ryan Yardley. The New Zealander continued his strong end-of-season speed from 2023 when he finished second in the final race of the year at Circuit of The Americas.
“The strength of this field is incredible. So to be P1 after on opening day is like a small victory,” McCann said.
“You never win a race on the first day, but it is always nice to start the weekend strong.”
McCann and the rest of the field battled for the first time today on the new series Yokohama Advan tire, working their way up to speed across the bumpy Sebring circuit.
“I swear this place gets bumpier every year,” McCann said.
“The car feels wicked fast right now, so we’ll see if we can keep going into qualifying and the first race tomorrow.”
Times in today’s afternoon session were slower than this morning as temperatures rose. Jimmy Llibre set the fasting time in practice two – and the fifth fastest time overall – with a lap of 1 minute, 4.444 seconds.
Heading the pack for the Pro-Am class was series rookie Jordan Wallace, who impressed in his first runs for Kellymoss. Wallace set the fastest time of the day in the first session and third fastest in the afternoon.
His teammate and 2022 class champion Alan Metni was fastest in the afternoon session.
In the newly-renamed Masters class, Chris Bellomo was the man to catch – going comfortably fastest in both sessions today. Driving for Kellymoss in 2024, Bellomo headed series returnee Matt Halcome in both practice sessions.
The Porsche Carrera Cup North America championship is back on track tomorrow morning for qualifying at 9:15 am before the first race of the weekend at 3:05 pm.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Porsche Carrera Cup North America will open its season at Sebring International Raceway. The 3.74-mile, 17-turn circuit in central Florida, will be the site of rounds one and two of the eight weekend, 16 race schedule for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars (type 992).
A record number of entrants and new faces highlight an international grid. In addition, the race marks the first time the premier one-make race series has run on the Yokohama ADVAN racing slick. New marketing partners highlight the growth of the series as do new teams and race venues on the calendar.
SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY FAST FACTS
- Full Field. 41 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars are entered for competition at COTA.
- Pro class. 17 Pro-Am class. 14 Masters class. 10
- Teams. 15 race teams are represented across all three classes.
- Track Record. 2:01.667, 2023, Riley Dickinson, Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Point Leaders.
First event weekend of the 2024 season.
Pro. 2023 Champion: Riley Dickinson, No. 53 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
Pro-Am. 2023 Champion: Efrin Castro, No. 63 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
Masters. 2023 Champion: Mark Kvamme, No. 43 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Class formerly known as the Am class).
Entrants. 2023 Champion: Kellymoss
Testing time: Porsche Carrera Cup North America held its two-day open test at Sebring on March 4 – 5. Gustav Burton (No. 47 MDK Motorsports) led the way turning a time of two-minutes, 3.188-seconds. Alan Metni (No. 99 Kellymoss Porsche) charged to a 2:04.250 lap time as the fastest Pro-Am driver. Matt Halcome was quickest in the Masters class (No. 55 ACI Motorsports) with a lap of 2:04.589 seconds. All of the quick laps were set in the fourth of five sessions.
Hometown heroes: Five drivers on the entry list consider Florida their home state: Elias De La Torre (Key Largo), Angel Benitez (Miami), Pedro Torres (Wellington), Moisey Uretsky (Miami) and Carlos De Quesada (Tampa).
International appeal: Since its inception, Carrera Cup North America has drawn interest from drivers around the globe wanting to test their mettle in the series. 2024 promises to be one of the most hotly contested with drivers from eleven countries entered.
Solid gold: Mobil 1, a founding partner of Porsche Carrera Cup North America and an OEM partner to Porsche and Porsche Motorsport worldwide, will use the series to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Each car in the field will carry a gold Mobil 1 sticker to highlight the partnership between Porsche and the manufacturer of synthetic motor oil and other automotive lubrication products.
Master’s Class: With the start of the 2024 race season, Carrera Cup North America will take on a new naming structure for one of its three classes. While Pro and Pro-Am remain the same, the class formerly known as “Am” is now Masters.
Entrants: Kellymoss leads the points and the win totals for entrants. The Madison, Wisconsin-based program has nine victories in the Entrants Championship while JDX Racing has three wins. McElrea Racing and MDK Motorsports each have tallied one overall victory.
Class Descriptions
Pro. The highest level of competition in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America. The class is recognized through its orange color scheme. The car entry number will be delineated in orange on the doors, the windshield and rear glass. Headlight covers will be clear with orange cross-marks.
Pro-Am. Restricted to drivers who are 35-years or older as of January 1, 2024. The class is recognized through its green color scheme. The car entry number will be delineated in green on the doors, the windshield and rear glass. Headlight covers will be clear with green cross-marks.
Masters. This class is open to drivers who are 50 years old or older as of January 1, 2024. The class is recognized through its yellow color scheme. The car entry number will be delineated in yellow on the doors, the windshield and rear glass. Headlight covers will be clear with yellow cross-marks. Class was formerly known as “Am”.
Yokohama premiere
Porsche Motorsport North America and Yokohama Tire Corporation announced a multiyear partnership expansion beginning with this weekend’s Sebring rounds. The premier one-make championship joins fellow Porsche Motorsport Pyramid North America programs, Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West exclusively utilizing the Yokohama tire. The agreement gives Yokohama exclusive rights to market and sell competition tires on-site at all Porsche one- make championships in North America. Yokohama will provide the ADVAN® A005 racing slick and ADVAN® A006 tire for wet conditions on all Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars in the Pro, Pro-Am and Masters classes of Carrera Cup North America..
Hometown heroes:
Texas is home to five of the top drivers in Porsche Carrera Cup North America. Provisional Pro class champion Riley Dickinson is from nearby New Braunfels and is backed by local brand dealer, Porsche of Austin.
Nick Boulle, who pilots the No. 3 for MDK Motorsports, is from Dallas, while teammate Jason Hart – who drove the No. 20 MDK Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to a victory in race one at Watkins Glen International hails from Flower Mound.
Austin is home to Travis Wiley, who will drive the No. 77 Topp Racing. Austin is also home to defending Pro-Am champion Alan Metni who had to pull his No. 99 Kellymoss machine from the entry list after a non-racing accident sidelined him. A Texan could also walk away with the Am class title as current class points leader Scott Noble (No. 10 MDK Motorsports) is from Dallas.
Racing to End Alzheimer’s
The mission of Racing to End Alzheimer’s, the presenting charity partner of defending Am class champion Mark Kvamme (No. 43 MDK Motorsports), is to increase awareness of this terrible disease while giving families a way to honor their loved ones in a very tangible way while raising funds for research and treatment. For a $250 donation, a loved one’s name is placed on the car as it races across the United States (https://www.r2endalz.org)..
Entry list
The full Porsche Carrera Cup North America entry list can be found by clicking here
Broadcast
All races air on the Peacock streaming app, IMSA.tv and PorscheCarreraCup.us and are archived on the Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube channel.
On the web:
www.PorscheCarreraCup.us.
Schedule
Wednesday, March 13.
9:40 a.m. – 10:10 a.m. – Practice 1
2:10 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. – Practice 2
Thursday, March 14.
9:15 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. – Qualifying (all classes)
4:55 p.m. – 5:35 p.m. – Race 1 (40-minute race)
Friday, March 15.
7:15 p.m. – 7:55 p.m. – Race 2 (40-minute race)
- Yokohama becomes the presenting partner for the opening four rounds / two weekends of Porsche Carrera Cup North America
- The presenting partner role is in addition to Yokohama becoming the official tire of Porsche Carrera Cup North America in 2024
- The two brands also combine for the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama and Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama
Porsche Motorsport North America and Yokohama Tire have further expanded their partnership for 2024, with the performance tire brand becoming the presenting partner for the opening two weekends of Porsche Carrera Cup North America in 2024.
At this weekend’s opening rounds at Sebring International Raceway and rounds three and four at the Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix, all championship competitors will showcase Yokohama branding across the front windshield banners of their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars.
Yokohama will have its race debut this week as the official tire of Porsche Carrera Cup North America, expanding the high–performance tire manufacturer’s relationship with Porsche.
Yokohama provides the ADVAN® A005 racing slick and ADVAN® A006 tire for wet conditions on all Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars in the Pro, Pro-Am and Masters classes of Carrera Cup North America as well as all classes in Porsche Sprint Challenge by Yokohama.
“Expanding our partnership from Sprint Challenge to Carrera Cup and now to be the presenting partner for the opening two rounds of Carrera Cup is huge,” said Andrew Briggs, Vice President, Marketing and Product Management at Yokohama Tire Corporation.
“We like to associate ourselves with the best brands in the world, and there’s really no better than Porsche.
“Our new partnership is really exciting as we’re working with Porsche to help with its ladder program. Drivers can start in Sprint Challenge, compete in Caymans, 991 and 992, and then graduate to Carrera Cup and be using the same Yokohama tire all the way through.
“Motorsports is immensely important for Yokohama. It’s part of our heritage. We’re definitely known as a performance tire manufacturer, so to be able to prove our worth on the track is important.
“We also do a lot of technology transfer. Things that are learned in a racing environment are then ultimately brought to consumers and road cars throughout the world.”
At the recent opening round of Sprint Challenge and the following pre-season test for Carrera Cup, Yokohama provided tires for more than 92 cars across both events at Sebring International Raceway.
“We certainly believe that Porsche Carrera Cup North America is a championship that can excite enthusiasts who love Porsche and appreciate performance,” said Volker Holzmeyer, Porsche Motorsport North America President and CEO.
“We’re delighted that Yokohama shares that belief and is working very closely with us to use the championship to showcase their brand before a very engaged audience.
“With the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car, competitors are using the same car, the same engine, the same dampers and more. Now across both our championships in the US, our racers will be on the same tire as well.
“To also have Yokohama join us as the presenting partner for two of the biggest events of the season – the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix – is massively exciting and we can’t wait to get started this week.”
Porsche Carrera Cup North America action begins on Wednesday, March 13, with the opening two practice sessions. Qualifying and round one will be contested on Thursday, March 14, with round two set to race into the night at Sebring on Friday, March 15, starting at 7:15 p.m..
The Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix Carrera Cup rounds will be held at the Miami International Autodrome surrounding Hard Rock Stadium from May 3-5.
Chatanooga-based Porsche Carrera Cup North America squad ACI Motorsport enters the 2024 season with a hugely expanded seven-car line-up across the Pro, Pro-Am, and Masters classes.
Former Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama champion Jimmy Llibre leads the ACI assault in the Pro class, moving to ACI for his second season in the Carrera Cup.
The Dominican Republic racer finished eighth in the points last season but performed strongly at the pre-season test, finishing fifth fastest overall and was second quickest in two of the five sessions.
Canadian racer Marco Cirone returns to ACI in 2024, looking to go one better after finishing second in the Pro-am class last season. He will be joined this year by Pedro Torres, who returns to Carrera Cup after racing in Fanatec GT World Challenge last year for ACI. Torres previously contested the Carrera Cup championship in 2022.
The duo will be joined by Canadian racer Roberto Tutino, who is making his Carrera Cup debut this year.
ACI will also enter three cars in the Masters class, with Matt Halcome returning with his popular “Mystery Machine” livery. Halcome impressed at the pre-season test by going fastest in the class.
Richard Edge moves across from ACI’s SRO GT4 America program to return to Carrera Cup. He previously competed in Carrera Cup in 2022 with ACI.
Tom Balames completes the 2024 line-up – bringing his multi-colored stripe livery across to the ACi squad.
“We’re looking forward to finally getting the 2024 season underway. You never know what to expect, but it looks promising for our team,” said Team Principal Curt Swearingin.
“We’ve grown so much and so quickly, but we’ve never been more ready to hit the track and compete for championships.”
“Our goals are the same as ever – perform to our maximum potential and give every driver the best platform and chance to succeed. We’re looking forward to pushing the limits and seeing the ceiling of what we can accomplish.”
In addition to the team’s Carrera Cup program, ACI will again compete in GT4 America, with Swearingin teaming up with Kay van Berlo, a 13-time Carrera Cup race winner.
