Carrera Cup competition around the world has long proved to be the perfect training ground for international motorsport stars.
For two Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America alums – last weekend’s round of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship was their time to shine.
Kay van Berlo – Carrera Cup North America record holder for the most wins, poles, and fastest laps – and 2022 series Pro-Am Champion Alan Metni combined to take their first GTD IMSA victory for Kellymoss with Riley at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
The duo are just two of a host of former Carrera Cup alumni both from the North American series or international cup competition.
Last week’s WeatherTech field also included:
- Matt Campbell (2016 Australian Carrera Cup Champion)
- Mathieu Jaminet (2016 French Carrera Cup Champion)
- Nick Tandy (2011 German Carrera Cup Champion)
- Mike Rockenfeller (2004 German Carrera Cup Champion)
- Patrick Pilet (2007 French Carrera Cup Champion)
- Sebastien Priaulx (2021 Porsche Carrera Cup North America Champion)
- Julien Andlauer (2017 French Carrera Cup Champion)
- Klaus Bachler (ex-Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup racer)
- Alec Udel (2016 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup guest driver)
Van Berlo participated at the annual Porsche Junior Shoot-out in Europe and was selected this year as a Porsche Motorsport North America Selected Driver.
In his first full-time season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, van Berlo debuted at Daytona in January alongside Metni, Andlauer, and other Carrera Cup alumni – 2020 Carrera Cup France Champion Jaxson Evans.
Van Berlo emerged from the pits with 45 minutes to go last Sunday in second place and chased down race leader Andy Lally – shortly after, the Dutchman made a pass for the lead and never looked back.
“With one hour to go, everything settled, and I was like, ‘Oh, we’re in P2, and the car in front of us is on slightly older tires,’” van Berlo said.
“I thought we could actually go and win here. … I was just waiting and waiting and waiting while defending the car behind me. I had one opportunity and went for it.
“It has been a challenging start to the season, and I really would have been happy to come away with a podium this weekend. But we had our opportunity and made it happen. Alan did an amazing job all weekend, and I’m so thankful for all the guys at Kellymoss with Riley.”
Van Berlo, Metni, and the host of former Carrera Cup aces are set to share the race track together next month at Watkins Glen International Raceway. The upstate New York venue will host the next rounds of both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America.
KAY VAN BERLO’S WEATHERTECH RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA RECAP
DOMINATING DICKINSON
Championship leader Riley Dickinson continued his barnstorming start to the 2023 Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America with a pair of wins at the Miami Grand Prix.
In the three-year history of the championship, Dickinson’s season for Kellymoss is breaking new records, with the 20-year-old taking five wins from six races – the best-ever start to the championship.
The 20-year Texan has also set new records for the most poles and fastest laps across the first six rounds – each with a total of five out of six.
He has also set new records for the most points scored to date. Kay van Berlo led the standings after six rounds in 2021 with 140 and again in 2022 with 143. To date, Dickinson tops the standings in 2023 with 157.
McCANN CAN
Michael McCann Jr scored his first-ever Porsche Deluxe Carerra Cup podium on the streets of Long Beach and backed that up last week with another trophy for third place in round five of the championship in Miami.
The 27-year-old debuted in the championship last year and finished 11th in the standings with 86 points. Already after three races in 2023, he already has 50 points to his name.
Racing for his family team, McCann Racing, the Ohio-based racer backed up his round five Miami podium with a fourth-place finish on Sunday. Easily marking the weekend as his best-ever in Carrera Cup – beating his ninth and fifth-place finishes from Road Atlanta last year.
SABRE SHINES IN MIAMI
Porsche Nort America Female Development Program racer Sabre Cook is quicking finding her feet in the transition from open-wheel racing to the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America.
Cook was on target for her first ever top ten at Long Beach before being in the wrong place at the wrong time – striking a wheel and tire that had come off another car – ending her day.
Well-familiar with racing at Formula 1 events in the W Series in previous seasons, Cook bounced back in Miami with a pair of top-ten finishes – sixth in Saturday’s round and ninth on Sunday.
BRITS BOUNCE BACK
Things were looking bright for the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America “British invasion” in Miami on Saturday for Long Beach winner Will Martin and fellow Englishman Alex Sedgwick.
Martin was challenging Riley Dickinson for the lead on a restart on Saturday before making contact in turn one and ending his race on the sidelines.
Sedgwick was also looking strong for his first championship podium on Saturday before incurring a drive-through penalty for contact earlier in the race.
This was not the day they were looking for to mark the coronation of King Charles!
Sunday, however, both bounced back strongly. Martin again challenged strongly for the race lead before crossing the line in second place, while Sedgwick scored his first series podium in third.
After six rounds of the championship, both JDX team racers are looking strong in the points in third (Martin) and fifth (Sedgwick), respectively.
Riley Dickinson, Efrin Castro, and Mark Kvamme all went back-to-back in the Pro, Pro-Am, and Am classes at the F1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix in round six of the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America today.
All three drivers won their respective classes in yesterday’s fifth round of the series and returned to the Formula 1 podium again today.
Dickinson today triumphed after a titanic battle with Long Beach race winner Will Martin. The pair battled throughout the 40-minute race, with Martin grabbing the lead with a dramatic lunge at turn 15. The championship leader Dickinson was ready to fight back and pulled a dramatic around the outside pass in the final complex of the Miami International Autodrome course.
The duo banged wheels down the start-finish straight before Dickinson retook the lead.
After both British racers Martin and Alex Sedgwick suffered set-backs in yesterday’s race – today the duo climbed the podium in second and third place.
A full-course yellow had bunched the field with 17 minutes remaining after Jeff Mosing and Stefan Rzadzinskimade contact at the end of the back straight.
On the resulting restart, yesterday’s runner-up Tom Sargent swung wide to attack Dickinson and Martin who were protecting the inside line. The Australian’s run of five consecutive runner-up finishes came to an end with Kay van Berlo making contact with the rear of Sargent’s car.
In the Rafa Racing Club Pro-Am class, Efrin Castro leaves Miami with his first two wins of the season and the championship lead. In today’s race, Canadian racer Marco Cirone finished second for the second day in a row, with Moisey Uretsky taking third place in his home race.
Mark Kvamme’s dominance in the Am class continued in Miami, with the 2022 champion taking his fifth victory in a row. Kvamme’s teammate Scott Noble bounced back from a Saturday crash to finish second ahead of John Goetz.
The Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America racers will now set their sights on the seventh and eighth rounds of the championship to be staged at Watkins Glen International at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen weekend of June 22-25.
The end result may look familiar with Riley Dickinson leading home Tom Sargent, but today’s Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America race at the F1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix was anything but ordinary.
The 3.363-mile Grand Prix circuit encircling the home of the Miami Dolphins NFL team – Hard Rock Stadium – produced spectacular racing across all three classes.
After running four-wide through the first turn, championship leader Riley Dickinson emerged in the lead from Long Beach-winner Will Martin, MDK’s Jimmy Llibre, and a fast-starting Varun Choksey.
McElrea Racing’s Tom Sargent moved past Choksey on lap three while British racer Alex Sedgwick began his charge through the pack.
The 40-minute race had its first full course yellow with 16 minutes to go when Jimmy Llibre came to a halt after suffering radiator damage from contact with another car.
That kicked off the drama-filled final portion of the race. On the restart, Martin made contact with Dickinson in turn one, and his race was over one corner later with broken steering.
Dan Clarke and Kay van Berlo (making his series return aboard an Accelerating Performance entry) also had heavy contact, putting both cars out on the spot. At the same time, Sean Varwig and Jason Hart collided, with Hart also spinning in turn one.
On the restart, Dickinson held the lead from Sargent, with Alex Sedgwick now in third place. However, the British racer’s podium ambitions were ruined by a drive-through penalty for an earlier incident.
At the finish, Dickinson and Sargent recorded their fourth 1-2 finish of the season, with Michael McCann avoiding the drama and scoring his second-consecutive podium finish – backing up his first-ever podium at Long Beach.
Dickinson was fortunate to make it to the finish – the contact with Martin heavily damaged his right rear wheel, but his Michelin tire remained inflated to the checkered flag.
“Standing on the F1 podium here in Miami and hearing the national anthem was probably one of the coolest experiences of my racing career. That was really surreal,” Dickinson said.
“After the contact on the first restart, I had a bit of damage for the rest of the race. I had a very aggressive high-speed vibration, and the right rear tow was heavily knocked out, so in braking and turning to the left, it was pretty interesting.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow, but I’m definitely going to celebrate this one. That was a really cool experience.”
In the Pro-Am battle, Efrin Castro held off Marco Cirone for the victory with Kyle Washington earning his first podium of the season after debuting at Long Beach.
Mark Kvamme again showed his speed in the race. The MDK racer scored his fourth consecutive Am class win – leading home Michael Merritt and James McCann.
The Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup teams are back in preparation (and repair) mode for the second race of the weekend scheduled for 12:15 pm tomorrow.
Riley Dickinson scored his third Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America pole position of the season in qualifying at the F1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix event this morning, claiming the top spot by 0.330 in the #53 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.
Dickinson carried his strong form from practice two yesterday evening into this morning’s 30-minute session, punching in his best time of 1:56.014 to secure the Pro and outright pole for race one later today.
The Kellymoss racer currently leads the class title fight, following two pole positions and three out of four wins so far. But with a fiercely competitive 40-car field, including Kay van Berlo on a cameo return to the series, Dickinson had to work hard for his third consecutive pole position.
“It’s great to have the Porsche Select driver in the series this weekend; it’s fun to have him back and see where we stack up relatively; it’s a good measuring stick for us,” said Dickinson.
“As far as qualifying went, it was a good session. Thank you to Kellymoss for their hard work of course, the car was dialed in as always. We’re really looking forward to the race this afternoon. The weather conditions are going to change a little bit towards the warmer side of things, so we’re going to make a few adjustments to cover that off, but overall we’re looking forward to it.
“This is a great facility, a great track, I think it will promote some very interesting racing, we’ll go with that, and we’re looking forward to getting after it later today.”
JDX Racing’s Will Martin took the fight to Dickinson, with the #9 car’s fastest lap 0.3s shy of the polesitter. Jimmy Llibre pushed his MDK Motorsports Porsche to claim third by the smallest of margins – 0.05 from Tom Sargent, who will start fourth for McElrea Racing.
The result from Llibre was impressive after suffering a crash yesterday and having his MDK team repair his car overnight.
Bringing another pole position to the Kellymoss crew, Efrin Castro took command of the Pro-Am contingent in dominant fashion, securing the top spot by over a second from Moisey Uretsky from Accelerating Performance. Fastest in yesterday’s practice, Topp Racing’s Jeff Mosling carried that form through to clock in third in class.
Continuing a dominant weekend in Miami so far, having topped the Am order in both practice sessions, MDK Motorsport’s Mark Kvamme came top again with a 1.58.467. Scott Noble came a close second in class, meaning he will start the first 40-minute race of the weekend just two slots away from his pole-sitting teammate on the overall start grid. John Goetz completes the Am qualifying top three in the #57 Wright Motorsports Porsche.
In only his fourth start of Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America competition, Will Martin (United Kingdom) scored his inaugural win in the North America’s premier one-make championship. The win also marked the first of the young season for defending Pro class champion JDX Racing. In an overall battle that covered the top five Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, Martin exchanged the lead with fellow series rookie Tom Sargent (Australia) in the No. 17 McElrea Racing and points leader Riley Dickinson (New Braunfels, Texas) behind the wheel of yesterday’s race-winning No. 53 Kellymoss Porsche over the course of the 40-minute event. Marco Cirone (Canada) took the Pro-Am class victory in the No. 82 ACI Motorsports Porsche while Mark Kvamme (Columbus, Ohio) repeated in the Am class with a win in the No. 43 MDK Motorsports Porsche.
Sargent took the early lead over Dickinson and Martin. A yellow flag five minutes into the feature tightened the field. Once the race returned to green flag racing, Dickinson and Martin battled with the Brit sneaking by the Texan and setting the sights of the No. 9 on the No. 17. Martin would take the lead and, despite several strong attempts to regain the top spot by Sargent, the JDX Porsche returned to the top step of the podium. Sargent was in second place, Dickinson in third while Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama champion Jimmy Libre (Dominican Republic) was in fourth place ahead of Alex Sedgwick (UK) who closed out the top five.
- Pro class
- Race Riley Dickinson (No. 53 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).
- Race 2. Will Martin (No. 9 JDX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).
- Pro-Am class
- Race Alan Metni (No. 99 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).
- Race 2. Marco Cirone (No. 82 ACI Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup)
- Am class
- Race 1 and 2. Mark Kvamme (No. 42 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup)
Highlights.
- Holding Point. Dickinson continues to hold the lead in the Pro class championship with 101 points over Sargent’s 82.
- After crossing the finish line as Pro-Am class winner in Saturday’s race, Race Stewards determined that Cirone had committed a starting line violation and had the race win taken away. The native of Toronto overcome those eventualities today, claiming a strong victory in the class.
- 3 for 4. Kvamme has earned the Am class victory in three of the first four races.
- A. Premiere. Not only was this Martin’s first career Carrera Cup North America victory, it came in his first career street race. The 20 year-old had never run on a temporary circuit until this weekend. He will not have to wait long for his second street course as the series travels to Miami, Florida next.
- 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).
- Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America: www.PorscheCarreraCup.us .
- Next Rounds 5 & 6. The Grand Prix of Miami. Miami International Autodrome, Miami, Florida. May 5 – 7.
Quotes.
Will Martin, No. 9 JDX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Winner, Race 2.
“Coming here, I have never done a street circuit before. It was hard to get used to but we managed very quickly and the team did a great job with the car. I had pressure the whole way through. The start of the race was really good. I had a great launch and then on the restart as well. I was really pleased with that. After that it was just a matter of staying consistent and keeping the pressure under control. Miami is another street race but I have more confidence going into there. No one has really been to Miami there before, so I have a lot of confidence going into there. It going to be really interesting and a level playing field for me.”
Jeremy Dale, Owner, JDX Racing.
“I am the guy that is given the job of finding the people that can win races for us. That is the only reason we are here; we want to win races. Will and I first talked last October about joining us in 2023 and we kept the dialog going. As you can see, we have three Pro cars. We have a 17 year-old, a 20 year-old and a 23 year-old. We are all about bringing young talent along and helping them to develop and win races. I knew Will could win for us because he is a driver that has won races [in other championships]. This weekend we knew it was particularly challenging because he had never seen Long Beach, obviously, but he had never been on a street circuit. You have to trust the process and he definitely does, and we do. To me, the most impressive thing today was the racecraft: the start, the restart, defending. The guys at the front are racing super hard, super aggressive but clean. It is going to make for a great championship.
Marco Cirone, No. 82 ACI Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Pro-Am Winner, Race 2.
“I am thankful that I have Parker [Thompson, 2022 Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America champion] and my teammate Grant Talkie here. We went through a ton of video as I have never been here before. They accelerated the learning curve very quickly for me. Without them I wouldn’t have been able to do so well. I want to thank Parker, the team ACI, Mark Motors and of course Porsche Motorsport and Michelin.”
