Porsche Carrera Cup North America champion Loek Hartog hasn’t backed off the throttle since clinching his title, and the Dutchman qualified on pole position Saturday morning at Circuit of The Americas (COTA).
Hartog’s time of 2:06.237 driving the No. 24 Porsche for Kellymoss was nearly two-tenths quicker than second place, Michael Cooper (Baby Bull Racing).
The second row today will feature the race winners from last weekend at Road Atlanta – Zach Vanier (JDX Racing) leading Ryan Yardley (Topp Racing).
“It’s not only me,” Hartog said after qualifying.
“The team did a very good job, especially after yesterday. We just did the right thing to the car and the car is very nice to drive. I’m very happy to get pole position here at COTA.
“Personally, I feel like there are still some things to do better. In the race, I hope to dial a few things, and hopefully, we can get a clean getaway and drive a very good race. Hopefully, we can then really show what we’re capable of. To me, it’s still not perfect, so I’d like to show that in the race.”
While Hartog will lead the Pro class field to green, his Kellymoss teammate Alan Metni will do the same in the Pro-Am class. Metni, who lives locally near the Austin, Texas racetrack, also posted the fastest practice time on Friday before setting his qualifying time of 2:07.564. Six Pro cars separate Metni from the second-place Pro-Am driver, Marco Cirone.
“It feels great,” said Metni.
“I love racing here, and it’s also quite nice to wake up in your own bed and go to the racetrack, so I’m happy about how it turned out today.”
Of the Masters drivers, Chris Bellomo continued his quest for the class championship by landing on pole position with a time of 2:09.006. Bellomo – along with Hartog and Metni – also runs under the Kellymoss banner, making it a qualifying sweep for the squad.
“It felt good, the conditions were much cooler,” described Bellomo.
“I felt l had much more grip than FP1. I am just going to try to survive the start and put in as many solid laps as I can for 35 minutes and see what happens.”
The first race of the weekend – and penultimate of the season – goes green later on Saturday at 4:40 p.m. ET. The final Porsche Carrera Cup North America race of 2024 is scheduled for Sunday at 12 p.m. ET prior to the Formula One United States Grand Prix.
The races will stream on Peacock TV, IMSA.tv, IMSA and Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) YouTube channels plus the PMNA Facebook, X and LinkedIn channels.
Fresh from his victory at Road Atlanta last weekend, Topp Racing’s Ryan Yardley continued his impressive speed by topping today’s practice session for Porsche Carrera Cup North America at the US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas.
The Texas-based Topp Racing Performance driver’s time of 2:07.860 seconds was a mere .056 seconds over Zachary Vanier from JDX Racing.
Recently crowned Pro champion Loek Hartog (Kellymoss) was third fastest ahead of Alex Sedgwick (JDX Racing) and Dan Clark (Era Motorsports).
“Atlanta was nice and it’s cool to be back here at COTA,” said Yardley after practice.
“It’s obviously a tough weekend with only one practice, but it was a reasonable practice for us. We have a lot of work to do before qualifying tomorrow, and I’m sure it’s going to be tight as always, which is why it’s important to qualify up front. I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend.”
In the Pro-Am class, points leader Alan Metni began the weekend by leading his field with a practice time of 2:08.868 seconds. Metni – the hometown hero from Austin, Texas – is one of 10 entries on the grid this weekend for Kellymoss and enters with a slim, eleven-point championship lead over teammate Efrin Castro.
Remarkably – Metni’s time was seventh fastest overall and 1.6 seconds faster than his nearest rival.
“I love this track,” Metni said.
“This is my home track, and this is the first racetrack I ever drove on about eight years ago. This is where it all started for me. Sleeping in your own bed, being rested, eating your own food, it’s nice being at home.
“The repave is really quite nice. All the bumps are gone, and I hope it stays this way for quite some time. It’s definitely faster because of that. I will say that, in a way, I miss the bumps because they required some extra technique that gave local knowledge a real benefit. But it’s nice and I’m sure everybody is enjoying it.”
Also running for Kellymoss is Masters class practice leader Chris Bellomo with a time of 2:10.232 seconds. Bellomo embarks on his final quest this weekend for the Masters championship and sits behind leader Matt Halcome and ACI Motorsports by 27 points.
“The conditions were decent,” said Bellomo.
“It was nice and a little bit cooler than when we tested here. We did a really good job during the test about a month ago and were able to carry that over. I like what they did with the repave. It’s a little less bumpy in certain areas and gives you a little more confidence.
Qualifying tomorrow for the final two rounds of the 2024 championship will take place at 9:50 am.
Race 1 for Porsche Carrera Cup North America takes place on Saturday afternoon at 4:40 p.m. ET, with Race 2 following on Sunday morning at 12 p.m. ET.
The races will stream on Peacock TV, IMSA.tv, IMSA and Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) YouTube channels plus the PMNA Facebook, X and Linkedin channels.
Season 2024 has again highlighted the key role that Porsche Carrera Cup North America is playing in developing young sportscar talent.
Three drivers, including two members of the Porsche Motorsport North America Selected Driver team, have enjoyed stellar seasons—each behind the wheel of Porsche machinery this year.
While AO Racing’s Laurin Heinrich may only have one Porsche Carrera Cup North America weekend on his resume, the young German star followed a similar path to success in Carrera Cup competition in Europe.
Two years ago, he lined up at Road Atlanta for his first North American race and dominated – setting pole position and running away with the second race of the weekend to earn his first victory.
Two years later, Heinrich was crowned as the GTD Pro Champion in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
For Heinrich, the title was a full-circle moment with the marque at Road Atlanta.
“Road Atlanta, what a phenomenal place,” Heinrich said.
“I did my very first race here in the United States in 2022 in Porsche Carrera Cup North America and put it on pole and won the race – great memories. Two years later, standing here in IMSA, a GTD Pro champion in the middle of the night at Petit Le Mans, I can’t believe it.
“It was a rollercoaster weekend, and in the end, it was such a fine margin to win the championship. It’s the biggest success of my life. I can’t thank my teammates and my team enough. They did a phenomenal job, and I’m over the moon.”
Porsche Motorsport North America’s pair of Selected Drivers, Kay van Berlo and Riley Dickinson, both tasted great success aboard the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport this year.
While van Berlo holds the record for the most number of Pro wins in Porsche Carrera Cup North America—13—he previously fell short of winning the overall championship.
This year, he made amends in the GT4 America championship – taking the Pro-Am title with ACI Motorsports team boss Curt Swearingin. The Dutchman helped clinch the championship at the iconic Racing Capital of the World – Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“We started this program two years ago. Not everything was perfect, but over the years, we progressed as a team and as drivers as well,” said van Berlo.
“I’ve seen Curt grow as a driver, which has been very satisfying to see as well. I’ve seen the team grow in this series and in other series, which has been awesome.
“Obviously, we were reaching podiums all throughout the season, and it’s all about collecting points. We clinched the championship here just by being consistent. I’m just super happy to get it done, and massive credit to the team, the engineers, the mechanics – they’ve put night-and-day effort into this program.”
Last year’s Porsche Carrera Cup North America champion Riley Dickinson also made the step into GT4 machinery in 2024, teaming up with fellow ex-Carrera Cup racer Michael McCarthy and the Kellymoss with Riley Motorsports team.
The duo won the opening race of the season at Daytona International Speedway in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and bookended the season with another win in the final race of the season at Road Atlanta.
“Our Michelin Pilot Challenge program was a great effort all year long, and I couldn’t be happier with how we progressed as a team from start to finish,” Dickinson said.
“To go from starting the year out in Daytona with a fantastic strategy call to win the race, developing the car throughout the year to be in contention, and then finishing off our year on a high note at Road Atlanta with our second win of the season.
“Being able to “graduate” from the Porsche Carrera Cup North America this year was certainly a big step forward for me and my career, along with becoming a Porsche Motorsport North America Selected Driver. The support from PMNA this year was truly what made the difference in my growth and development as a driver this season.”
Not only did van Berlo and Dickinson shine bright in GT4 machinery – but they also teamed up to contest the Indianapolis weekend in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in GTD competition. The duo added fellow Kellymoss Carrera Cup young star Jake Pederson.
Heinrich, van Berlo and Dickinson are following in the footsteps of a host of former Carrera Cup aces who have gone on to enjoy incredible careers in sports car racing.
At Road Atlanta, we also said farewell to another champion who not only used Cup competition to revive his career a number of seasons after his final open-wheel drive but also used his pair of Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup victories as a career springboard.
For 2006 and 2007 Supercup champ Richard Westbrook, his career fittingly came to an end back behind the wheel of a Porsche in 2024 – competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship aboard the Porsche 963 for JDC Motorsport.
Westbrook’s stellar career included wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, as well as five podiums at the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“What Porsche did for me to get my career started in sports car racing was amazing,” said Westbrook.
“I always tell any young driver my story about how I had a few years out after Formula racing, and I came back through the Carrera Cup system. I was fortunate enough to win the Supercup and then had a really fantastic long career.
“To finish it off, having a year in the 963 makes it even sweeter. I’m really proud, and it’s surreal that I’ve gone full circle back into a Porsche.”
The Porsche Carrera Cup North America concludes its fourth season this weekend at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. For the second consecutive season, the premier Porsche one-make championship in North America will crown its champions with a two-round finale in support of Formula 1®.
Rounds 15 and 16 of the all-Porsche championship will run on Saturday, October 19 and Sunday, October 20 and presented by Penfed Credit Union.
The 3.4-mile, 20-turn Grand Prix circuit has drawn 36 pre-event entries across all three classes: Pro, Pro-Am and Masters. Each Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car (Type 992) is mechanically identical and rides on the same Yokohama ADVAN® A005 racing slick, making driver performance and team preparation the determining factors in every session.
Since its founding in 2021, Porsche Carrera Cup North America has been a key training ground. Sebastian Priaulx (United Kingdom), inaugural champion in 2021, has Porsche race wins in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar and World Endurance Championships. Parker Thompson (Canada) took the championship in 2022 and progressed to become a current race winner in the IMSA GTD class.
Most recently, 2023 champion Riley Dickinson (New Braunfels, Texas) won his premier and season finale races in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge in January of 2024 driving a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport for Kellymoss.
There will be a single 30-minute practice session on Friday, October 18. A 30-minute qualifying session for all classes will set the grid on Saturday morning. The twin 35-minute races, shortened by five minutes to fit the Formula 1 ® standard, will race in the afternoon on Saturday, October 19, and in the morning on Sunday, October 20.
COTA FAST FACTS
- Field. 36 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars are entered for the weekend.
- Pro class. 15 Pro-Am class. 9 Masters class. 11
- Teams. 9 race teams are represented across all three classes.
Track Record: 1:20.089, Laurin Heinrich, No. 12 311RS Motorsport, set in 2022
2023 Race Winners
– Pro. Race 1 & 2. Riley Dickinson, No. 53 Kellymoss
– Pro-Am. Race 1 & 2. James Sofronas, No. 14 GMG Racing
– Masters (previously called Am). Race 1 & 2. Mark Kvamme, No. 43 MDK Motorsports
Point Leaders.
Pro. Loek Hartog, No. 24 Kellymoss
Pro-Am. Alan Metni, No. 99 Kellymoss
Masters. Matt Halcome, No. 55 ACI Motorsports
Entrants. Kellymoss
Schedule. All times Central
Friday, October 18.
2:35 p.m. – 3:05 p.m. – Practice
Saturday, October 19.
9:50 a.m. – 10:20 a.m. – Qualifying (all classes)
3:40 p.m. – 4:20 p.m. – Race 1 (35-minutes)
Sunday, October 20.
11:00 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. – Race 2 (35-minutes)
Hometown heroes:
Two Texans will have an opportunity to celebrate their success with their hometown fans this weekend. Alan Metni, 2022 Pro-Am class champion, is an Austin resident looking to capture his second Porsche Carrera Cup North America championship at his home track in the No. 99 Kellymoss Porsche.
Jeff Mosing also lives in Austin and is targeting a victory at COTA in the No. 56 Topp Racing Performance Porsche. .
Formula 1 ® support:
The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is the third weekend on the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup North America calendar to race in support of the Formula 1 ® World Championship. The second and third race weekends of the season were also headlined by F1.
Rounds three and four were held at the Miami International Autodrome, May 3 – 5. Loek Hartog raced to the overall victory in race one while Zachary Vanier earned his first career win in race two.
Rounds five and six came in Montreal where Carrera Cup was a support event for the Grand Prix of Canada on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, June 7 – 9. While rain battered both rounds, it was Yves Baltas who came across the finish line first in race one, and Hartog who took the checkered flag first in the second race of the weekend. .
Scheduling change:
As was the case in both Miami and Montreal, the Porsche Carrera Cup North America standard schedule will be tweaked for the COTA Formula One ® weekend. A single, 30-minute practice session (2:35 – 3:05 p.m. CT) will take place on Friday, October 18 rather than the customary pair of 30-minute practices on other weekends.
Qualifying on Saturday (9:50 – 10:20 a.m.) takes place as usual over a 30-minute period. Both rounds will be shortened to 35 minutes with round 15 set to take the green flag on Saturday at 3:50 p.m. CT. The season finale will come just before the United States Grand Prix at 11:00 a.m. CT..
Celebrate good times:
Porsche Motorsport North America will award the Al Holbert Cup for the fourth time on Sunday, October 20. For the second year, the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Celebration of Champions will take place at Porsche Austin where the Pro, Pro-Am, and Masters classes, along with the Entrant champion, will be recognized. .
Al Holbert Cup:
Since 2021, the Al Holbert Cup has been awarded to the overall champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America. The trophy was named in recognition of Holbert’s commitment, inspiration and leadership in the formation and organization of Porsche motorsports in North America.
The silver cup carrying his name is crafted as a timeless and traditional trophy to commemorate each Pro class champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America. The Al Holbert Cup is engraved each year with the champion’s name and year of the championship. This award recognizes the true racing spirit of Al Holbert conveying his professional driving skill, engineering precision and a passion as a gentleman racer.
To the point:
Loek Hartog (Netherlands) secured his first Porsche Carrera Cup North America Pro class championship with two podium finishes at Road Atlanta in rounds 14 and 15. The driver of the No. 24 Racing For Children’s Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car secured an insurmountable 87-point lead over Alex Sedgwick (United Kingdom) in the PT Autosport JDX Racing No. 98. Sedgwick’s position is more vulnerable.
He is a mere five points ahead of Ryan Yardley (New Zealand) in the No. 78 Topp Racing Performance machine and 29 ahead of Zachary Vanier (Canada) in the No. 9 JDX Racing Porsche. Dan Clarke (Indianapolis, Indiana) holds fifth place in the overall standings, 38 points shy of second place in the No. 64 Era Motorsport racer.
To date, the Pro-Am class has traditionally been the most fiercely fought. The 2024 championship has been no exception. In fact, entering the final race weekend in Texas, four drivers have a realistic shot at winning the class. Alan Metni – driving the No. 99 Kellymoss entry – holds only a 10-point margin over his teammate and constant championship rival Efrin Castro (Dominican Republic) in the No. 65.
Castro has made a serious run at the title in the last two races scoring both Road Atlanta wins. All three Pro-Am titles are held by either Castro (2021, 2023) or Metni (2022). Castro is only one point ahead of Marco Cirone (Canada) who has the No. 84 ACI Motorsports Porsche in third place. Moisey Uretsky (Miami, Florida) has raced the No. 44 Baby Bull Racing up to fourth place with two wins (round four at Miami and round six at Montreal). He is 19 points behind Metni.
The Masters class championship has come down to a two-driver showdown in Texas. Matt Halcome (Dallas, Georgia) enters the final race weekend with 278 points scored over the first 14 races in the No. 55 prepared by ACI Motorsports. Chris Bellomo (Portola Valley, California) sits 34 points behind in the No. 68 Kellymoss machine. No other entry in the class is capable of acquiring enough points to win the title.
The Entrants championship has again come down to two legendary names in North American one-make racing, Kellymoss and JDX Racing. Kellymoss, which has won the title all three previous seasons, retains the standings lead with 291 points, 33 ahead of JDX.
There are now only 56 points per class remaining for a driver to capture. A victory pays 25 points, second place counts for 20 and third place is awarded with 17 points. A pole position is worth two points while setting the fastest race lap will add an additional point to the total of a driver in each class. Each of the two races pays a total of 28 points.
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.
Loek Hartog (Netherlands) clinched his first Porsche Carrera Cup North America Pro class championship with a full race weekend still remaining on the 2024 schedule.
The Kellymoss series’ rookie used two second-place finishes at Road Atlanta to put his nearest championship contender out of mathematical reach of the title.
Rounds 13 and 14 at the Braselton, Georgia track saw Zachary Vanier (Canada) and Ryan Yardley (New Zealand) each win their second races of the season on October 10 and 11 respectively.
Hartog has scored seven race wins in 14 rounds with an additional five podium finishes for a total of 303 points thus far.
The point total puts the No. 24 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car 87 points ahead of Alex Sedgwick (United Kingdom) in the No. 98 PT Autosport JDX Racing entry in the all-Porsche race series.
“Yes, it was almost a perfect year. I’m very thankful for all the people that made it possible,” said Hartog
“It’s been a very good year with a lot of nice memories made and a lot of things learned – that’s why I came here.
“It just feels very special to do it with all these people here at Kellymoss. It’s definitely become a family for me, and that’s very important.
“Friday’s race was nice. I went from second to fourth to back to second, fighting for the lead the entire race.
“I tried not to focus too much on the championship. It just felt like any other. And I think that’s also how you win a championship, to go race by race. I’m very happy.”
Porsche Motorsport North America will crown champions in all three classes at the Porsche Carrera Cup North America season finale at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA), October 18 – 20 in Austin, Texas.
Topp Racing’s New Zealander Ryan Yardley handled intense pressure en route to his second series victory in Porsche Carrera Cup North America at Road Atlanta today.
Yardley converted his pole position to an early race lead but soon came under intense pressure from Kellymoss racer Loek Hartog, who had his eyes set on celebrating his championship victory with a race win.
Hartog was shuffled back to fourth place at one stage early in the race but then began a charge to loom right onto the tail of Yardley. The tall Dutchman threw everything he had at the diminutive Yardley, but the Kiwi continued to hold him at bay.
Yardley eventually was able to relax after he and Hartog ran wide, coming onto the main straight at Road Atlanta. Yardley dropped two wheels in the dirt, but Hartog went even wider, putting all four wheels off track.
From that point forward, Hartog’s challenge became tougher, but he eventually crossed the line and clinched the 2024 Pro championship, finishing ahead of Thursday’s winner, Zach Vanier (JDX Racing).
Alex Sedgwick (JDX Racing) and Yves Baltas (ACI Motorsports) completed the top five.
JDX Racing actually had two cars in the top five and four in the top ten, with Elias De La Torre and Madison Stewart finishing ninth and tenth, respectively.
The Texas-based Yardley is eagerly awaiting the chance to return to Circuit of The Americas for the final two rounds of the championship next week. Yardley scored a podium at COTA in the final race of the season last year and has gone on to score eight podiums in 2024.
“That was a pretty fun race – it’s always good to start from pole position, lead every lap, and then get the win,” Yardley said.
“I have to say a massive thank you to everyone at TCS, Apex Capital, and Topp Racing for all the support this year.
“It’s nice to get our second win, and I’m looking forward to COTA next week to get some more. I got a podium in the last race last year, and that’s where things really started for me.
“This year, we started pretty strongly with two podiums at Sebring, and things have gone well with us sitting third in the championship. It’s quite tight between second, third, and fourth, so there is still plenty to play for. So I’m looking for a strong weekend next weekend and finishing on a high.”
Efrin Castro has leaped back into championship contention in the Pro-Am class after scoring his second victory of the week at Road Atlanta.
The reigning class champion led home his teammate and fellow former champion Alan Metni in both races. Remarkably, Marco Cirone also scored his second consecutive third-place finish at Road Atlanta.
The result has pushed Castro to within 10 points of Metni with only two races remaining – setting up another title-race showdown between the pair. In 2022, Metni defeated Castro by only a single point in the championship.
“It’s amazing. I just want to take this moment to give thanks to God – to the man above. He set me up to have a great weekend,” said Castro.
“I’ve had so much support from my pastor, my family, my friends – everybody has been behind me, and I’m glad I was able to get this win because it still gives us a chance.
“I’m racing for the kids in Alabama with the Racing for Children’s program this year. My goal is to give them a good year – something for them to be proud of because they fight so hard with cancer – fight way harder than we do.”
Masters racer Chris Bellomo took back-to-back victories at Road America, but since that time, he had only collected one podium before charging back to victory lane today.
Bellomo (Kellymoss) led home yesterday’s winner, Richard Edge (ACI Motorsports), with Scott Blind (Ruckus Racing) across the line in third.
“To try to get back to where we finished today, I looked at a lot of video, did a lot of visualization – just really trying to focus and not get too depressed on how that start was yesterday for me,” Bellomo said.
“I just had to focus forward, and things worked out at the start today. I had a really good race managing what was going on in front of me and behind me.
“For the championship, I’m still pretty far behind, but I’m going to give it my best shot at COTA. We had a really good test there, so I’m going to stay positive.”
The Porsche Carrera Cup North America teams now pack up and head to Circuit of the Americas in Austin where the series’ final two rounds will be run in conjunction with the US Formula 1 Grand Prix.
After a stunning opening lap featuring three leaders in three corners at Road Atlanta, JDX Racing’s Zach Vanier triumphed in a dramatic round 13 of Porsche Carrera Cup North America.
British pole winner Alex Sedgwick (JDX Racing) led the field into turn one but was passed by championship leader Loek Hartog (Kellymoss) on the opening lap.
Understeer in turn five for Hartog had him under attack before the field arrived at Road Atlanta’s 10a – 10b complex. Hartog ran wide in 10a, with Sedgwick charging around the outside. He briefly retook the lead but Vanier late-apexed 10b and headed up the speed with momentum to take the race lead under the bridge.
The top five – which also included Ryan Yardley (Topp Racing) and Dan Clarke (Era Motorsports) crossed the line three wide after the opening lap, but Vanier maintained the advantage that he never relinquished for the remainder of the race.
Yardley passed Sedgwick on the main straight, and those top three – Vanier, Hartog, and Yardley – maintained those positions to the checkered flag.
The 40-minute race was disrupted by a long yellow flag period. Madeline Stewart (JDX Racing) ran wide in 10a after being passed by Michael Cooper (Baby Bull Racing). Stewart suffered a half spin, and she and Sabre Cook made contact putting both cars out of the race.
The victory was Vanier’s second win of the season. The 2023 Porsche Sprint Challenge by Yokohama 992 champion previously won at the Miami Grand Prix.
“That was absolutely amazing. It ranks by far one of the best, if not the best, race of my career. Everything was perfectly executed by the entire JDX team,” Vanier said.
“We were here last week testing, and I felt like we left with a relatively good program and something that we’d be able to come here and compete with.
“We had a really strong qualifying this morning, and that put us in contention for this.
“I am absolutely thrilled right now. This is truly amazing, something I will remember for a very long time.
“Now all the focus goes to tomorrow. We still have a race to win tomorrow. So, we’ll go back tonight, do our homework, look at everything, analyze, and see how we can be better for Friday.”
The Pro-Am class, Kellymoss racer and reigning class champion Efrin Castro charged back to victory lane for the first time since Miami.
Castro led home teammate and 2024 points leader Alan Metni with pole winner Marco Cirone in third.
“I’m glad that we were able to win today. I’m very grateful to get to race with the Racing for Children’s livery this year to support such a good course.
“It’s been a tough year for me, but I’m glad that I was able to win this one, and we still have three more races to go. I think we’re in a good position to make something happen.”
In the Masters class it was a pair of Georgia-based racers who dominated on home soil with Richard Edge leading home his ACI Motorsports teammate Matt Halcome.
The victory was Edge’s third win of the season and his second in a row after winning round 12 in Indianapolis. Pole winner Scott Blind (Ruckus Racing) chased the ACI Motorsports pair home with a third-place finish.
“I got a great start and really kept my eyes forward on that one,” Edge said.
“Once I got past most of the guys, my teammate, Matt, had a little bobble at turn seven and I was able to get around him.
“And then really the rest of the race, I just kept my eyes forward, tried to hit my marks and keep the guys behind me.
“The team gave me a great car, and I’m super happy to get the win here. I’m stoked about it.”
Round 14 of the championship will hit the track at Road Atlanta today at 10:55 am. You can watch live on the Porsche Motorsport North America website, YouTube, Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter.
JDX Racing’s Alex Sedgwick has his sights set on repeating his Porsche Carrera Cup North America win from Watkins Glen earlier this year after setting the fastest time in qualifying at Road Atlanta today.
The British racer – making his first-ever start at the Georgian track – stopped the clocks at 1:20.998 and was the only driver to break into the 1-minute, 20-second bracket.
Championship leader Loek Hartog (Kellymoss) was only +0.059 of a second adrift, with Ryan Yardley (Topp Racing), Zach Vanier (JDX Racing), and Dan Clarke (Era Motorsports) completing the top five.
Today’s qualifying session was interrupted by a red flag seven minutes into qualifying when Jake Pedersen spun his No. 85 Kellymoss entry along the front straightaway.
A second red flag was waved with 10 minutes to go when Michael Cooper’s No. 88 Baby Bull Racing Porsche went off track at Turn 6.
“ Yeah, it feels awesome,” Sedgwick said.
“It’s been a while since we were last on pole and fastest in qualifying since Miami. We’ve been doing a lot of work and testing last week. We’ve been working to get the most out of the car.
“This is a brand-new track for me, but what an awesome place – an awesome track.”
“ Yeah, it feels awesome,” Sedgwick said.
“It’s been a while since we were last on pole and fastest in qualifying since Miami. We’ve been doing a lot of work and testing last week. We’ve been working to get the most out of the car.
“This is a brand-new track for me, but what an awesome place – an awesome track.”
ACI Motorsports’ Marco Cirone signaled he wants to fight hard for the Pro-Am championship by setting the pole today. Cirone topped Kellymoss teammates, former series champions Efrin Castro, and current points leader Alan Metni.
“This morning was fantastic. I got to hand it to the team,” Cirone said.
“They gave me an absolutely incredible car. I’ve been working closely with Will Bamber and George Bourque in testing, and they’ve been doing an incredible job. The car was just absolutely perfect.
“Today’s pole goes out to them because they gave me an incredible car.”
The Masters class battle was tight at the top, with less than 2/10ths of a second separating the top three. Scott Blind took the top spot for Ruckus Racing ahead of championship leader Matt Halcome (ACI Motorsports) and yesterday’s pacesetter, Chris Bellomo (Kellymoss)
“It just feels great to be on pole here at Road Atlanta in Carrera Cup – it’s such a big deal,” Blind said.
“It’s super good competition out there. We made some adjustments to the car overnight, and we found a little speed. And here we are – we’re at the top.
