Riley Dickinson is a Porsche Carrera Cup North America champion, but only until Friday did he become a winner at Watkins Glen International.
Dickinson, the 2023 series titleholder and current championship leader, made his race-winning pass on polesitter Ryan Yardley just minutes into the 40-minute race and charged to his first ever victory at the 3.4-mile circuit.
“This is my first win at Watkins Glen, it’s been a long time coming I feel like,” said Dickinson. “I’ve been coming here since 2019 and it’s eluded me a little bit. Somehow, someway I guess the stars aligned today and we were able to make it happen. A huge thank you to Kellymoss for all their hard work.
“A great race overall. Missed out a little bit in qualifying, but looking forward to Race 2 tomorrow morning. Should be starting on pole I think, and we’ll see if it’s wet or dry. But it’ll be good either way.”
It was a dry day at Watkins Glen for Carrera Cup’s first race of the weekend, which saw Yardley finish second in the Pro class and Jimmy Llibre cross the finish line in third.
Leading flag-to-flag for his first victory of the season was Alan Metni in the Pro-Am category. Metni – who scored his second pole position of the year earlier in the day – clinched the win by more than half a second over championship leader JP Martinez in second and Patrick Mulcahy in third.
“I just was patient and made sure I hit all my marks,” said Metni, whose win bested a double runner-up finish at Sebring International Raceway in March. “I didn’t get too excited and I stayed calm and it paid off.”
In the Masters class, Scott Blind emerged on top for his fourth consecutive win in Carrera Cup. Blind’s win was uncontested as the Porsche veteran finished more than 10 seconds ahead of season-long rival Todd Parriott in second. Jody Miller in his first race of the season placed third.
“It feels fantastic,” said Blind, whose top-15 finish scored overall points in the championship. “We hooked up with the fast guys and we stayed with them.
“The car is really good and we’re going to do the same thing (tomorrow). We’re just going to keep it clean in the first turn, hook up and go. That’s what we’re going to do.”
The final Porsche Carrera Cup North America race at Watkins Glen is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. ET.
All Carrera Cup races, including replays from Watkins Glen International, will be shown live on IMSA and Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube Channels, IMSA TV, Peacock, and the Porsche Motorsport North America social channels on Facebook, Linkedin, Threads and X.
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