Riley Dickinson continued his strong return to Porsche Carrera Cup North America by posting the fastest lap in qualifying and earning the Race Brew pole award ahead of Thursday’s season-opening race.
At Sebring International Raceway, Dickinson – the 2023 Pro class champion – ran even quicker in qualifying than his pace-setting lap in Practice 1 on Wednesday. The Kellymoss driver and his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car lapped the historic circuit at two minutes, 1.689 seconds.
“I’m just looking to continue developing the car and continue developing my craft,” Dickinson explained. “We have a long season ahead, of course, and it always feels good to get the first one out of the way. I was definitely worrying about it a bit last night, just going through the lap in my head and how we could get it done.
“All in all, it was a good session and I’m glad to be back.”
Ryan Yardley – who was quickest in Practice 2 – and Matheus Leist followed in second and third place, respectively.
In the Pro-Am class, JP Martinez rocketed to his first Race Brew pole position in the series and as a newcomer to longtime Porsche team, ACI Motorsports. Alan Metni, last year’s Pro-Am champion, and Martinez’s fellow ACI teammate, Marco Cirone, finished second and third on the qualifying time charts.
“The car felt great,” said Martinez. “The setup changes that we did were on point. It was nice and cool, and the car was fast. So I sent it and I got pole, so I’m really happy with that.
“Definitely in the race, I’ll be on the defensive. Obviously, I want to finish the race clean, there are a lot of competitors. But I want to go fast and that’s what I do. I want to go fast, but be clean.”
In the Masters class, Porsche Endurance Challenge North America race winner Scott Blind found first again and will start from the top spot on Thursday ahead of Peter Atwater and Rob Walker.
“The guys nailed the setup, they got the tire pressure just right,” said Blind. “We got it done on the first stint, so on the first set of tires, and it was perfect.
“I’ve got a bunch of fast guys behind me, so I want to have a clean Turn 1. Once I can get around Turn 1, it’s going to be a pretty good clean race. I just have to hold them off, and I think I can do it.”
Thursday’s first race (4:55 p.m.) 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.
Race 2 is scheduled for Friday at 6:15 p.m. ET.
