While the name at the top of the timesheet for the opening practice of Porsche Carrera Cup North America was very familiar, Riley Dickinson knows his return to the championship in 2025 is going to be a huge challenge.
The 2023 series champion set the fastest time of the morning practice session of 2.02.384 to top the timesheet for Kellymoss ahead of teammate and series rookie Aaron Jeansonne with JDX Racing’s Zachary Vanier in third.
“It’s great to be back in Carrera Cup and to be back with Kellymoss for the 2025 season. We had a good first day to build off of, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the event develops,” Dickinson said.
“This year is undoubtedly going to be a fight all year long with so many talented drivers in the Pro field. Having 19 cars in Pro makes qualifying tomorrow morning all that more important to get right.
“Once the green flag drops tomorrow afternoon, Carrera Cup will certainly put on a show for those at the track spectating as well as those tuning in for the live broadcast of the races.”
In the afternoon session, the rising track temperature impacted the times with last year’s series runner-up, Topp Racing’s Ryan Yardley, setting a fastest time of 2:03.103
Dickinson was second fastest for Kellymoss, with former Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup racer Michael de Quesada putting the Alegra Motorsports car in third.
“The track definitely degraded in the afternoon session as the day got hotter, but it was an interesting practice for us,” Yardley said.
“Obviously, it’s a nice way to finish for us in P1. But tomorrow is what counts. I’m looking forward to qualifying tomorrow and hopefully have the TCS car up front again.
“I think the track has changed so much since the test last week. So everyone is trying to catch up with the track and try to read that as best we can. It’s gonna be interesting tomorrow.”
In the Pro-Am class, it was former Sprint Challenge racer and series rookie J.P. Martinez who headed the times in both practice sessions.
Last year’s champion Alan Metni was P2 in both sessions, with Marco Cirone third fastest in session one and James Sofronas P3 in session two.
Last week’s Porsche Endurance Challenge North America GT3 Cup winner Scott Blind was the fastest man in the Masters class in the morning, while another Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama graduate Peter Atwater was fastest in the afternoon.
Blind headed Atwater and Richard Edge (ACI Motorsports) in session one with Edge and Blind taking P2 and P3 in session two.
Cars return to the track tomorrow morning for qualifying at Sebring International Raceway at 9:15 a.m., with the opening race of the 2025 season going green at 4:55 p.m.
Tomorrow’s first race will be shownlive 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.
