Porsche Carrera Cup North America championship leader Loek Hartog continued his impressive form by leading the opening practice today at Road Atlanta but Dan Clarke’s performance in second place with a brand new team was equally impressive.
Kellymoss racer Hartog stopped the clocks with a time of 2:09.706, but Clarke came within 0.093 of a second in his first drive with series newcomers Era Motorsport.
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship regulars debut in the championship this weekend with Clarke and Sabre Cook in the Pro class and Kenton King in Pro-Am.
“I really wasn’t expecting to be P2, and I didn’t know about it until after the checkered flag, Clarke said.
“It’s day one for us so we’re just settling in – trying to feel things out. We only had some old tires to throw at it as well. I really didn’t expect to be P2, but I’ll definitely take it.
“I’m sure everyone here is pretty happy. They deserve it because everything’s new for them, and they’ve had to really scramble to get ready.
“I appreciate everything that Era have done for us.”
Watkins Glen race winner Ryan Yardley was third fastest while other old faces in new places put in sold top ten runs on debut for their new teams – Michael McCann in P7 for Kellymoss and Yves Baltas ninth for GMG Racing.
After being caught in the round eight opening lap crash at Watkins Glen, reigning Pro-Am champion Efrin Castro bounced back to lead the class in opening practice at Road America.
“We were fast in Watkins Glen too, but we didn’t finish the race because of the accident,” Castro said.
“It’s a good feeling to be P1 in the first practice. That really sets the tone for me for Road America. That is a really positive start, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend. I have a great team behind me at Kellymoss. We’ve been working hard and looking for a good result.”
Castro’s teammate and fellow former championship winner Alan Metni was second fastest today, while Jordan Wallace made it a Kellymoss 1-2-3 in the Pro-Am class in their “home” race weekend.
Ruckus Racing star Scott Blind was the man to catch in the Masters class today – finishing just 0.016 of a second ahead of John Goetz with Chris Bellomo in third.
The cars and stars of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America will be back on track at Road America for practice two at 9:35 a.m. (Central), with qualifying scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
