He holds the series records for the most wins, poles, and fastest laps – now Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America stand-out Kay van Berlo is set to make a return cameo appearance this weekend in Miami.
Rounds five and six of the 2023 championship will be staged in conjunction with this weekend’s Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix.
Van Berlo competed in the championship last season, finishing runner-up in the title chase for the second season in a row.
Across 2021 and 2022, van Berlo scored 13 victories, 10 poles, and 11 fastest laps for Kellymoss. The Miami-based Dutchman’s “day job” in 2023 is competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Kellymoss in the GTD class alongside Carrera Cup Pro-Am ace Alan Metni.
In Miami, van Berlo will race against Kellymoss for the first time – competing for Accelerating Performance as team-mate to Sebring Pro-Am race winner Moisey Uretsky.
“I’m just excited to be back in a Carrera Cup car. Having been out of the series for a couple of months, I now realize what a fun championship this is, and I can’t wait to get back,“ van Berlo said.
“The fact that it’s in Miami – it’s a big happening over here – and being part of it this weekend is pretty awesome. I can’t think of the last time I had a “home” race. It was probably in karting six or seven years ago but it will be awesome to go racing and still be able to sleep in my own bed.”
Van Berlo took on a coaching role for Uretsky at the Porche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America pre-season test at Sebring. Whatever advice he passed on obviously worked – his fellow Miami-based driver came away with victory in the Pro-Am class in the opening race of the season.
“I did some coaching with Moisey at the pre-season test and we stayed in touch and talked about the idea of running two cars. From a team perspective it is a huge help as you have more data to work with and can try different things on the cars,” van Berlo said.
“But at that stage, we thought the grid was going to be completely full, but then two weeks ago, a spot opened up, and here I am – I’m really looking forward to it – it was totally unexpected.”
For the first time in van Berlo’s time in the Carrera Cup championship, he will actually race against the Kellymoss team that he has had so much success with and continues to race with in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship today.
“That is certainly going to be interesting, and I’m curious to see what it is going to be like with a different group of people around me,” he said.
“It’s still the same car, so the basic principles will apply. However, since I haven’t been in a cup car for a while, I’m coming into this weekend without any expectations. The rest of the guys are two races into their championship battle and ready to push really hard.
“I’m just going into the weekend and will do whatever I need to do on track to make the best out of it, and hopefully, that will end up with a strong result.”
