Dickinson Doubles with back-to-back wins

Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America opened the 2023 race season with the most intense competition in the history of the three-year old Porsche one-make race series.

With the 41-car field racing twin 40-minute races on the 3.74, 17-turn Sebring International Raceway, the all Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car series was elevated on and off track again entering the new season. With no full course cautions in either the morning round one or evening round two, all three classes stayed in close step throughout both races.

The only driver that never came under fire was Riley Dickinson (New Braunfels, Texas). The three-year veteran of the series drove the No. 53 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car to Pro class victories in both races.

• Pro class winners.
Race 1 and 2. Riley Dickinson (No. 53 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).

• Pro-Am class winners.
Race 1. Moisey Uretsky (No. 44 Accelerating Performance Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).
Race 2. Efrin Castro (No. 65 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).

• Am class winners.
Race 1. Scott Noble (No. 10 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).
Race 2. Mark Kvamme (No. 42 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup)

Highlights.
• Kellymoss streak. Kellymoss underwent a rebranding entering the 2023 season, but one thing that did not change: the results. The Madison, Wisconsin-based race team has won the Pro class of every Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America race held at Sebring. 2023. Riley Dickinson (both), 2022. Kay van Berlo (both), 2021. Seb Priaulx (Race 1), Kay van Berlo (Race 2)

• Green to Checker. Riley Dickinson raced from pole position to victory lane in both rounds.

• Pole Sweep. Dickinson earned the pole position for both races during Wednesday’s 30-minute qualifying session. The Texan was the only driver to break the two-minute, one-second mark (2:01.667), sweeping the two fastest laps and earning the top grid spot for each race.

• Green, Green. Despite intense competition throughout the field, both 40-minute races went green throughout. No full course caution flags slowed the competition.

• All 34. Despite his young age of 20, Riley Dickinson has started every Carrera Cup North America race held. He debuted in the series’ premier here at Sebring in 2021. Today was his second and third overall victory in the series.

• First-Timers. Series rookies Tom Sargent (No. 17 McElrea Racing) and Will Martin (No. 9 JDX Racing) finished second and third place, respectively in Race 1. Sargent repeated as runner-up in race two. Porsche veteran but Carrera Cup rookie Jason Hart earned third place in race two.

• Champ Car Hero. Champ Car veteran Dan Clarke raced one Carrera Cup weekend Porsche Sports Car Together Fest at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2022. The retired open-wheel driver piloted the No. 64 NOLASPORT Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to a pair of fifth-place finishes.

• Shoulder to the grindstone. Am class rookie and round one winner Scott Noble was making his first racing starts since rotator cuff surgery in October.

• Broadcast. All races air on the Peacock streaming app, on IMSA.tv and at PorscheCarreraCup.us before being archived on Porsche Motorsport North America TV: (https://www.youtube.com/c/PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica). The experts of IMSA Radio provide commentary and color for the 16-round championship’s race calls.

• Online. Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America has re-launched its website to a much more interactive and information-rich landing location: www.PorscheCarreraCup.us .

• Next Up. The Grand Prix of Long Beach. Streets of Long Beach, California. April 14 – 16.

Quotes.
Riley Dickinson, No. 53 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Winner, Race 1 and 2.
“I can’t thank Porsche enough for putting on such a great event for us to start out the season. They are putting so much into the series to bring it up on the world stage. It does not go unnoticed. Overall, a great weekend for us. I have been wanting to get the sweep for so long. This is something I will remember for a long, long time. I am going to take nothing for granted. I am going keep striving to get better. These drivers in this series are very, very good. They kept us honest. These races are so incredibly hard to win. I never take anything for granted. We will just keep on working to make the next one better.”

Efrin Castro, No. 65 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Pro-Am Winner, Race 2.
“We had some good testing and we qualified really well. Just getting used to the new guys in the Pro-Am field this year. It is a big field this year. I was just running my race and figuring it out. At the end I just started attacking and that is how I got the win. It was just non-stop battles. Only towards the end did we start separating. It is going to be an intense season for sure.”

Mark Kvamme, No. 43 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Am Winner, Race 2.
“It is a whole team effort. I have to give a big shoutout to the guys. It’s been a good off season and I am looking forward to this season. The quality of this class… Scott Noble is fast; he is very fast. You look at the front of the grid and it is intense out there.”

Scott Noble, No. 10 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Am Winner, Race 1
“I had a good qualifying session and got pole. I had some Pro-Am [drivers] ahead of me and some behind me, and I thought that was an advantage. That gave us a little gap. There is something special about Carrera Cup. The competition is so fast. They don’t make mistakes. I was deeply impressed by the way MDK put the car together and I was impressed with the way the guys drove with respect and fast.”