Flying Dutchman Hartog completes Road America sweep

The local Wisconsin star-studded Kellymoss team scored its fifth Carrera Cup victory at Road America in round 10 of Carrera Cup North America with Loek Hartog going back-to-back in his debut weekend at “America’s National Park of Speed.”

The local Wisconsin star-studded Kellymoss team scored its fifth Carrera Cup victory at Road America in round 10 of Carrera Cup North America with Loek Hartog going back-to-back in his debut weekend at “America’s National Park of Speed.”

The result by the Pro championship leader also mirrors the performance of 2023 champion Riley Dickinson who also scored a pair of wins last year. The inaugural win for Kellymoss came in 2021 with Kay van Berlo – all three drivers behind the wheel of the team’s “Racing for Childrens” livery.

Hartog was dominant over the 40-minute journey, winning by 11.268 seconds. JDX Racing’s Zachary Vanier bounced back after contact in round nine on Saturday to finish second, while front-row starter Dan Clark earned series newcomers Era Motorsport its first-ever podium in third.

The victory was the Dutchman’s fifth win of 2024, and his was his first back-to-back clean sweep of the weekend – two wins, two poles and two fastest laps.

“A weekend sweep here in Road America, the home ground of Kellymoss, I’m very happy with this race,” Hartog said.

“We pulled away with a margin of more than 11 seconds. This is how I like it – and we got the fastest race lap too – I couldn’t be happier. It was also very nice to win on my dad’s birthday. It’s been a very special day.”

Both Porsche Mobil 1 Female Driver Program members Madeline Stewart (JDX Racing) and Sabre Cook (Era Motorsport) continued their strong weekends at Road America. Stewart just missed out on scoring her second top-ten finish in 11th, while Cook was set for her second top-ten finish of the weekend until suffering a fuel system issue late in the race.

In the Pro-Am class, James Sofronas (GMG Motorsport) scored his third win of the season with a strong run. Sofronas previously won the opening round at Sebring and backed that up with another victory at the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

After scoring two wins in a row, Pedro Torres (ACI Motorsports) crossed the line in second place ahead of Baby Bull Racing’s Moisey Uretsky who has climbed within one point of class points leader Marco Cirone.

 ”It feels great to be back in the winner’s circle. We needed this one,” Sofronas said.

“We didn’t quite have the car yesterday, and it was frustrating because I love racing here. The GMG guys worked all night. They definitely gave 100 percent effort. They didn’t give up on their approach. Today, the car was completely different, way better, with more front grip and better balance, plus we had great brakes.

“So that’s what you need here. The best part is winning convincingly is we did it without any yellows or my competitors falling out. That is what makes me more proud of this one than some of the others. But it feels good because Road America is the best place in the country to race.”

It may have taken 24 rounds for Chris Bellomo to finally take his first Porsche Carrera Cup North America class win, but only one more day to score his second.

The Kellymoss racer went back-to-back with a pair of wins at Road America. ACI Motorsports pair Matt Halcome and Richard Edge swapped their finishing positions from round nine, with championship leader Halcome earning second in round ten and Edge in third.

Bellomo edged closer to Halcome in the points standings but remains 41 points adrift with six rounds remaining.

“It definitely took a while to get the first win but I’m very happy with the sweep on the weekend,” Bellomo said.

“I’ve been working really hard with the guys at Kelly Moss just trying to improve. Matt and Richard have been really tough all year.

“I’m still pretty far behind in the championship, so I’m just trying to do my best, keep improving every week, and see what happens by the end of the season, but I’m not expecting anything.

Porsche Carrera Cup North America action returns in six weeks when the championship heads to the fabled Indianapolis Motor Speedway for rounds 11 and 12 on September 20-22.

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