Kelly Moss team near Porsche Carrera Cup perfection at The Glen
The Kelly Moss race team continued its dominance in Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands on Saturday at Watkins Glen International. The Madison, Wisconsin-based customer team brought eight Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars to the 3.4-mile, 11-turn track in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. In the hands of Kay van Berlo (Netherlands studying in Miami, Florida), Riley Dickinson (New Braunfels, Texas), Efrin Castro (Dominican Republic) and Alan Metni (Austin, Texas), the team scored four one-two finishes in rounds seven and eight of the all Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car series on June 24 and 25. The team missed only the Am class wins where Mark Kvamme (Columbus, Ohio) won for MDK Motorsports on Friday, June 24, and Bill Smith (Dallas, Texas) took the honors for Topp Racing on June 25.
Pro Class.
For van Berlo, today’s second race at The Glen ended just the way that Saturday’s 40-minute race did and just as the two races did at the legendary track in 2021… with a checkered flag. Charging from pole position – by virtue of setting the fastest race lap the day before – van Berlo held onto the lead after pressure from teammate Dickinson as well as the second-row starters of Trenton Estep (San Antonio, Texas) in the No. 6 MDK Motorsports Porsche and Parker Thompson (Canada) behind the wheel of the No. 9 JDX Porsche. The points leader held the spot while Dickinson fell in behind. The two pulled away from the remainder of the field in their near-matching Racing for Children’s green and white 500 HP Porsche racers. Van Berlo led Dickinson across the finish line by just over three-seconds. The Kelly Moss teammates were followed by Estep, Thompson and Leh Keen (Atlanta, Georgia) in the No. 12 311 RS Motorsports Porsche.
Pro-Am Class.
The Kelly Moss train continued to roll in the Pro-Am class as well where teammates Castro and Metni swapped their finishing positions from round seven the day before. Today, the No. 65 of Castro was able to get the better of Metni to earn his third victory of the season. The total matches Metni in the No. 99 for the year setting-up a battle between the two much like 2021 when Castro won the title in the final round. The No. 84 Mark Motors Racing Porsche of Marco Cirone (Canada) earned a third-place finish ahead of Matt Halcome (Dallas, Georgia) in the Goldcrest Motorsports No. 55 and Moisey Uretsky (Miami, Florida) in the Accelerating Performance No. 44.
Pedro Torres (Wellington, Florida) crossed under the checkered flag in third-place, but post-race tech inspection found a violation in camber regulations dropping it from the standings.
Am Class.
The Am class saw the Topp Racing Porsche on top with Bill Smith (Dallas, Texas) piloting the No. 42 to victory lane for the first time this season. One-time winner John Goetz (Weston, Connecticut) added valuable points to his title hopes finishing in second-place with the No. 57 Wright Motorsports. Class championship leader Mark Kvamme (Columbus, Ohio) has won five times in eight rounds – including Saturday’s race – but the No. 43 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car only had a third-place finish in it today. Grady Willingham (Birmingham, Alabama) in the Goldcrest No. 21 was fourth with the No. 19 of Tom Balames (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan) adding to the Kelly Moss podium total in third-place.
To the point.
A perfect points weekend moved van Berlo to 199 markers, a margin of 47 over Thompson. With 127, Dickinson is 72 points behind in the Pro standings. In the Pro-Am class, Castro’s victory has moved him into second-place, 29 points behind Metni. Oakes falls into third-place, -34 to Metni. Kvamme, with 172 points, is 33 markers ahead of Goetz. Smith is in third-place for the class, a single point off of Goetz.
Kelly Moss is 26 points ahead of JDX Racing in the entrant points. This awards the highest-placing car for each team in the race.
Where to Watch.
Replays of both races can be found on Porsche Motorsport North America TV presented by Deluxe: (https://www.youtube.com/c/PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica).
Next Up.
Rounds nine and ten of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands will run as part of the Toronto Indy weekend on the Toronto, Canada street course, July 15 – 17.
Kay van Berlo, No. 3 Kelly Moss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Pro Class Winner.
“A great weekend. We maximized points which is great… not all weekends are like this. The second race was a little harder than the first race as we had a safety car in the middle. Especially early on I had a little more pressure. As usual I tried to get a good start and I pulled a little bit of a gap to Riley. Then the safety car came out and I knew I had to do it all over again. I managed the tires in the middle just in case we got another safety car but when we didn’t, I began to push again so some good lap times at the end as well. The Kelly Moss Road and Race guys did an excellent job with the car this weekend. Me and Riley have both been really quick, definitely a lot of credit to them. We are at the half-way point, a long way to go but we are looking good at this point. We will try to keep the momentum and keep going.’
About the Cayman Islands.
The Cayman Islands, located an hour south of Miami in the vibrant tranquility of western Caribbean, is a premier destination for travelers, thrill-seeking divers, adventurous epicures, honeymooners and families alike. The trio of islands affords each guest with the ultimate setting to enjoy life’s finest comforts, as the Caribbean’s leading luxury lifestyle destination. Five-star resorts, high-end villas, condos and breathtaking beachfront properties unique to each island offer a myriad of accommodation options for discerning travelers to enjoy. Additionally, the Cayman Islands is frequently heralded as the “Culinary Capital of the Caribbean” and offers endless gastronomic experiences to delight even the most seasoned of palates.
The Cayman Islands, world-renowned for impeccable “Caymankind” hospitality also employs best-in-class health and sanitation protocols to keep visitors and locals safe. To learn more about the Cayman Islands, please go to www.visitcaymanislands.com; www.divecayman.ky or call your local travel agent. For the most up-to-date travel guidance and protocols, please visit: https://www.exploregov.ky/coronavirus.
Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by The Cayman Islands.
Porsche Carrera Cup North America by The Cayman Islands is the premier one-make race series in the United States and Canada utilizing a combination of the latest Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car, type 992, and MICHELIN® Pilot® Sport Cup N3 racing slick to challenge the best road and street race courses on the continent. The second season of the championship is scheduled to host 16-rounds at eight venues. Each 40-minute race counts toward a season-long driver and team championship in each of three classes: Pro, Pro-Am and Am.
More on Porsche Carrera Cup North America by The Cayman Islands can be found at www.PorscheCarreraCup.us.
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Established in 1984, Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA) is the exclusive U.S. importer of the Porsche 911, 718 Boxster, 718 Cayman, Macan, Cayenne, Panamera and Taycan. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, since 1998, PCNA is also home to the first Porsche Experience Center in North America featuring a module-based 1.6 mile driver development track, business center, and fine dining restaurant, 356. The company operates a second Porsche Experience Center near Los Angeles. That 53-acre complex features a driver development track with eight educational modules totaling 4.1 miles, a business center, and Restaurant 917. PCNA supports 194 independently owned and operated Porsche dealerships in the U.S., including supplying parts, service, marketing, and training. They, in turn, work to provide Porsche customers with a best-in-class experience that is in keeping with the Porsche brand's more than 70-year history of leadership in the advancement of vehicle performance, safety, and efficiency. PCNA is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Porsche AG, which is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.
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