The Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands continues its debut season tour stopping at Watkins Glen International for Rounds 5 and 6. Hosted by the top road courses in the United States, the 16-race schedule nears its midpoint and the premier one-make race series on the continent continues to gain momentum. 31 Porsche race cars, based on the iconic road going Porsche 911 GT3 road car – 22, type 992 in the Pro and Pro-Am classes and nine, type 991.2 in the Pro-Am 991 category – are entered for Round 5 (Friday, June 25) and Round 6 (Saturday, June 26) at the Watkins Glen, New York area race track. The twin, 45-minute events on the 3.4-mile, 11-turn “Grand Prix Course” race in support of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s fabled Six Hours of The Glen.

Entering Round 5, Seb Priaulx (United Kingdom) has led the Pro Driver Championship Point Standings since the first qualifying session in March. The popular young driver from Guernsey has climbed to the top spot with 97-points by virtue of a victory (Round 1, Sebring) and podium finishes in each round. His lowest finish in the No. 15 Kelly-Moss Road & Race Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car has been a third-place (Round 3 at COTA). In addition, Priaulx has won the pole position at each round in which qualifying has been held, three, providing him an additional 15 total points to his tally.

Chasing closely behind, with 90 points, is Priaulx’s Kelly-Moss Road & Race teammate Kay van Berlo (Netherlands). van Berlo has scored more victories, two, than anyone in the Pro class driving the No. 3 Porsche to wins at Round 2 (Sebring) and Round 4 (COTA). The pair of the drivers from the Wisconsin-based program hold a comfortable lead over Parker Thompson (Canada) in third-place. Thompson drove the No. 9 JDX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to victory lane in Round 3 (COTA) and is the only other driver in class with a win. He holds 65 points in hand entering Round 5. However, with only four-races down and 12 rounds remaining, every lap can change the order keeping the title in constant motion. Riley Dickinson (New Braunfels, Texas) in the No. 53 Team Hardpoint EBM Porsche – currently in fourth-place with podiums in Rounds 2 and 4 – and current fifth-place runner Leh Keen (Atlanta, Georgia) who has piloted the 311RS Motorsport Porsche No. 12 to a third-place finish in the opening race are among those positioned to take the lead.

The Pro-Am class, for driver 40 years-old and older who are campaigning the current type 992 generation of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car, is securely in the hands of Alan Metni (Austin, Texas). Metni’s No. 99 Kelly-Moss Road & Race Porsche has a full house with 100 points, the result of four race wins – each paying 25 points. Efrin Castro (Dominican Republic) has driven the No. 65 Team Hardpoint EBM Porsche to second-place in the current point standings just ahead of Curt Swearingin (Chattanooga, Tennessee) driving the No. 17 ACI Motorsports Porsche.

The Pro-Am 991 class – for drivers racing the previous generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, type 991.2 – is being led by Matt Halcome (Dallas, Georgia) who has earned the class win at the last three rounds driving the No. 55 Goldcrest Motorsports machine. His 95 points betters Goldcrest teammate Jeff Majkrzak (Orono, Minnesota) who has 69 markers in the No. 29. Grady Willingham (Birmingham, Alabama) has driven the No. 21 Goldcrest-prepped machine to third-place entering Watkins Glen. Kurt Hunt (Atlanta, Georgia) is the only driver to have a victory in the class besides Halcome. The Georgian charged into the series’ record books as the first driver to win the class (Round 1, Sebring) in the No. 24 ACI Motorsports Porsche. He sits in fifth-place in the points.

Michelin Tire Update.
Michelin will introduce a new rear tire for the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars at this weekend’s races. The MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup N3 R is a minor evolution of the previous version and has been designed and built to maximize the rear tire’s performance in the global Porsche Carrera Cup series.

Schedule Update.
On June 18, the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands was named as the headline event of the Porsche SportsCar Together Fest at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). The three-race weekend will be held September 10 – 12 with the top one-make series joined by other steps on the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid including the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama and select racing run groups of the Porsche Club of America (PCA). Indianapolis, the world’s most famous race course and home of the sport’s most recognized event, the Indianapolis 500, adds to an impressive list of first-season tracks which includes: Sebring International Raceway, Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Road America, VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in addition to Watkins Glen International.

Full race coverage of both 45-minute Watkins Glen events can be found live at www.PorscheCarreraCup.us with IMSA Radio’s John Hindhaugh and Jeremy Shaw providing corner-by-corner commentary. Following live coverage, events can be found on the Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube channel (youtube.com/porschemotorsportnorthamerica).

Brian Blocker, Series Manager, Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands.
“When I think back to the tracks we targeted for our first season of Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands, there were some on a very short list of absolute musts for our customers and partners. Watkins Glen International was on the short list of that short list. This track provides us with everything we look for: it is fast, demands driver and team precision and it has a long history of Porsche success. The Glen rewards talent and commitment. Those are the attributes we are looking for in everything we do with the series and at Porsche. That is why I am not surprised by the large 31 Porsche entries we have here, including 22 of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup type 992 race cars. Everyone is bringing their A-game this weekend and I think we will see the best competition thus far this season.”

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. As with all national Carrera Cups worldwide, the inaugural season of the championship is scheduled to host 16-rounds. Each 45-minute race counts toward a season-long driver and team championship in each of three classes: Pro, Pro-Am and Pro-Am 991.