Premier Porsche One-Make Series Brings 30 Entries for Two Road America Rounds
The Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands will bring 30 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars to Road America on August 6 – 8. Rounds 7 and 8 of the 16-race inaugural season of the continent’s premier one-make series at America’s National Park of Speed will match the largest entry list since the season-opening weekend at Sebring International Raceway. The Porsche development series will have two, 45-minute races as part of the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at the legendary 4.048-mile road course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
The IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America marks the midpoint of the first season of Carrera Cup in North America. In the first six races, teams and drivers needed to learn the particulars of the series as well as the new type 992 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car. The second half of the season will see the attention turn to winning the championship in each of the three classes: Pro, Pro-Am and Pro-Am 991.
Both the Pro and Pro-Am classes utilize the newest Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car, the type 992, exclusively. Based on the latest generation Porsche 911 GT3 road car, the rear-engine, normally aspirated race car generates 510 Hp. The Pro-Am 991 class takes advantage of the previous generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racer, the type 991.
Pro. 14 Cars.
Kay van Berlo (The Netherlands) trailed his Kelly-Moss Road and Race teammate Seb Priaulx (United Kingdom) in the Pro Driver point standings up through the most recent two rounds at Watkins Glen International. However, the driver of the No. 3 Porsche charged to victory lane in both Rounds 5 & 6 at The Glen moving into the lead of the standings by ten-points over Priaulx in the No. 15. By virtue of a win at COTA in Round 3, Parker Thompson (Canada) sits in third-place with 84 points in the No. 9 JDX Racing Porsche. Leh Keen (Atlanta, Georgia) who has twice stood on the podium with the 311RS Motorsport Porsche No. 12 comes to Wisconsin fourth in the Pro Driver standings. Riley Dickinson (New Braunfels, Texas) in the No. 53 Team Hardpoint EBM Porsche is currently in fifth-place, one point behind Keen.
Pro-Am. 8 Cars.
Alan Metni (Austin, Texas) has held the top spot of the Pro-Am class – for drivers 40 years-old and older who are campaigning the current type 992 generation of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car –since the first round at Sebring in March. The driver of the No. 99 iFly Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche has won all but one round of the championship and holds 145 points. Efrin Castro (Dominican Republic) in the No. 65 Team Hardpoint EBM Porsche sits behind the Texan with 112-points. He is the only other driver to win a race in the class. With 80 points, Curt Swearingin (Chattanooga, Tennessee) currently has the No. 17 ACI Motorsports Porsche in third-place in the driver standings.
Pro-Am 991. 8 Cars.
The Pro-Am 991 class – for drivers racing the previous generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, type 991.2 – is led by Matt Halcome (Dallas, Georgia). He opened the season with four-straight victories in the No. 55 Goldcrest Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car giving him 132 markers. However, two victories at Watkins Glen by his Goldcrest teammate Jeff Majkrzak (Orono, Minnesota) in the No. 29 nudged the Minnesotan to within 13-points of the Georgian. Grady Willingham (Birmingham, Alabama) enters Road America third in the Pro-Am 991 standings with 83 points in the No. 21 Goldcrest Motorsports Porsche.
Entrant.
Kelly-Moss Road and Race holds a commanding lead in the Entrant Championship. With five-entries across all three classes, the Madison, Wisconsin-based program has gathered 145 points through Round Six, collecting the most points available, 25, in all but a single race. 311 RS Motorsports, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has yet to win but through consistency sits in second-place with 95-points. JDX Racing, with one overall victory, is in third-place one-marker behind 311 RS.
As the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands celebrates the middle of its inaugural season, Porsche would like to congratulate the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America on that single-make series’ 100th race, scheduled for this weekend at Road America.
On Track.
First practice of the weekend will come at 8:00 a.m. CT on Friday, August 6 with a second at 11:20 a.m. CT. Because a lap of the 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit takes so much time to complete, drivers and teams must take advantage of every minute of the two, 30-minute practice sessions. A 30-minute qualifying session will close the first day of on-track activity at 3:30 p.m. CT. Race 1 of the weekend – Round 7 of the championship – will take the green flag at 11:35 a.m. on Saturday, August 7. Race 2 – Round 8 for the season – will start at 9:45 a.m. CT on Sunday, August 8. Full race coverage of both 45-minute Road America 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). Additional post race coverage and special programing will also be found here.
Brian Blocker, Series Manager, Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands.
“Road America feels like the perfect place to celebrate the midpoint of the inaugural season of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands. The interest in this first season has exceeded even our highest estimates. Witnessing our largest entry list since Sebring is very satisfying and very fitting for a track steeped in Porsche history. We are adding new competitors and new partners such as the Cayman Islands and SP Tools USA. This weekend we will announce our 2022 schedule. Each championship is shaping-up to be a battle down to the wire at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. We have a great deal to look forward to and celebrate here in Elkhart Lake.”