The remarkable 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup North America season has continued to set new records, with the most recent weekend at Watkins Glen establishing a new record for the most number of race winners in a single season.

Already this year, six different drivers have taken their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to victory lane – and we’re only halfway through the season.

The Watkins Glen spotlight shone brightly on Topp Racing’s Ryan Yardley and JDX Racing’s Alex Sedgwick as first-time winners.

They joined championship leader Loek Hartog, Gustav Burton, Zachary Vanier, and Yves Baltas as 2024 winners. Since the championship’s debut in 2021, a total of 14 different winners have driven to victory lane – many using Porsche Carrera Cup North America as a key career stepping stone.

Of those winners, Seb Priaulx, Kay van Berlo, Parker Thompson, and Laurin Heinrich have gone on to taste success in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in GTD machinery.

Every winner but one has been in his early 20s. A victor last year at Watkins Glen, Jason Hart remains the only outlier after taking victory as a 47-year-old.

The focus on opportunities for young drivers is a key motivation for the establishment of the Porsche Eboost Junior Program.

Young drivers in both Porsche Carrera Cup North America and Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama receive additional support from Porsche Motorsport North America, including mentorship from Porsche legend Patrick Long.

These young drivers, along with members of the Porsche Mobil 1 Female Driver Program, are set to head to Mooresville, North Carolina, next week for the brand’s annual driver development workshop.

This year the event will be staged at the Team Penske facility – the same building where the IMSA race-winning Porsche 963 prototype machines from Porsche Penske Motorsports are prepared.

“We’re thrilled to have the support of Porsche Penske Motorsport for our 2024 junior and female workshops,” Porsche Motorsport North America President and CEO, Volker Holzmeyer said.

“Many of our factory drivers in the 963 launched their careers via Carrera Cup competition around the world, including Nick Tandy, Mathieu Jaminet, and Matt Campbell. For every young driver in Porsche Carrera Cup North America – one day becoming a Porsche factory driver and getting to race for the brand in prototype machinery is the ultimate goal.”

Workshop participants will receive key career advice at the event focussing on more than just their efforts behind the wheel. Fitness, diet and nutrition, brand management, sponsorship, marketing, social media, and a unique behind-the-scenes look at how television broadcasts are produced for the sport are just some of the key “classes” scheduled.

Porsche focuses heavily on junior driver development around the world. Each of the junior drivers competing in Carrera Cup North America compete for the opportunity to represent Porsche Motorsport North America at the annual Global Shootout. The winning driver from that event earns the opportunity to become an official Porsche Motorsport Junior – following in the footsteps of the likes of Klaus Bacher, Michael Christensen, Mathieu Jaminet, Matt Campbell, Laurin Heinrich and last year’s winner, Frenchman Alessandro Ghiretti

The popularity of Porsche Carrera Cup North America has continued to shine in 2024, with the number of drivers who have raced in the four-year history of the championship reaching 106.

Of those 106 drivers, only two—Kellymoss teammate Efrin Castro and John Goetz—have participated in every race since the championship’s debut at Sebring in 2021.

The series has also attracted strong international interest, with many young stars looking to showcase their talents on the North American stage. While the USA leads the tally with 74 different drivers, 32 drivers from overseas have competed in the championship – 11 of these racers taking overall round victories.

The nationality breakdown of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America alumni includes USA (74) Canada (9), UK (5), Netherlands (3), Germany (3), Venezuela (2), Australia (2), New Zealand (2), Dominican Republic (2), plus Sweden, Puerto Rico, Portugal and France (each with 1).