Yahoo Autos Era Motorsport enters Porsche Carrera Cup North America with Clarke, Cook, and King
Era Motorsport is expanding its North American racing activities beyond LMP2 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and making its debut in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America at this week’s IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America with Kenton King, Sabré Cook, and Dan Clarke.
Era Motorsport’s partnership with the trio comes after their previous team withdrew from the Carrera Cup following the fourth round of the series at Watkins Glen. In need of a new team, Era Motorsport stepped in to ensure each driver would be able to complete the 2024 season strong.
Cook and Clarke both entered the Carrera Cup Pro Class for the first time in 2023 after racing careers heavily rooted in open-wheel racing. Cook has experience in Formula 4, Formula Regionals, W Series, USF2000, and US Pro 2000, while Clarke carries a history of IndyCar, A1GP, and Indy Lights cars.
So far this season, Clarke has three top-five finishes in the No. 64 Reis-Nichols Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and currently sits seventh in the Pro points championship. Cook sits 13th and leads the Female points standings in the No. 37 PenFed Credit Union/privé products entry.
King also started in the Porsche Carrera Cup in the 2023 season, but in the Pro-Am class, where this year he currently sits sixth in points after three podium finishes in the No. 74 Mint Group car.
The Carrera Cup entries are a welcomed expansion for Era Motorsport, as the team is constantly looking for new ways to widen its reach into the worlds of professional and historic racing.
“Era Motorsport as a team are all very excited this was able to work out!” said team owner Kyle Tilley. “While I know it’s been a headache for all involved, I’m glad we’ve been able to step in and make sure the three drivers are able to continue in their season as smoothly as possible.
“As a huge Porsche fan and collector, I’ve always kept an eye on the various forms of Porsche Motorsport, with the Carrera Cup being one of the most exciting in my eyes. I look forward to bringing our WeatherTech Championship experience to the Porsche paddock and we are already looking at how we can try to expand our presence in the series next year!”
Despite the challenges of switching teams mid-season, the drivers are excited and ready to continue as they push in their respective points championships for the second half of the season.
“I’ve known Kyle [Tilley] for a while here in Indianapolis and I’ve seen his success and profile as a top-level motorsport team grow and grow,” Clarke said. “It’s a thrill that Era wanted to pick up our Carrera Cup program. I can’t thank Kyle and Sarah Tilley enough for their efforts and patience this month.”
The Carrera Cup entry comes at a great time for Era Motorsport as the team plans to expand its reach not only in the series but in the sportscar racing world as a whole.
Porsche Carrera Cup North America has three weekends of competition after Road America, with IMSA at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in October, plus its season final with Formula 1 at Circuit of the Americas later in October.
