Yahoo Autos Premier one-make series headlines world’s largest Porsche gathering
Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America came to last week’s Porsche Rennsport Reunion 7 as the only professional, touring championship at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca event.
The premier one-make championship – which exclusively races the 992 generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car – ran rounds 13 and 14 of the 16-race season at the 2.238-mile, 11-turn race course in Monterey, California.
First time winners, champions struggling and tightening points races excited the fans and put a spotlight on the top rung of Porsche single-marque entering its final weekend scheduled for the Circuit of The Americas (COTA), October 20 – 22.
Tom Sargent has raced the No. 17 McElrea Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race to multiple podiums and has held second place in the standings for the majority of the season behind provisional champion Riley Dickinson. However, the first year Carrera Cup North America driver changed that in Sunday’s first race by winning over Kellymoss driver Sean Varwig. In the Pro-Am class, it was PJ Hyett who scored his first class victory in Porsche Carrera Cup North America. Hyett raced the No. 23 Kellymoss Porsche to victory lane in the second race of the day.
“It was a fairly straightforward race,” said Martin. “I think the biggest challenge was just managing that gap and trying to get through all the traffic as well. It gets tough at times, but we did a great job and the team have done great all weekend as well. It’s been one to half remember and one to half forget; motorsport is like that. But overall, very pleased with the weekend.”
Competitors in the Pro-Am and Am classes will have their lowest two race results removed from consideration for the points championship. The two rounds are automatically dropped entering the final weekend of the year at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA). The final two races cannot be dropped.
While Efrin Castro secured the Pro-Am title entering the Rennsport weekend in the No. 65 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car – his second championship in the three-year history of the series – the eliminations have dramatically changed the Am class battle, swapping the top-two positions. By being allowed to drop round two at Sebring – where he scored zero points – and round five (race one at Miami) where he also failed to score a point, Scott Noble jumps from second place over teammate and defending class champion Mark Kvamme into the lead. He is now 12 points ahead rather than at an eight-point deficit.
Kvamme was able to remove two rounds where he scored no points as well but Noble’s late season, six-race victory run has given him the better average finish. Kvamme will need to win both races to repeat as Am class champion.
