Elkhart Lake, WI | Amidst a busy summer of racing at Road America, Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama took its turn around the freshly repaved 4.048-mile racetrack this weekend for the series’ fifth event of the season.
At Road America, the 991 GT3 Cup class joined the pair of Cayman GT4 Clubsport races rather than typically joining the 992 GT3 Cup field – allowing the 991 competitors their first opportunity for an overall race win. The weekend also featured five races total, with the Cayman GT4 Clubsport category making up a previously postponed round.
Porsche 992 GT3 Cup:
Zachary Vanier returned to his winning ways at Road America, sweeping the weekend in the No. 206 MDK Motorsports Porsche. Vanier scored the WeatherTech Pole Position Award to start both races from the lead and subsequently, darted away at the drop of the green flag. With his seventh and eighth wins of 2023, the Canadian expands his lead to 29 points in both the Pro/Am class championship and the Porsche Juniors Championship.
“I’m super happy with the race,” said Vanier. “It’s a huge credit to MDK Motorsports and my partners back home for putting together such a strong package and allowing me to go out and perform to the best of my abilities, having full confidence in the car and what we’re able to bring to the track.
“There’s some very competitive competition here in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America. We just need to keep working, keep making sure we’re maximizing our programs and bringing the best package we can. We have a couple weeks off until COTA, so we’ll do some review and figure out where we made some really big gains this weekend. All eyes on COTA and finishing off the championship strong.”
Aidan Kenny kept Vanier honest throughout the weekend, finishing runner-up twice in the No. 222 ACI Motorsports Porsche and even within a second of the lead on Saturday. Anthony McIntosh completed the Pro/Am podium in both races for JTR Motorsports Engineering, albeit not without exciting battles particularly in Race 2 with Connor Horstmann and Madeline Stewart.
Mark Kvamme delivered a double victory for MDK Motorsports on Saturday, finishing on top in the 992 GT3 Cup Am class. Kvamme capitalized after Christian Hodneland spun from the lead, and he proceeded to fight off pressure from Steve Dunn to keep the win. Mark Boden rounded out the Race 1 podium. Hodneland went on to recover in Sunday’s race for the second Am class victory of the weekend, starting and finishing second overall amidst the Pro/Am competitors in the No. 232 JDX Racing Porsche. Dunn and Boden mirrored their results from Race 1, while Kvamme finished fourth-in-class.
Full 992 GT3 Cup results: Race 1 and Race 2.
Porsche 991 GT3 Cup:
Saturday’s 991 GT3 Cup race was a straightforward, dominant victory for Charlie Peter in the No. 166 Team Phenix Porsche. En route to his fourth victory of the season, Peter started from pole and built a lead of more than seven seconds to runner-up Ashley Freiberg and an additional 10 seconds to third place Daniel Hanley.
On Sunday, both Peter and Freiberg were poised for additional podiums, with latter in hot pursuit of the win that eluded her the day prior. For 20 minutes, she ran close behind Peter and made her move, three- wide, running up the hill towards the front stretch and completing the pass going into Turn 1. The two leaders sped past a slower Cayman in the process, but in a location where another car had spun off track. The move on the Cayman by not only Freiberg, but also Peter, was deemed as a pass under a local yellow and both drivers were penalized.
As a result, Tim Kezman in the No. 114 Fall-Line Motorsports Porsche inherited the lead – his first of the
year – with Scott Zdanis and Daniel Bloom completing the final 991 GT3 Cup podium of the weekend.
Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport:
In the Cayman GT4 Clubsport Pro/Am class, Chloe Chambers controlled all three races from green to checkered flag, but only took home two victories in the No. 70 TPC Racing Porsche. While she crossed the finish line first in Race 3 as well, multiple time penalties issued for start and restart infractions took her from the podium. Chambers held a gap for the majority of the race that would have negated the penalties, but a late caution erased her lead and handed the Pro/Am win to Mikhail Mihaylov in the No. 7 Regal Motorsports Porsche.
Matthew Paige and Michael Clark completed Sunday’s podium, while championship contenders Paul Bocuse and Nikolas Maloy finished second and third, respectively, in the first two races of the weekend. In the Am class, Kelly Moss swept all three races with Jason Golan securing the first win and William Peluchiwski taking the remaining two – also finishing first overall in Race 3. Tom Kopczynski and Alain Scalzo also claimed podium positions throughout the weekend.
Full 991 GT3 Cup / Cayman GT4 Clubsport results: Race 1 and Race 2.
Make-up Cayman GT4 Clubsport results: Race 3 Road America marked the final standalone event for Porsche Sprint Challenge North America this season, with the remaining two rounds for PSCNA taking place as joint events with its sister USA West series. Both will run later this month at Circuit of The Americas on August 25 – 27, with the finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 6 – 8. The final standalone for PSCUW is scheduled for September 8 – 10 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
All Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama races stream live on FloSports, in addition to the series’ YouTube channel. More information can also be found at www.porschesprint.com and on social media via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
