After a season of near-misses and runner-up finishes, Loni Unser finally broke through for her first Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama victory at Watkins Glen International.
Her long-awaited triumph stood out as the defining moment of a weekend where championship leaders strengthened their positions and last-lap battles kept the title fight alive. For Unser, it was the result of consistency, persistence, and a season spent pushing at the front by the Porsche Mobil 1 Female Driver Program member.
Unser takes first Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport win, Hantson rebounds in Race 2
As a fourth-generation race car driver, Loni Unser celebrated one of her most significant racing accomplishments to date at Watkins Glen, as she captured her first Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama victory with Kellymoss in the Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport category.Â
Through nine races in 2025, Unser had finished second five times in Pro-Am, and only with a last-lap shootout on Saturday did she pull off her first win. Polesitter and championship leader Jens Hantson led until a yellow flag flew with four minutes remaining. The race restarted at the white flag, and Unser maneuvered to the inside of Hantson approaching the inner loop for a smooth pass into the lead.
The win caps off years of hard work for Unser, who joined the Porsche one-make family and the Kellymoss squad in 2024. And in addition to sitting second in this year’s Sprint Challenge Pro-Am championship battle – her win breaks a tie with third-place Anna Cecchi – she revisited the Pikes Peak Hill Climb earlier this summer where she ran the quickest Porsche of the event and was the fastest female amongst her competition.
Behind Unser, Hantson finished second, but would regain the top step of the podium on Sunday. Similar to the day prior, Race 2 also featured a last-lap shootout, but Hantson refused to make the same error from Race 1 and went on for his ninth win of the year.
Spencer Propper completed Saturday’s podium – his first top-three of the season – while on Sunday, Hantson held off a hard-charging Anna Cecchi in second. Unser chased her female rival for the runner-up spot, but settled for third. The pair will battle for second place in the Pro-Am championship standings behind Hantson at the season finale.
In the Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport Masters class, the wins at Watkins Glen were split by Alain Scalzo in Race 1 and William Peluchiwski in Race 2. Both drivers led flag-to-flag en route to their victories. It was the first win for championship-leading Scalzo since Circuit of The Americas, while Peluchiwski’s win on Sunday was his second consecutive after winning at Road America earlier this month.
Peluchiwski finished second on Saturday behind Scalzo and ahead of Tom Kopczynski in third. Meanwhile, Sunday’s podium saw Bill Fenech second at the finish line, with Scalzo narrowly behind in third. Kopczynski, Fenech, and Dan Ammann will fight to decide the rest of the top-four finishing order in the Masters championship behind Scalzo at the finale.
Kleck resumes dominance, Blind and Kelly fight for Masters’ first
It was the same story, but on two different days, in the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup Pro-Am class.
Cole Kleck started from the pole position in both races at Watkins Glen and led flag-to-flag for his fourth weekend sweep of the season with Topp Racing. Watkins Glen followed the one race of the season that Kleck had not won in 2025, and the youngster wasted no time in further extending his nearly untouchable Pro-Am championship lead.
Danny Dyszelski made identical moves of his own on Saturday and Sunday to claim runner-up in both contests. After starting on the second row both days, Dyszelski swept around Alan Metni – who began outside the front row – in the opening corners of Races 1 and 2 to take the spot. Metni held onto third both times, adding to his nearly double-digit number of podiums in 2025. Â
In the Masters class, Scott Blind returned to victory lane with Ruckus Racing for the first time since Circuit of The Americas in May. It was a crucial victory for Blind in his championship efforts, as his next closest rival, Kayden Kelly, scored the Race 2 win at Watkins Glen.
In the race they did not win, Blind and Kelly finished runner-up to each other, and the former holds a comfortable yet not unbeatable title lead over Kelly ahead of the finale.
While Saturday’s race ran green flag for the entire duration – and featured John Gilliland completing the Masters podium in third – a lengthy yellow flag on Lap 1 limited action in Race 2. Gilliland was part of the incident after his podium performance on Saturday, elevating Joel Johnson to third place.
Rain-affected Road America races completed at Watkins Glen
Not only did the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup and Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport classes complete their standard doubleheader at The Glen, the competitors also ran a third race to make up for what was cancelled at Road America earlier in the month due to inclement weather.
The 992 GT3 Cup classes ran their round on Friday at Watkins Glen, with Cole Kleck winning overall to kick off his eventual weekend sweep. A mid-race yellow flag interrupted the action, but Kleck excelled on the restart to finish ahead of Danny Dyszelski and Matthew Siegal in second and third, respectively.
In the Masters class, Scott Blind earned another class victory ahead of championship rival Kayden Kelly in second, while Reinhold Krahn finished on the podium for the third time this year.
The Road America make-up rounds bookended the weekend, as the Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport classes ran their third race of the weekend on Sunday afternoon to conclude the event.Â
Jens Hantson tallied his second victory of the day, winning overall in the Pro-Am class ahead of Loni Unser by less than half a second and Anna Cecchi in third. William Peluchiwski followed suit in the Masters class, winning both races of the day. It was an identical podium to the class’ contest in the morning, with Bill Fenech and Tom Kopczynski finishing second and third, respectively.
Road Atlanta hosts the final Porsche Sprint Challenge by Yokohama rounds of the year for both the North America and USA West series on September 12 – 14. Not only will champions be crowned across those respective classes, but Porsche Endurance Challenge North America by Yokohama will also run its final race of 2025 to determine its title winner after four rounds.
Race replays for Porsche Sprint Challenge and Porsche Endurance Challenge by Yokohama are available on the Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube Channel.
992 GT3 Cup Race 1 Podium
Pro-Am
- #211 Cole Kleck
- #252 Danny Dyszelski
- #298 Alan Metni
Masters
- #245 Scott Blind
- #208 Kayden Kelly
- #280 John Gilliland
992 GT3 Cup Race 2 Podium
Pro-Am
- #211 Cole Kleck
- #252 Danny Dyszelski
- #298 Alan Metni
Masters
- #208 Kayden Kelly
- #245 Scott Blind
- #227 Joel Johnson
992 GT3 Cup Race 2 Podium (Road America Make Up Race)
Pro-Am
- #211 Cole Kleck
- #252 Danny Dyszelski
- #267 Matthew Siegal
Masters
- #245 Scott Blind
- #208 Kayden Kelly
- #233 Reinhold Krahn
718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport Race 1 Podium
Pro-Am
- #4 Loni Unser
- #12 Jens Hantson
- #30 Spencer Propper
Masters
- #26 Alain Scalzo
- #62 William Peluchiwsk
- i#52 Tom Kopczynski
718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport Race 2 Podium
Pro-Am
- #12 Jens Hantson
- #27 Anna Cecchi
- #4 Loni Unser
Masters
- #62 William Peluchiwski
- #15 Bill Fenech
- #26 Alain Scalzo
718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport Race 2 Podium (Road America Make Up Race)
Pro-Am
- #12 Jens Hantson
- #4 Loni Unser
- #27 Anna Cecchi
Masters
- #62 William Peluchiwski
- #15 Bill Fenech
- #52 Tom Kopczynski
Full results from all sessions can be found here.
All photos can be found here.
