Porsche Carrera Cup North America Returns to Miami Grand Prix

Miami Gardens, Florida. The circuit in Miami Gardens, Florida uses 19-turns to cover 3.362-miles around Hard Rock Stadium which regularly hosts the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins. This weekend it will host 38 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars in addition to the Formula 1 grid. With 2023 race winner – and overall Pro champion – Riley Dickinson (New Braunfels, Texas) ascending to the next level on the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid North America, a first-time overall race winner is promised in North America’s premier one-make race series. 2023 Pro-Am and Masters (formerly Am class) race winners Efrin Castro (Dominican Republic) and Mark Kvamme (Columbus, Ohio) return to defend their twin victories in the pair of races. Two 30-minute practice sessions on Friday, May 3 will be followed by a 30-minute qualifying session and the first 40-minute plus one-lap race on Saturday. The second race will take place ahead of the Formula 1® feature race on the morning of Sunday, May 4.

Field: 38 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars are entered for the weekend.
Pro class: 17
Pro-Am class: 13
Masters class: 8

Teams: 13 race teams are represented across all three classes.

Track Record: 1:56.014, 2023, Riley Dickinson, Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

2023 Race Winners:
Pro. Race 1 & 2: Riley Dickinson, Kellymoss
Pro-Am. Race 1 & 2: Efrin Castro, Kellymoss
Am (now Masters) Race 1 & 2: Mark Kvamme, MDK Motorsports

Point Leaders:
Pro: Gus Burton, No. 20 MDK Motorsports
Pro-Am: Marco Cirone, No. 84 ACI Motorsports
Masters: Matt Halcome, No. 55 ACI Motorsports 
Entrants: MDK Motorsports

Schedule (All times Eastern):
Friday, May 3
2:25 p.m. – 2:55 p.m. – Practice 1
6:05 p.m. – 6:35 p.m. – Practice 2

Saturday, May 4
12:55 p.m. – 1:25 p.m. – Qualifying (all classes)
5:50 p.m. – 6:35 p.m. – Race 1 (40-minute + 1 lap race) 

Sunday, May 5.
10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. – Race 2 (40-minute +1 lap race)

Full field

38 cars are entered for the second of eight weekends of the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup North America and each entry will have to compromise in the paddock, pit lane and on the track. Unable to have their race transporters and awnings to work from, teams will need to be very calculated in their planning of tools and equipment they bring into the shared paddock facilities at the track. This holds true for Yokohama Tire and Porsche Motorsport North America as well. Both must also plan to the final detail what they bring into the paddock to supply the teams for the full weekend.

Hometown heroes

Five drivers on the entry list consider Florida their home state. Angel Benitez, Moisey Uretsky and David Tuaty all call Miami home. Elias De La Torre lives in nearby Key Largo while Carlos De Quesada lives in Tampa. Two drivers, Jimmy Libre and Efrin Castro, are residents of the Dominican Republic making Miami their “home” track.

Open to the public

Situated outside the footprint of the Formula 1® paddock, the Porsche Carrera Cup North America paddock is open to any holder of a General Admissions ticket to the Grand Prix. Fans can walk through and watch the 38 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars being prepared for each practice, qualifying and the pair of races.

New names

A changing of the guard was apparent in the top Pro class at the Sebring season opener. With 2021 champion Seb Priaulx as well as 2022 champ Parker Thompson now racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and 2023 champion and defending Miami race winner Riley Dickinson now competing in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, a new Pro champion will be awarded the Al Holbert Trophy in 2024. New faces stood atop the podium at both rounds in Sebring. Loek Hartog (Netherlands) raced to his first race win in the series in round one at Sebring while Gus Burton (United Kingdom) drove to his first win in round two.

To the point 

Gus Burton of the United Kingdom comes into the rounds three and four with a narrow one-point lead (47 – 46) over Loek Hartog (Netherlands) in the Pro class and the Porsche EBOOST North America Junior Program standings. That battle extends to the Team standings where three points (45 – 42) separates MDK Motorsports and Kellymoss. Marco Cirone (Canada) holds the Pro-Am class points lead over James Sofronas (Villa Park, California) 40 markers to 33. Matt Halcome (Dallas, Georgia) returns to Carrera Cup after a season focused on the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama with two race wins at Sebring International Raceway in March. The 18-point margin he holds over Chris Bellomo (Portola Valley, California) is the widest in any category in the series.

Image Gallery: Porsche Carrera Cup North America Returns to Miami Grand Prix

Championship points are awarded in each race per the following table

Master racer 

After two rounds, only one driver regardless of class, swept the weekend at Sebring: Matt Halcome (Dallas, Georgia). The 2021 Pro-Am 991 class champion, and driver of the popular Mystery Machine liveried No. 55 ACI Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, returned to the series in style winning both races in the competitive Masters class. He also captured the fastest race lap for both rounds.

Endurance Challenge

With the overwhelming success of its one-make championships and the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid North America, Porsche Motorsport North America announced the next evolution in one-make racing for the continent, the Porsche Endurance Challenge North America. The four-event championship will include three 60-minute races and a single six-hour endurance race. The new race series will debut at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas on May 26, 2024, and conclude at the Texas track on November 22. Each round will feature a top category for the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car (type 992 and 991.2) and a class for the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.

Racing for Children’s 

The Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama was the support series for the IndyCar Series event at Barber Motorsports Park, April 26 – 28. The event supports the Racing for Children’s, a name familiar to one-make race fans for its beloved “hand print” livery Kellymoss entries have carried for years in Carrera Cup. On-site supporting were three drivers of the Racing For Children’s livery since 2021: Kay van Berlo (2021 – 2022), Riley Dickinson (2023) and Loek Hartog (below). Efrin Castro raced in the pair of Sprint Challenge rounds at Barber in a Racing For Children’s livery earning an overall second place in race one and a fourth place result in race two.

Chambers in Miami 

Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama regular Chloe Chambers (Fort Wayne, Indiana) will be in Miami for the Grand Prix weekend. However, the 19-year-old will not be behind the wheel of a Porsche. Instead, Chambers will be piloting the No. 14 Campos Racing entry in the F1 Academy series. She comes to Miami off twin Sprint Challenge Cayman class victories at Barber Motorsports Park in the No. 77 TPC Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.

Class Descriptions:
Pro: The highest level of competition in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America. The car entry number is delineated in orange on the doors, the windshield and rear glass. Headlight covers are clear with orange cross-marks.

Pro-Am: Restricted to drivers who are 36-years or older as of January 1, 2024. The car entry number is delineated in green on the doors, the windshield and rear glass. Headlight covers are clear with green cross-marks.

Masters: Open to drivers over 50 years old as of January 1, 2024. The car entry number is delineated in yellow on the doors, the windshield and rear glass. Headlight covers are clear with yellow cross-marks.

Entry list:
The full Porsche Carrera Cup North America entry list can be found at: https://www.imsa.com/

Current Porsche Carrera Cup North America Championship Point Standings: https://imsa.results.alkamelcloud.com/

Broadcast: 
Races air on the Peacock streaming app, IMSA.tv and PorscheCarreraCup.us before archiving at: https://www.youtube.com/c/PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica.

On the web: 
www.PorscheCarreraCup.us.