Ryan Yardley added an exclamation point to his season, winning both Porsche Carrera Cup North America races at Circuit of the Americas to claim the EXXONMobil Pro Class championship in his Topp Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Yardley needed the dominating performance, which included two pole positions and two fast laps, after entering the weekend trailing Kellymoss driver Riley Dickinson by two points in the title hunt.
‟It’s unbelievable,” Yardley said. ‟It’s more relief than anything right now. I joined this team three years ago, almost to the day, when I first met David Baker and convinced him to [let me] drive his race car. It’s been a massive journey between the team and myself. I’m super excited, happy to get it done. There was a lot of pressure coming into the weekend.”
Yardley, a New Zealand native, becomes the fifth different Nationality to win Porsche Carrera Cup North America in five years of the championship. Yardley joins Parker Thompson (Canada), Sebastian Priaulx (Great Britain), Dickinson (United States) and Loek Hartog (Netherlands) as series champions.
In the Pro-Am class, JP Martinez had an eye on the points and finished with a pair of second-place finishes in his ACI Racing Porsche on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, to clinch the championship by three points over Alan Metni. Metni won both races in the class to challenge Martinez during the final weekend.
Scott Blind had wrapped the Masters class championship entering the weekend but rebounded unharmed from a big crash in Saturday’s race to win on Sunday in his Ruckus Racing Porsche. Todd Parriott, second in the Championship, earned his third class win of the season on Saturday.
Race 1. Saturday, October 18.
Ryan Yardley’s title charge in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America reached full throttle on Saturday at Circuit of The Americas.
The New Zealander achieved a near-perfect day, first grabbing pole position and then converting it into victory under the Texas sun.
Entering the weekend trailing Riley Dickinson by two points, Yardley’s win swung the momentum — and the standings — firmly in his favor, giving him a 10-point cushion heading into the decisive final race on Sunday including the race two pole position.
‟Honestly, I feel the same,” said Yardley after his win.
‟Nothing has really changed. We knew going into this weekend that we just have to execute and do our job, and that doesn’t change for tomorrow. I’m just excited to be in a position to fight for a championship.”
Yardley got a strong leap at the green flag ahead of his Pro class competitors and held the position throughout the 35-minute race that ultimately ended under a yellow flag. Dickinson started fourth but finished third behind Kellymoss teammate Aaron Jeansonne.
Jeansonne was in a championship battle of his own among rookie drivers. His podium finish and a post-race penalty for rival Tyler Maxson widened the gap between the two in Jeansonne’s favor, giving Jeansonne a 26-point gap to wrap up the honor.
Also gaining valuable points on Saturday was Alan Metni in the Pro-Am category. Similar to Yardley, Metni gained a double pole position in qualifying and went on for a flag-to-flag win in his Kellymoss Porsche.
Metni was 19 points behind championship leader JP Martinez prior to the weekend at COTA – Metni’s hometown track – and the longtime Porsche driver closed the gap to only nine points.
Todd Parriott brought home a second win for Kellymoss after inheriting the lead following an incident involving class leader Scott Blind despite a difficult qualifying earlier in the day. It was Parriott’s third win of the season and first since Watkins Glen International in June.
‟It just finally came to me in the end,” said Parriott. ‟After the accident at Road Atlanta in Sprint Challenge, it took a while, and all of a sudden it just clicked. About the fourth or fifth lap, it just all started to feel strong.
‟The F1 events are fun. This place is great, the stuff they put on – the teams, everybody – it’s just awesome.”
Chris Bellomo was elevated to second place, while Blind finished third despite the incident.
Race 2. Sunday, October 19.
Ryan Yardley completed a sweep at Circuit of The Americas, winning both races to secure the 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup North America Pro class championship for Topp Racing.
The New Zealander’s back-to-back victories in Austin at the United States Grand Prix delivered the decisive blow in a title fight that went to the final round of the 16-race season.
Yardley only led the point standings following two events in 2025 – after Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September, and after the finale at COTA.
However, with 14 podiums throughout the season, he was consistently in the hunt for the championship. At COTA, he outperformed his closest rival and former series champion, Riley Dickinson, for top honors in the series’ fifth year of competition.
‟Todd Oppermann from Topp Racing Performance, without those guys, none of this would be possible,” Yardley said. ‟It’s unbelievable to think where we were three years ago to where we are today; it’s fantastic. I’m at a loss for words.”
Yardley and full-season teammate Tyler Maxson also helped propel Topp Racing to the Entrant Championship.
Dickinson, who otherwise led the majority of the Carrera Cup Pro standings throughout 2025, finished second in the points following a third-place finish on Sunday at COTA. Dickinson chased Zachary Vanier for the runner-up spot and potential win but ultimately failed to overtake the Canadian driver after Vanier moved from sixth to second by Turn 2 of the first lap. Vanier finished third in the Pro championship.
Alan Metni gave JP Martinez reason to sweat his position atop the Pro-Am championship standings during the weekend at COTA, but ultimately the latter held on for the title in his rookie campaign.
Metni qualified fastest for both races at his hometown track and won on Saturday, but the longtime Porsche single-make driver finished second to close the season. Before Race 2, Metni narrowed Martinez’ lead to 11 points, but could not ultimately surpass him.
With ACI Motorsports, Martinez went on for two podium finishes at COTA after six wins throughout the season, although his last came at Road America in August.
Patrick Mulcahy crossed the finish line first on track but was relegated to the rear of the field after post-race technical inspection.
Scott Blind arrived at COTA already crowned the Carrera Cup Masters class champion, but targeted a top-15 overall finish in the final two races.
While that goal didn’t come to fruition, the Ruckus Racing driver still reached the famous top step of a Formula 1® podium on Sunday, one day after a late-race incident removed him from a potential win in Race 1. Blind started last on the grid in Race 2 with a new Porsche 992 GT3 Cup chassis, but within 10 minutes had passed his Masters class rivals for the lead.
• Pro class winners.
o Race 1 & 2. Ryan Yardley, No. 78 Topp Racing.
• Pro-Am class winners.
o Race 1 & 2. Alan Metni, No. 99 Kellymoss.
• Masters class winners.
o Race 1. Todd Parriott, No. 13 Kellymoss.
o Race 2. Scott Blind, No. 45 Ruckus Racing.
• On point.
o Pro class. Ryan Yardley, No. 78 Topp Racing.
o Pro-Am class. JP Martinez, No. 4 ACI Motorsports.
o Masters class. Scott Blind, No. 45 Ruckus Racing.
o Entrant. Topp Racing.
Highlights.
• Championship surge. In addition to the two class championships coming down to the season finale, both the Entrant Championship and Rookie titles were decided in Austin. Topp Racing took the title by 19 points over Kellymoss to claim their first Entrant title. Topp Racing got contributions from both Yardley and Tyler Maxson, where its lone finish lower than second was a third-place result at Road America. Aaron Jeansonne locked down the Rookie of Year honors on Saturday at Circuit of the Americas with a second-place overall finish.
• Historic season. The 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup North America championship was one for the record books. Seven different drivers, including Dickinson, Yardley, Yves Baltas (ACI Racing), Zachary Vanier (JDX Racing), Jimmy Llibre (ACI Racing), Tyler Maxson (Topp Racing) and Jeansonne (Kellymoss) earned overall victories. Yardley, Martinez and Blind were all first-time championship winners in the final season for the current generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup before the Type 992.2 Porsche 911 Cup car makes its debut in four markets, including North America, next season.
• Broadcast. All races can be seen live and are archived on the IMSA and Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube Channels, IMSA TV, Peacock, and the Porsche Motorsport North America social channels on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X. The Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube page can be found at https://www.youtube.com/c/PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica.
• Online. Porsche Carrera Cup North America: www.PorscheCarreraCup.us
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