Not one, not two, but three Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama races are on deck this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the green flag is nearly about to wave.
Fifteen Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars will take on a trio of 45-minute sprint races at the 2.258-mile circuit, with 11 entries fielded in the Platinum Cup class for current generation race cars and four entries in the Gold Cup class for cars built between 2014 and 2016.
Much of the 2020 GT3 Cup Challenge USA season is still to come, as only six of 16 rounds have been completed ahead of this weekend. While there’s still much to be determined, more than two hours of door-to-door racing at Mid-Ohio could influence the remainder of the year.
Here’s a closer look at the GT3 Cup Challenge USA entry list for the weekend:
- This year has been a duel between Jeff Kingsley and Riley Dickinson, with the two drivers swapping wins throughout the season. Coincidentally, last year at Mid-Ohio was no different. Although neither made it to the podium, Dickinson finished fourth and fifth in the weekend’s two races, while the results were flipped for Kingsley. Expect more of the same, but better, this weekend for points leader Kingsley in the No. 16 Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche and Dickinson in the No. 53 Porsche for Moorespeed.
- After making his season debut at Road Atlanta earlier this month, Joseph Lombardo returns to his home track in the No. 92 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Lombardo makes his home in Bath, Ohio, which is located just more than 70 miles northeast of Mid-Ohio. A Platinum Masters driver as well, Lombardo finished 10th in both races of his first 2020 weekend.
- Frank Raso returns to GT3 Cup Challenge USA for the first time since contesting three doubleheader weekends in 2018. Raso will swap his major airline pilot seat for the driver’s seat and race the No. 57 Topp Racing Porsche. Raso’s best performance in 2018 came at Barber Motorsport Park when he finished third and second in the Gold Class.
- Alan Metni is looking to rebound after a setback weekend at Road Atlanta. Coming off his first overall victory in the series at VIRginia International Raceway in August, Metni missed the podium in both rounds, finishing fourth twice. While Metni lost ground in the Platinum Cup point standings, now 18 points behind leader Kingsley, he did gain an advantage in the Platinum Masters standings after continuing to sweep the class victories. He leads David Brule Sr, 210-172.
- Meanwhile, the battle for the Gold Cup championship remains as tight as ever. Curt Swearingin expanded his lead after three consecutive victories spanning between Road America and VIR, but an incident in Round 6 at Road Atlanta relegated him to a fourth-place result in the No. 17 ACI Motorsports Porsche. With Efrin Castro scoring both class victories at the event, the driver of the No. 65 TPC Racing Porsche pulled to within two points, 197-195, of Swearingin ahead of this weekend’s tripleheader.