Three Races Are on Tap for the Festive Weekend
The Porsche Sportscar Together Fest at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a celebration of the modern Porsche culture with motorsport at its center. Highlighting the three-day weekend are three, 45-minute Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands races.
The 28-car field will provide the event-going public an opportunity to see the one-make race series in action on the 2.592-mile, 14-turn road course of the historic IMS racetrack. Rounds 9, 10 and 11 mark the first time the series will run three races in a single weekend. Joined by the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama and select run groups of the Porsche Club of America (PCA), the three-class championship utilizing the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car will anchor the Sportscar Together Fest from Friday through Sunday.
Porsche Carrera Cup North America: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Entry List
Three classes – Pro, Pro-Am and Pro-Am 991 – comprise the inaugural season of North America’s first Porsche Carrera Cup. Both the Pro and Pro-Am classes campaign the newest Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car, the type 992, exclusively. Based on the current-generation Porsche 911 GT3 road car, the rear-engine, normally aspirated race car generates 510 horsepower. The Pro-Am 991 class takes advantage of the previous-generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racer, the type 991.
Pro Class (12 Entries): Kay van Berlo (No. 3 Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche) enters the weekend seven points ahead of his teammate Seb Priaulx (No. 15 Porsche) in the standings. It marks the second weekend the Dutchman has held top spot.
However, a penalty in Round 8 at Road America cost van Berlo a portion of his gap on Priaulx, who suffered a similar fate earlier in the season. Van Berlo’s five victories and two second-place finishes also give him sway over a charging Parker Thompson (No. 9 JDX Racing Porsche), who has wins in Round 3 (Circuit of the Americas) and the most recent Round 8 at Road America. Thompson is in third place, 42 points behind van Berlo and 35 back from second place.
By virtue of three podiums this season, veteran Leh Keen has the No. 12 311RS Motorsport Porsche 911 in fourth place. Riley Dickinson continues to hold fifth place in the No. 53 Team Hardpoint EBM Porsche.
Pro-Am Class (11 Entries): Alan Metni (Austin, Texas) maintains his firm grip on the Pro-Am class, for drivers 40 and older campaigning the current type 992 generation of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car. The veteran driver won the first round in March and has scored victories in each race since with the exception of Round 5 at COTA. The No. 99 iFly/Kelly-Moss Road and Race driver has a lead of 195 points to the 141 of Efrin Castro (No. 65 Team Hardpoint EBM Porsche), who won the COTA race. Curt Swearingin (No. 17 ACI Motorsports Porsche) is in third place.
Pro-Am 991 Class (5 Entries): Matt Halcome (No. 55 Goldcrest Motorsports Porsche) maintains his lead in the class for drivers racing the previous-generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, type 991.2. Halcome holds a 40-point gap over Goldcrest teammate Grady Willingham.
Entrant Standings: Kelly-Moss Road and Race maintains a commanding lead in the Entrant Championship. The Madison, Wisconsin-based program has a 51-point lead over JDX Racing entering the final eight races.
Weekend Schedule: Practice for all classes gets underway Friday at 11:45 a.m. ET, with Saturday hosting both qualifying (11:05 a.m.) and Race 1 (4:15 p.m.). Sunday will see two Porsche Carrera Cup North America races. Race 2 takes the green flag at 8:45 a.m. and Race 3 is scheduled to close the weekend of competition at 3:30 p.m.
All events can be seen live at PorscheCarreraCup.us with IMSA Radio providing commentary. Following live coverage, events can be found on the Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube channel (youtube.com/porschemotorsportnorthamerica).
Brian Blocker, Series Manager, Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands: “It is an honor to be the headline series of Porsche Sportscar Together Fest. Indianapolis is a destination for fans and drivers alike, and this event is very special for that reason. The track and three events in a single weekend are an opportunity to put on display the professionalism of the drivers and teams of the inaugural season of Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands. We could not ask for a bigger stage in North America than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during a Porsche-dedicated event weekend. We look forward to providing the fans of Porsche and the Indy the best show in town.”