IMSA Single-Make Series Completes Successful First Season
Braselton, Ga. – The Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands concluded its inaugural season at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta by crowning three champions. Seb Priaulx took home honors in the Pro class, Efrin Castro in Pro-Am and Matt Halcome in Pro-Am 991.
Priaulx (No. 15 Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, type 992) and Halcome (No. 55 Goldcrest Motorsports) locked their class titles on Thursday’s first day of competition, Castro (No. 65 Team Hardpoint) had to win the third race of the weekend on Friday to clinch the Pro-Am crown. The Dominican Republic driver took the lead two minutes into the race and never relinquished it earning his seventh race win of the year, and his first professional title.
Priaulx drove the to six victories in 2021, including the first and third races at Michelin Raceway. Halcome scored seven wins in 16 starts but missed the podium at Michelin Raceway. Castro had to finish ahead of eight-time winner Alan Metni (No. 99 iFly/Kelly-Moss) to win the Pro-Am award. His focused victories in all three rounds over the weekend kept the chase right down to the last lap of the last race. Castro edged Metni by two points in the final standings.
In the Pro-Am 991 class, newcomer Dimitri Dimakos drove the No. 96 Goldcrest Motorsport Porsche to victory in all three races.
With the conclusion of the 2021 season, eyes now turn to the 2022 sophomore campaign. An open test will be held at Sebring International Raceway in Florida on March 7-8, less than two weeks ahead of the season-opening doubleheader weekend at the same track.
Final Standings.
Pro class: Seb Priaulx (No. 15 Kelly-Moss Road and Race), 371 points, six wins; Kay van Berlo (No. 3 Kelly-Miss Road and Race), 287 points, seven wins; Parker Thompson (No. 9 JDX Racing), 258 points, three wins.
Pro-Am class: Efrin Castro (No. 65 Team Hardpoint), 318 points, seven wins; Alan Metni (No. 99 iFly Kelly-Moss), 316 points, eight wins; Curt Swearingin (No. 17 ACI Motorsports), 237 points, one win.
Pro-Am 991 class: Matt Halcome (No. 55 Goldcrest Motorsports), 315 points, seven wins; Grady Willingham (No. 21 Goldcrest Motorsports), 229 points, one win; Craig Conway (No. 97 Irish Mike’s Racing), 168 points.
Seb Priaulx, No. 15 Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche 911 GT3 Cup: “It still hasn’t sunk in. It has been a great year fighting with Kay. Kelly-Moss and Multimatic have done an awesome job this year. I love driving this Porsche. It is a great championship. I have learned loads. It has been a great first step to whatever I will be doing next year. I really could enjoy that last race and I did.”
Efrin Castro, No. 65 Team Hardpoint Porsche 911 GT3 Cup: “This is unreal. Coming into this weekend, I had just a little bit of hope. I was putting faith in the Man Above and whatever would happen would happen. I just got blessed with this amazing weekend. I love it. It feels unreal. I was crying inside the car non-stop. I am not going to lie. I feel so blessed. I have to give thanks to everyone that made this possible. To everyone who supported me and believed in me.”
Matt Halcome, No. 55 Goldcrest Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup: “It is unbelievable. Just a few years ago I was doing D.E. classes and now here I am. This is awesome. When I swept COTA and had a pretty good lead in the championship, I started to believe we could do this. The goal was to keep focusing and stay out of trouble. Wrapping it up at Road Atlanta was great. I had my mom here and friends and family to help us celebrate.”
Dimitri Dimakos, No. 96 Goldcrest Motorsports, Pro-Am 991 winner in all three races: “This is our first Carrera Cup event, so we came in not really knowing what to expect. We just wanted to do the best we could do. Practice went well. Qualifying went well. Unfortunately, we got disqualified from qualifying for being underweight, so we had to start at the back. That threw a wrench into all the plans that we had but we made the most of it. Race 2 was a little bit easier because we started up front. I just tried to maintain that. The Cup car I have the most experience in is the 991. I have grown with it. The car communicates with me really well. This is my second time at Road Atlanta for a race. The track has a really nice flow to it, I really enjoy it. This is fun for me. We are doing this for fun.”