Forty-One Cars Are Entered for the Opening Doubleheader Round
North America’s premier Porsche one-make race series returns for a third season this week at Florida’s Sebring International Raceway. Two 40-minute races will be held on Thursday in what marks the official debut of Deluxe Corporation as title sponsor for the championship now known as the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America.
The all-Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car series takes on a fresh look with a huge influx of young talent and established faces racing as support to IMSA, Formula 1, NASCAR and IndyCar during the 16-round, 2023 race season.
Top 40: Forty-one Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars, all newest generation, are entered at Sebring with 22 in the Pro class, eight in Pro-Am and 11 in Am. Fourteen race teams are represented across all three classes.
Familiar Territory: Sebring International Raceway has hosted the opening rounds each of the three seasons of Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America since the series’ debut in 2021. The track hosted the annual preseason test March 6-7 with two days of open lapping.
New Drivers: Of the 41 drivers on the pre-event entry list, 15 are rookies to the series. Eleven of the new drivers are drawn to the Pro class, a testimony to the top class as a platform for up-and-coming talent looking to continue through the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid North America.
Returning Champs: Four previous champions are entered at Sebring: Alan Metni (2022, Pro-Am), Mark Kvamme (2022, Am), Efrin Castro (2021, Pro-Am), Matt Halcome (2021, Pro-Am 991). Overall 2021 champion Seb Priaulx and 2022 champ Parker Thompson, as well as two-time runner-up Kay van Berlo, have graduated to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Team Leaders: The recently rebranded Kellymoss operation – team champion the first two years – brings six cars across three classes. MDK Motorsports, entering its second year but already a champion in the series, also has six cars across all classes. McCann Racing doubles in size, bringing four machines in three classes. Goldcrest Motorsports, a founding team and past champion, has focused its five entries with one in Pro-Am and four in the Am class.
Up from Down Under: McElrea Racing will make its North America debut with two Pro class entries. While new here, the veteran program has earned 14 major championships in Australia.
New colors: New color designations for the three classes are being implemented in 2023. The Pro class will be visually distinctive with florescent orange number decals, Pro-Am florescent green and Am by florescent yellow.
Porsche Deluxe Female Driver Development Program: Porsche Motorsport North America and Deluxe Corporation announced the creation of the Porsche Deluxe Female Driver Development Program in early March, Women’s History Month. The initiative provides further opportunity to female drivers participating in the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid North America. Sabré Cook was named the first recipient of the new scholarship. She becomes the first female driver to make a race start in the series, piloting the No. 37 Deluxe Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car prepared by Kellymoss.
Broadcast: All races air on the Peacock streaming app, on IMSA.com/TVLive and at PorscheCarreraCup.us before being archived on Porsche Motorsport North America TV (https://www.youtube.com/c/PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica). The experts of IMSA Radio provide commentary and color for the 16-round championship’s race calls.
New Net: Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America has relaunched its web site to a much more interactive and information-rich landing location: www.PorscheCarreraCup.us .
Schedule (All times Eastern):
- Wednesday: 8:55-9:25 a.m., Practice 1; 12:10-12:50 p.m., Practice 2; 3:05-3:35 p.m., Qualifying
- Thursday: 9:15-9:55 a.m., Race 1; 5:35-6:15 p.m., Race 2