Carrera Cup Reaches Season Mid-Point at The Glen

Photo: Jessica Johnk/Porsche

Porsche Carrera Cup North America returns to its roots this weekend, following a pair of events supporting Formula 1, the one-make series is back supporting the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

Rounds 7 and 8 of the championship will be contested on the 3.4-mile, 11-turn circuit in Upstate New York, featuring an entry of 35 cars for the pair of 40-minute races.

Loek Hartog extended his points lead in the Pro class with third win of the season in the No. 24 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car in the second race of the weekend at Montreal.

The Dutchman holds a 23-point margin over Baby Bull Racing’s Michael Cooper, who has yet to break through for his first win in the highly competitive series.

JDX Racing’s Alex Sedgwick sits third, a further five points behind Cooper, with Zachary Vanier and Yves Botas, who won Race 1 in Montreal, completing the top-five.

Baby Bull’s Moisey Uretsky lead the way in Pro-Am, one point ahead of Marco Cirone, while ACI Motorsports’ Matt Halcome is in control of the Am class as the season reaches its midpoint this weekend.

Pre-Event News & Notes:

***Watkins Glen International is a “Legacy Track” on the schedule. The track joins Sebring International Raceway, Road America, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta as tracks that hosted the premier one-make race series in 2021 debut season of the series. The Glen joins only Sebring and Indianapolis as having hosted Carrera Cup every season.

***Watkins Glen has hosted two rounds of Carrera Cup North America each season since the series debut in 2021. But Watkins Glen has a much longer tradition of hosting Porsche one-make racing. The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama celebrated its 100th series race at  The Glen in 2013.

***Debuting this year, the ANDIAL Cup is a championship within the championship awarded to participants at the most iconic road courses in North America. The ANDIAL Cup, named for the legendary Porsche race and road prep company provides competitors an additional award for competing at the most iconic road courses on the continent.

***All full season competitors receive automatic entry for the ANDIAL Cup, while those interested in running only at the more storied tracks can compete for a championship. ANDIAL Cup tracks include Sebring International Raceway, Watkins Glen International, Road America, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

***Second year driver Sabre Cook has made a name for herself in the series. However, it is often a name that people get wrong when they pronounce it. The Colorado-native, now living in Indianapolis, took the time to create a tongue-in-cheek video to help solve the pronunciation issues.

***As Alzheimer’s Awareness Month draws to a close, MDK Motorsports will carry 142 names on the No. 43 Porsche driven by Mark Kvamme. To date, Racing to End Alzheimer’s has raised over $1 million for its two beneficiaries, the Nantz National Alzheimer’s Center at Houston Methodist Hospital and the UCLA Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program. 2023 saw the program raise a record $254,000 and Racing to End Alzheimer’s looks to exceed that effort this year. The 142 names on the car represent people from all walks of life who have suffered from dementia or Alzheimer’s.

***Longtime Porsche Motorsport partner Mobil 1, in conjunction with Porsche Motorsport North America, announced support of the Porsche Mobil 1 Female Driver Program North America, PMNA began the program to help support aspiring female drivers compete in Carrera Cup North America. In the autumn of last year, the program was extended across all one-make race series on its Porsche Motorsport Pyramid North America including not only Carrera Cup but also Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama, Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama and, in 2024, Porsche Endurance Challenge North America.

***Two New York-based drivers are entered in this weekend’s Porsche Carrera Cup North America rounds at Watkins Glen International. Included is Yves Balatas. Balatas, who earned his first career Pro class victory in race one at Montréal, lives in New York City. Veteran driver Michael Cooper calls Huntington, New York home.

***Practice begins on Thursday morning with a second session that afternoon. A 30-minute qualifying session for all cars comes on Friday morning with the first of the two rounds to take the green flag at 4:20 p.m. ET on the afternoon of Friday. The second race, round eight and midpoint of the season, will run at 11:00 a.m. ET on Saturday.

***Races air live at PorscheCarreraCup.us, on the IMSA YouTube channel, on the Peacock streaming app and at IMSA.tv. All are archived on the Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube channel.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John