Van Berlo Named Porsche North America Selected Driver

Photo: Porsche

Kay van Berlo has been named a Porsche North America Selected Driver, joining Trenton Estep in the Porsche Motorsport North America-supported program that was officially launched last November.

The Porsche Carrera Cup North America presented by The Cayman Islands star has graduated to a full season seat in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this year with GTD class entrant Kellymoss with Riley.

Van Berlo will co-drive the No. 91 Porsche 911 GT3 R with Alan Metni for the full season and will be joined by Porsche-affiliated drivers Jaxon Evans and Julien Andlauer for next weekend’s season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“It’s the next step within the Porsche pyramid,” van Berlo told Sportscar365 of his new Selected Driver status. “I started off in Carrera Cup always with the idea to try to develop myself and step up every year.

“Obviously after a year in Carrera Cup Germany, two years in Carrera Cup North America, I wanted to make the step to GTD.

“Having the support from Porsche and becoming a Selected Driver definitely helps and has me able to make that step at the end of the day.

“It’s the next step in my career and I’m grateful for the opportunity.”

Both van Berlo and Estep are receiving mentoring from former Porsche factory driver Patrick Long, as well as financial support and assistance in securing a seat with a Porsche customer team.

In the case of the 22-year-old Dutchman, who resides in Miami, he’s been united with the two teams he raced for in North American competition last year.

Van Berlo claimed six wins in Carrera Cup competition en route to a runner-up finish in the Pro class championship with Kellymoss in 2022, while winning the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup LMP3 title with Riley Motorsports courtesy of class victories in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

“I started racing for Kellymoss when I came to the United States and I’ve been with thrm for the last three years,” he explained.

“But then I’ve had some great opportunities with Riley as well and we’ve had some successes along the way too.

“Now with those teams combined and I can continue with both, is obviously great. I get to work with some people from Kellymoss, some people with Riley.

“Unfortunately some people I worked with in Carrera Cup are not here anymore.

“But still, you work with the same people and I’m still very close to Bill Riley and Andy [Kilcoyne] so that’s obviously great because we know each other, we know what we’re capable of and I have a lot of faith in them and they’ve given me some great opportunities along the way.”

Van Berlo said he’s excited to be the leader in the No. 91 Porsche this year alongside 2022 Carrera Cup Pro-Am champion Metni.

“Obviously taking the lead is going to be a good responsibility for me,” he said. “It’s a good way to showcase myself and develop myself as a driver even further since we can work on the car and all those kind of things.

“It’s a new program for Riley, it’s a new program for Kellymoss but we all know what we’re capable of and have a lot of confidence in our capabilities and what we can do this year.”

Estep Getting Up to Speed in MDK Motorsports Porsche

Fellow North America Selected Driver Estep, is also making his GTD class debut in a new Type-992 Porsche for Daytona, driving for MDK Motorsports.

“Without the Porsche Selected Driver program I wouldn’t be in the car,” he told Sportscar365. “I’m very, very thankful to Porsche and everyone who backed me to be in this type of program.

“It’s really an honor for me to have a full season championship and potentially two championships in a GT3 car. It’s very special.”

The 23-year-old Texas native has already been confirmed for a full season of Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS in a MDK Porsche alongside Seth Lucas, while could potentially also contest the full Michelin Endurance Cup beyond next weekend’s Rolex 24.

Estep was another star of Carrera Cup North America last year, scoring three wins including a sweep of the weekend at Toronto.

“I think the transition from Carrera Cup to the GT3 R has helped me a lot but it’s still a completely new car for everybody as well,” he said.

“We never got the opportunity to test it prior to [the Roar] so this is my first time in the car.

“We’ve had minimal track time so far throughout the weekend but I guess that’s part of endurance racing as well.

“It’s a steep learning curve but I have really good co-drivers in Jan Magnussen and Jason Hart and of course Mark Kvamme to help me out through the learning process.”

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