Dickinson “Still Has a Job to Finish” Despite Clinching Title

Photo: Bob Chapman/Autosport Image

Riley Dickinson said he still has a “job to finish” in the four remaining Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America races despite already clinching the Pro class title.

The Kellymoss driver locked up the championship with two full race weekends to spare last time out at Indianapolis Motor Speedway following a sweep of the weekend at The Brickyard that put him with an insurmountable points advantage in the single-make series.

Speaking with Sportscar365 at Porsche Rennsport Reunion 7 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, site of this weekend’s Rounds 13 and 14 of the season, Dickinson said he’s left with a “mixed-emotion” feeling heading into the event.

“On one side, yes it a relief of course,” he said. “It’s a weight off our shoulders and whatnot for the weekend is concerned.

“But it’s been something I’ve been working so hard towards for five years now to get this championship.

“It’s definitely a bit of a relief but also in the same breath, we still have work to do. We still have a job to finish.

“We have four races left of the year; we have two here at Laguna and two more at COTA with F1, so there’s still work to be had. We’re excited to get it done for the rest of the year.”

Despite taking nine wins so far this season, and finishing every race on the podium to date, the 21-year-old Texan admitted it hasn’t necessarily been a straightforward year.

“Maybe on paper it doesn’t look so much like that, fortunately, but it’s been a tricky year for us,” Dickinson said.

“We’ve been working very, very hard throughout the year having to stay consistent with each and every weekend for us.

“During testing, my engineer and mechanic, we’ve been working tirelessly throughout the year.

“We’ve had to take it one step at a time and one day at a time with the testing and racing and whatnot, we’ve been working extremely hard to keep up the momentum throughout the whole year.”

Dickinson Wanting to Put “Best Foot Forward” in Porsche Junior Shootout

While not yet formally announced, Dickinson’s dominant season has him poised to head to Porsche’s end-of-year Junior worldwide driver shootout later this year that will award a seat as a full-time Junior driver and ticket to a season in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

The shootout, which will be held at a yet-to-be-announced venue in Europe, will see top-performing juniors from various Porsche Carrera Cups and single-make series participate in identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, equipped without ABS, unlike Carrera Cup North America.

Dickinson has previous non-ABS experience from an outing in Supercup competition last year and said he will have a test, either in the U.S. or in Europe, courtesy of Porsche Motorsport North America, to help acclimate to the spec of car.

“That’s one of the goals, the Junior Shootout,” he said. “This would be my first time going. Just that in itself, it would be a huge honor for me to be able to go and be a part of that program.

“I’m very excited for that. Of course, being an American, it’s going to be pretty cool for me just to be on the world’s stage with all of the other Porsche Juniors from all of the different categories across the world.

“It will be quite special and also for Kellymoss as well, being able to send an American to that will be pretty special.

“That’s obviously one of the goals and something that I’m looking forward to at the end of the year.

“I’m going to put my best foot forward in that to hopefully become the next Porsche Junior for next year. That would put me in a very favorable position going forward within Porsche.

“Ultimately for me, I want to move into that next step.

“Hopefully that’s WeatherTech [Championship], that’s probably the most realistic goal for me next year, is to find a seat in WeatherTech, namely with Porsche of course.

“Another goal that I’ve had in mind is to hopefully be a Porsche Selected Driver.

“But to be honest, I’m just taking it one step at a time. We’ll get through this weekend, get through COTA as well and then we’ll see where everything settles out.”

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