Miami Weekend Notebook

Photo: Bob Chapman/Autosport Image

***This weekend’s Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America round at the Miami International Autodrome is the first of two events on the Formula 1 support bill for the single-make series, which will close out its season at Circuit of The Americas on Oct. 20-22, also with F1.

***While it marks Carrera Cup North America’s first visit to the 19-turn, 3.363-mile temporary circuit in the suburbs of Miami, Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama took part last year, with Sebastian Carazo and Moisey Uretsky claiming overall victories.

***Uretsky is entered this weekend in Pro-Am, alongside Jimmy Llibre (Pro), Kyle Washington (Pro-Am) and Mark Kvamme (Am), who also have the benefit of track knowledge from last year’s Sprint Challenge races.

***The 40-car field is another capacity grid for the second consecutive event. Last month’s Grand Prix of Long Beach featured 35 cars due to paddock and track limitations. The season kicked off at Sebring International Raceway with 41 cars, with the next event at Watkins Glen International in June to likely feature north of 40 cars due to no track restrictions.

***Porsche Selected Driver Kay van Berlo made a triumphant return to Carrera Cup competition on Friday by posting the quickest time in opening practice. The Dutchman, who is in his final semester at the University of Miami, is driving a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car entered by Accelerated Performance this weekend in an expected one-off.

***Van Berlo, who finished runner-up in the 2021 and 2022 Carrera Cup seasons, has graduated to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this year, driving alongside reigning Carrera Cup Pro-Am champion Alan Metni a Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 911 GT3 R.

***Five drivers call Florida their full-time home, as do two teams. Uretsky (Miami), Elias De La Torre (Key Largo), Michael McCarthy (Clearwater), Grant Talkie (Sarasota) and Conor Flyn (Jacksonville) are residents while Irish Mike’s Racing is based in Orlando while BGB Motorsports is headquartered in Ormond Beach, Fla.

***Sabre Cook, driver of the No. 37 Deluxe Kellymoss Porsche and the first recipient of the Porsche Female Driver Development Program scholarship, has been named one of the ten finalists to receive the IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship. The recipient, to be named later this year, will receive benefits worth more than $250,000 to assist them in competing in one of three IMSA-sanctioned series during the 2024 season.

***Applications for the 2023 PT Autosport Aspiring Driver Shootout are open until May 15, with the shootout taking place Aug. 1-3 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. A total of 888 applications slots are available, with 88 drivers chosen after due diligence, and 12 drivers between the age of 18 and 23 set to have the opportunity to participate in a competition measuring fitness, media, interview, problem-solving, teamwork, and racecraft skills. The drivers will vie for a $100,000 partnership program which will provide support for the 2024 & 2025 seasons.

***PT Autosport has partnered with JDX Racing for this year’s Carrera Cup season, fielding a Pro class entry for 23-year-old Brit Alex Sedgwick.

***Kellymoss drivers McCarthy and Riley Dickinson participated in last weekend’s Sprint Challenge event at Barber Motorsports Park. The pairing ran as unclassified entries to recognize Racing for Children’s, the program’s longtime partner.

***Dickinson and McCarthy joined in special activities off track supporting the Children’s of Alabama hospital including the 13th annual gala dinner where each was assigned an honorary car chief for the event, a patient at Children’s of Alabama.

***Dickinson heads into this weekend with an 18-point lead in the Pro class championship over Tom Sargent, with Will Martin, winner of Round 4 at Long Beach, 31 points behind Dickinson in third. Marco Cirone and Kvamme lead Pro-Am and Am respectively, with Kellymoss atop the team standings and Dickinson topping the Junior ranks.

***Race 1 gets underway this afternoon at 2:05 p.m. ET, with the second 40-minute round of the weekend scheduled for Sunday at 12:15 p.m. ET. Live coverage will be available on Peacock, IMSA.tv and PorscheCarreraCup.us featuring commentary from IMSA Radio.

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