Road Atlanta Weekend Notebook

Photo: Jonathan Grace

***A total of 33 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars are set for Rounds 15 and 16 of Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by The Cayman Islands this weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, with Orlando-based Irish Mike’s Racing not making the trip due to the impending weather from Hurricane Ian. Connor Flynn (Pro) and Craig Conway (Pro-Am) were due to compete.

***As previously announced, Porsche Junior Laurin Heinrich will make his Carrera Cup North America debut at the wheel of 311RS Motorsport’s No. 12 Porsche. The 20-year-old German was named a Junior driver last December and finished third in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup standings this year.

***As was the case with NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Heinrich will be in the Invitational class, which will be eligible for podium results within the Pro class but not be able to collect championship points.

***Heinrich, himself, requested the Invitational classification in an effort not to interfere in the championship battle, which sees Kay van Berlo hold a 11-point lead over Parker Thompson entering the weekend.

***As a result of Heinrich’s debut, Road Atlanta will mark the first Carrera Cup North America race that Leh Keen has not contested. The former Grand-Am class champion revealed that he was not due to drive a full season in the single-make series this year anyways.

***Since the launch of Carrera Cup North America at Sebring last year, 47 drivers have taken part in at least one of the 42 class races across 14 event weekends, with 12 drivers having earned at least one victory in their class.

***Three races were run at Road Atlanta last year, with eventual champion Seb Priaulx earning two wins and Kay van Berlo picking up one victory on the weekend.

***This Friday, Sept. 30, is historically significant for Porsche in North America. Not only will it see the crowning of champions in each category but also the awarding of the Al Holbert Cup to the overall series champion. The cup will be presented on the same day Holbert died in a small aircraft accident in 1988.

***A total of 44 Porsche-built race cars are competing across three IMSA-sanctioned series this weekend at Road Atlanta, including cars in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season finale as well as the 25th annual Motul Petit Le Mans on Saturday.

***Qualifying is set to get underway at 9 a.m. ET followed by Race 1 at 5 p.m. ET and Race 2 on Friday at 10:55 a.m. Both 40-minute races will be streamed live on PorscheCarreraCup.us and Peacock featuring the IMSA Radio commentary team led by John Hindhaugh, who is on-site this weekend.

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