Watkins Glen Carrera Cup Notebook

Photo: John Dagys

***Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America competitors are set for their first natural terrain circuit of the season this weekend at Watkins Glen International, following outings at Sebring International Raceway, the streets of Long Beach and Miami International Autodrome.

***A total of 13 teams are represented across the 35 entries competing this weekend for Rounds 7 and 8 of the season. Kellymoss leads the way with seven cars between two classes, while MDK Motorsports is fielding six Porsches across all three classes.

***Watkins Glen is one of only four tracks that have been on the Carrera Cup schedule since the single-make series’ launch in 2021, the other three being Sebring International Raceway, Road America and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

***With Kay van Berlo having won all four races held at Watkins Glen from 2021-22, a new overall winner will stand in victory lane this weekend. Van Berlo has graduated to IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship full-time this year in the No. 91 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 911 GT3 R, which won last time out at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

***Michael Cooper, who is making an appearance in the No. 33 Accelerating Performance Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car is the only resident of New York entered in the field this weekend. The three-time World Challenge champion is in the same car that van Berlo piloted in Miami in a one-off capacity.

***Nick Boulle is another Carrera Cup debutant this weekend, driving the No. 58 Porsche entered by 762 Motorsports.

***Both Alan Metni and PJ Hyett will be pulling double duty between the Carrera Cup races and Sunday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, with the two drivers in separate Porsche 911 GT3 R entries fielded by Kellymoss with Riley and AO Racing, respectively.

***Hyett, fresh off competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is known as ‘Rexy’s Keeper’ as the car owner of the popular dinosaur-liveried Porsche that competes in the GTD class. This weekend marks Hyett’s first expected Carrera Cup race starts of the season after being on the entry list at Long Beach but opting not to take part in either race.

***Both Kellymoss and Wright Motorsports, meanwhile, are fielding Porsche entries in both Carrera Cup and the WeatherTech Championship this weekend, with Nolasport split between the single-make series and IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge competition.

***PT Autosport has launched a t-shirt design contest, inviting graphic artists to design a limited edition shirt that will be worn by all attendees of its Aspiring Driver Shootout, which is scheduled for Aug. 1-3 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Submissions will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. EDT on June 30, with fans voting for their favorite on the team’s social media channels from July 2-7.

***Qualifying is set for 8:35 a.m. EDT, while Race 1 gets underway this afternoon at 1:25 p.m., with the second 40-minute round of the weekend scheduled for Saturday at 12:20 p.m.. Live coverage of both races 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