Staut’s Winning Run Toppled in Wild COTA Weekend

Karel Staut’s unbeaten Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama run came to an end at Circuit of The Americas on Friday, only for the Kellymoss driver to respond hours later by returning straight to victory lane in Race 2.

After starting on pole in Race 1, Danny Dyszelski (Topp Racing) was nudged off the race track by Staut in the Esses on the opening lap.

Staut was issued a 20-second penalty despite leading the rest of the race, ultimately finishing ninth-in-class.

But behind him in a last-lap shootout, Matthew Siegal (JDX Racing) powered past Dyzselski for second place and grabbed the win – his first in Sprint Challenge North America after finding success in the sister USA West series. 

Dyszelski, in his return to the series since last season, held onto second with Riley Giacomazzi claiming his second podium of the year in third.

However, Staut returned to his winning ways in Race 2, familiarly starting from first and finishing first.

Dyzselski ran second-place throughout the contest, while the fight for third highlighted the opening half of the 35-minute, plus one-lap race. Blake McGovern would secure the spot, marking his fourth third-place finish of 2026.

The GT3 Cup Masters season-long battle between Mark Boden (Fall-Line Motorsports) and Alain Scalzo (Scalzo Autosport) continued at COTA. The pair split not only the wins, but also the second-place finishes at the Austin, Texas circuit.

Boden finished first on Saturday, with Scalzo in second. The pair swapped positions on Sunday, with Scalzo victorious and Boden finishing runner-up. Scalzo nearly swept the weekend if not for a minor track-limit penalty in Race 1, while Boden settled for runner-up behind his rival by less than a second in Race 2.

As a result, Boden leads Scalzo by 15 points in the championship standings.

Mixing it up with the leading pair in both contests was Todd Treffert, who walked away from COTA with two third-place trophies.

RESULTS: Race 1/Race 2

Grant, Read Only Repeat Victors at COTA in Cayman Classes

Keith Grant (Grant Motorsports) and Simon Read (ProSport Competition) were the only repeat winners in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America at COTA, sweeping their respective 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport Pro-Am and Masters classes.

Grant became a first-time series winner in Race 1 after starting from the class pole position. Before COTA, Grant’s best finish was a double runner-up at Sebring International Raceway behind Anna Cecchi.

On Saturday, the roles were reversed as he finished ahead of Cecchi by two seconds, followed by Spencer Propper in third.

In Race 2, Grant followed Cecchi until the pair approached the white flag. Grant challenged down the inside in Turn 19, and Ceechi subsequently suffered a spin trying to put the power down.

Keith straightened up his car for the win, while brother David Grant snuck by in third behind Todd Ruttura in second. Cecchi wound up fourth.

After his double victory, Keith Grant now leads Cecchi by four points in the championship.

In the Cayman Masters category, Simon Read not only ran at the top of his class at COTA, but also overall throughout much of the weekend. Read – who made his season debut last round at Sonoma Raceway – led both Cayman classes for all but one lap in Race 1, and also for the concluding two laps of Race 2 after passing the Pro-Am class turmoil ahead of him.

Saturday’s Masters podium had the top-three drivers finish within 1.5 seconds of each other – Read, Tom Rogers and Greg Cecchi, respectively.

On Sunday, Read was out of sight ahead of William Peluchiwski in second and Greg Cecchi in third, although the latter duo were split by just five-tenths after a feisty, race-long battle.

Through four rounds, Rogers maintains a seven-point lead over Cecchi in the standings.

Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama continues its way eastward, with its next round scheduled for Virginia International Raceway on June 19-21.

The event is this year’s fifth of seven, and will be the series’ first visit to the East Coast since March.

RESULTS: Race 1/Race 2