Van Berlo, Castro and Kvamme earn class pole positions for Porsche Carrera Cup Sebring opener.

by Thomas Moore

Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands – Sebring International Raceway – Rounds 1 and 2 of 16

Sebring, Florida. Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands qualifying for the season opening round is complete. Kelly-Moss Road and Race picked-up where it left-off last season earning the overall pole position for Round 1 at Sebring International Raceway with Kay van Berlo (Belgium) taking Pro honors and Pro-Am with 2021 class champion Efrin Castro (Dominican Republic). The new MDK Motorsports program guided Mark Kvamme (Columbus, Ohio) to the top spot in the Am class. The quickest laps for each class will lead the grid of 43 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars to the green flag tomorrow, Thursday, March 17, for the 40-minute Race 1 at 9:15 a.m. ET.

The field for Race 2 – set to go green at 1:30 p.m. ET – will be based on the second fastest qualifying lap from today’s 30-minute qualifying session or from the fastest race lap in Race 1. In the event that no one goes quicker in the 40-minute race, van Berlo will again sit on the overall pole position having also set the second overall fastest lap in qualifying. Castro and Kvamme also retain the pole in the Pro-Am and Am classes respectively.

Van Berlo, who was runner-up in the 2021 Pro class, set the quickest time of two-minutes, 3.330-seconds around the 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring circuit. His second best lap was a 2:03.356 in the No. 3 Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. Both times narrowly beat out teammate Riley Dickinson (New Braunfels, Texas) in the No. 53 Porsche who turned 2:03.507 and 2:03.698 best laps. Parker Thompson (Canada) piloted the No. 9 JDX Racing Porsche to a pair of laps good enough for third-place (2:03.535/2:03.859) while Dimitri Dimakos (Chicago, Illinois) placed the No. 11 311RS Motorsports Porsche on the outside of Row 2 with a lap of 2:04.003.

Castro guides the Pro-Am class to the green flag in the No. 65 Kelly-Moss Porsche for the first of the 40-minute races with laps of 2:05.299 and 2:05.363. Peter Atwater (Denver, Colorado) in the No. 26 JDX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car. Kvamme’s best lap in the No. 43 was a 2:05.980 with a second-best of 2:06.139. Wright Motorsports’ veteran John Goetz (Weston, Connecticut) starts in second-place for the Am class in the No. 57 with times of 2:06.432/2:06.662.

On Track.

The two, 40-minute races will be run on Thursday, March 17. Round One will take the green flag at 9:15 a.m. ET/6:15 a.m. PT while Round Two will start at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT.

Where to Watch.

Live timing and scoring of each Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands session can be found at www.PorscheCarreraCup.us. IMSA Radio will again provide play-by-play commentary for practice, qualifying and the two races. The races will be broadcast live on the official series web site – www.porschecarreracup.na – and on the Peacock Streaming App.

Kay van Berlo, No. 3 Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

“A very good session, especially the first set of Michelin tires. With 43 cars out on track, we knew qualifying was going to be all about getting a free lap. I went out, and straightaway, had a clear lap so I could put a good lap time down. That allowed us to put on a new set of tires later in the session. Again, I had a good position out on track, but I made a mistake and knew I was losing a lot of time. I was able to put together turns 15, 16 and 17 and that gave us another pole. It is really tight at the front of the grid but that doesn’t surprise me. We’ll check some data with the team and do some fine-tuning to prepare for the long runs. Tomorrow the big points are up for grabs.”

About the Cayman Islands.

The Cayman Islands, located an hour south of Miami in the vibrant tranquility of western Caribbean, is a premier destination for travelers, thrill-seeking divers, adventurous epicures, honeymooners and families alike. The trio of islands affords each guest with the ultimate setting to enjoy life’s finest comforts, as the Caribbean’s leading luxury lifestyle destination. Five-star resorts, high-end villas, condos and breathtaking beachfront properties unique to each island offer a myriad of accommodation options for discerning travelers to enjoy. Additionally, the Cayman Islands is frequently heralded as the “Culinary Capital of the Caribbean” and offers endless gastronomic experiences to delight even the most seasoned of palates.

The Cayman Islands, world-renowned for impeccable “Caymankind” hospitality also employs best-in-class health and sanitation protocols to keep visitors and locals safe. To learn more about the Cayman Islands, please go to www.visitcaymanislands.com; www.divecayman.ky or call your local travel agent. For the most up-to-date travel guidance and protocols, please visit: https://www.exploregov.ky/coronavirus.

Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by The Cayman Islands.

Porsche Carrera Cup North America by The Cayman Islands is the premier one-make race series in the United States and Canada utilizing a combination of the latest Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car, type 992, and MICHELIN® Pilot® Sport Cup N3 racing slick to challenge the best road and street race courses on the continent. As with all national Carrera Cups worldwide, the inaugural season of the championship is scheduled to host 16-rounds. Each 45-minute race counts toward a season-long driver and team championship in each of three classes: Pro, Pro-Am and Pro-Am 991.

More on Porsche Carrera Cup North America by The Cayman Islands can be found at www.PorscheCarreraCup.us.

  • Image courtesy of Bob Chapman, Porsche

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