Martin earns first win in Porsche Deluxe Carrera North America

by Thomas Moore

Long Beach, California. April 16, 2023. In only his fourth start of Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America competition, Will Martin (United Kingdom) scored his inaugural win in the North America’s premier one-make championship. The win also marked the first of the young season for defending Pro class champion JDX Racing. In an overall battle that covered the top five Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, Martin exchanged the lead with fellow series rookie Tom Sargent (Australia) in the No. 17 McElrea Racing and points leader Riley Dickinson (New Braunfels, Texas) behind the wheel of yesterday’s race-winning No. 53 Kellymoss Porsche over the course of the 40-minute event. Marco Cirone (Canada) took the Pro-Am class victory in the No. 82 ACI Motorsports Porsche while Mark Kvamme (Columbus, Ohio) repeated in the Am class with a win in the No. 43 MDK Motorsports Porsche.

Sargent took the early lead over Dickinson and Martin. A yellow flag five minutes into the feature tightened the field. Once the race returned to green flag racing, Dickinson and Martin battled with the Brit sneaking by the Texan and setting the sights of the No. 9 on the No. 17. Martin would take the lead and, despite several strong attempts to regain the top spot by Sargent, the JDX Porsche returned to the top step of the podium. Sargent was in second place, Dickinson in third while Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama champion Jimmy Libre (Dominican Republic) was in fourth place ahead of Alex Sedgwick (UK) who closed out the top five.



• Pro class winners.

Race 1. Riley Dickinson (No. 53 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).

Race 2. Will Martin (No. 9 JDX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).

• Pro-Am class winners.

Race 1. Alan Metni (No. 99 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).

Race 2. Marco Cirone (No. 82 ACI Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup)

• Am class winners.

Race 1 and 2. Mark Kvamme (No. 42 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup)

Highlights.

• Holding Point. Dickinson continues to hold the lead in the Pro class championship with 101 points over Sargent’s 82.

• Redemption. After crossing the finish line as Pro-Am class winner in Saturday’s race, Race Stewards determined that Cirone had committed a starting line violation and had the race win taken away. The native of Toronto overcome those eventualities today, claiming a strong victory in the class.

• 3 for 4. Kvamme has earned the Am class victory in three of the first four races.

• L.A. Premiere. Not only was this Martin’s first career Carrera Cup North America victory, it came in his first career street race. The 20 year-old had never run on a temporary circuit until this weekend. He will not have to wait long for his second street course as the series travels to Miami, Florida next.

• Broadcast. All races air on the Peacock streaming app, on IMSA.tv and at PorscheCarreraCup.us before being archived on Porsche Motorsport North America TV: (https://www.youtube.com/c/PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica).

• Online. Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America: www.PorscheCarreraCup.us .

• Next Up. Rounds 5 & 6. The Grand Prix of Miami. Miami International Autodrome, Miami, Florida. May 5 – 7.

Quotes

Will Martin, No. 9 JDX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Winner, Race 2.

“Coming here, I have never done a street circuit before. It was hard to get used to but we managed very quickly and the team did a great job with the car. I had pressure the whole way through. The start of the race was really good. I had a great launch and then on the restart as well. I was really pleased with that. After that it was just a matter of staying consistent and keeping the pressure under control. Miami is another street race but I have more confidence going into there. No one has really been to Miami there before, so I have a lot of confidence going into there. It going to be really interesting and a level playing field for me.”

Jeremy Dale, Owner, JDX Racing.

“I am the guy that is given the job of finding the people that can win races for us. That is the only reason we are here; we want to win races. Will and I first talked last October about joining us in 2023 and we kept the dialog going. As you can see, we have three Pro cars. We have a 17 year-old, a 20 year-old and a 23 year-old. We are all about bringing young talent along and helping them to develop and win races. I knew Will could win for us because he is a driver that has won races [in other championships]. This weekend we knew it was particularly challenging because he had never seen Long Beach, obviously, but he had never been on a street circuit. You have to trust the process and he definitely does, and we do. To me, the most impressive thing today was the racecraft: the start, the restart, defending. The guys at the front are racing super hard, super aggressive but clean. It is going to make for a great championship.

Marco Cirone, No. 82 ACI Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Pro-Am Winner, Race 2.

“I am thankful that I have Parker [Thompson, 2022 Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America champion] and my teammate Grant Talkie here. We went through a ton of video as I have never been here before. They accelerated the learning curve very quickly for me. Without them I wouldn’t have been able to do so well. I want to thank Parker, the team ACI, Mark Motors and of course Porsche Motorsport and Michelin.”

  • Image courtesy of Porsche Motorsport North America.

04162023