Hartog sweeps the Brickyard Porsche Carrera Cup North America weekend

by Thomas Moore

Porsche Carrera Cup North America,

Speedway, Indiana.

Rounds 11 & 12

Speedway, Indiana. Loek Hartog (Netherlands) is now one step closer in his quest for his first Porsche Carrera Cup North America championship this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 24 Racing For Childrens Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car swept the weekend in the Pro class of North America’s premier one-make championship collecting maximum points with two race wins, two pole positions and two fastest race laps in the pair of 40-minute races. The total of 52 points moved him to a more secure but not guaranteed spot atop the Pro class Drivers’ standing with two race weekends remaining in the season.

Alan Metni (Austin, Texas) swept the Pro-Am class race wins in the No. 99 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup moving himself into the top spot in the class. In the Masters class, Scott Blind (Fenton, Missouri) and Richard Edge (Atlanta, Georgia) split the two races in the category.

The penultimate weekend of Porsche Carrera Cup North America will take place October 9 – 11, moving one step closer to crowning its fourth champion with rounds 13 and 14 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. The 2.54-mile road course in Braselton, Georgia has been the site of Porsche Carrera Cup North America events in three of its four years including being the season finale in 2021 and 2022. The pair of races will support the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Petit Le Mans weekend.

Round 11. Friday. September 20, 2024.

Loek Hartog wasted little time finding speed in the No. 24 Porsche prepared by Kellymoss. He started from the overall pole position for Friday’s race and finished in the top position at the end of 40 minutes of racing. Entering round 11, race one at Indianapolis, the series rookie led the Pro class points chase on the shoulders of five race wins. He strengthened his hold on the championship with a sixth victory, his third in a row, as well as two points for the pole position and another point for fastest race lap. Despite Hartog crossing the yard of bricks to capture the win by nearly 8.5 seconds, the competitiveness of the field was illustrated by the top four in the Drivers’ point standings also taking the checkered flag in the top four at Indianapolis. Hartog led Ryan Yardley (New Zealand) who was second overall in the No. 78 Topp Racing Performance Porsche while Alex Sedgwick (United Kingdom) raced to third place behind the wheel of the PT Autosport Porsche prepared by JDX Racing. Sedgwick entered Indy second in points just ahead of Yardley. Zachary Vanier (Canada) came to Indy ranking fourth in points and finished fourth in race one in the No. 9 JDX-prepared Porsche. Indianapolis-resident Dan Clarke was fifth in the race, sixth in points, piloting the No. 64 for Indy-based Era Motorsports.

Alan Metni, 2022 Pro-Am class champion, won his third race of the year in the class. The Texan was ahead of two-time Pro-Am champion and Kellymoss teammate Efrin Castro (Dominican Republic) in second place and Moisey Uretsky (Miami, Florida) in third place driving the No. 44 Baby Bull Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.

Scott Blind made the most of his visit to the famed Brickyard road course capturing his first Porsche Carrera Cup North America Masters’ class victory in the Ruckus Racing No. 45. Chris Bellomo (Portola Valley, California) followed his first career Masters’ class win at Road America with a second-place finish at Indianapolis while his Kellymoss teammate, John Goetz (Weston, Connecticut), was third in the No. 57 Porsche.

Round 12. Saturday. September 21, 2024.

By virtue of setting the second-fastest lap in qualifying on Friday, Loek Hartog again started from pole position on Saturday. While Alex Sedgwick pressed hard throughout the race, the championship points leader was able to pull away late in the race to earn his seventh victory of the 2024 season. Sedgwick finished in second place – his fourth-straight podium finish this season. The result keeps the No. 98 PT Autosport JDX Racing Porsche within 76 points of Hartog and keeps the championship alive with four race events remaining. Hartog has accumulated 262 points to date, including sweeping every point this weekend for race wins, pole positions and fastest race lap. Dan Clarke drove the No. 64 Era Motorsports Porsche to a third-place finish in race two on Saturday.

Once again, the Pro-Am class race was hotly contested. During the race Jordan Wallace (Annapolis, Maryland) paced the field in the No. 23 Kellymoss Porsche. Lap after lap he was able to hold off former class champion Metni, but near the middle of the race, Metni was able to draw from his extensive experience to pass Wallace and pull a gap before the checkered flag fell. Just behind, Wallace was feeling the pressure of veterans Marco Cirone (Canada), Moisey Uretsky (Miami, Florida) and two-time champion Efrin Castro (Dominican Republic) closing out the top five. While the on-track battle was intense, the championship fight is even closer. With Metni going to victory lane in both races, the 2022 class champion jumps from fourth place to the lead by a single point (187). Uretsky holds 186 markers and Cirone – who entered the race in the points lead – falls to third but only three points behind Metni.

The Masters class saw Richard Edge earn his second victory of the season – the first coming in race two at Watkins Glen. The championship leader, Matt Halcome (Dallas, Georgia) earned a second-place finish with race one winner Scott Blind standing on the third step of the Masters’ podium. Perhaps the most significant moment for the championship came on the opening lap when Chris Bellomo retired after contact, dropping further behind Halcome. The Georgian now leads the Californian 246 – 215 points.

• Pro class winners.

o Race 1 & 2 Loek Hartog, No. 24 Kellymoss

• Pro-Am class winners.

o Race 1 & 2. Alan Metni, No. 99 Kellymoss

• Masters class winners.

o Race 1. Scott Blind, No. 45 Ruckus Racing

o Race 2. Richard Edge, No. 18 ACI Motorsports

• On point.

o Pro class. Loek Hartog, No. 24 Kellymoss

o Pro-Am class. Alan Metni, No. 99 Kellymoss

o Masters class. Matt Halcome, No. 55 ACI Motorsports

o Entrant. Kellymoss

• To the point. Complete Porsche Carrera Cup North America point standings can be found at: https://porschecarreracup.us/standings/ .

• Broadcast. All 2024 races are archived on Porsche Motorsport North America TV: (https://www.youtube.com/c/PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica).

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

• Next Up. October 9 – 11, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia, Rounds 13 and 14.

Quotes.

Loek Hartog, No. 24 Kellymoss, Pro Winner, Race 1 and 2.

“Coming into Indy, I didn’t expect to get two more wins, but I am extremely happy with that. Alex [Sedgwick] made it very difficult for me in the beginning to pull away. But I knew I had a strong car for the end of the race. I managed to have a very consistent race both days. I can’t wait for Road Atlanta. It is our next one and the one I am most looking forward to.”

Alan Metni, No. 99 Kellymoss. Pro-Am Winner, Race 1 and 2.

“The battle with Jordan [Wallace] was a lot of fun. A lot of clean, fun racing. I enjoy coming here. We have had good pace all year. We haven’t been able to put it all together, but we finally did and that was an awesome result. If I win out from here for the rest of the year, that will make me happy. That’s my goal. “

Scott Blind, No. 45 Ruckus Racing. Masters Winner, Race 1.

“That was a hard-fought race. A lot of tight racing. We had a really good car. We had a great race with Chris [Bellomo]. It is always just a fabulous time. The crew did an amazing job. What a great place to win!”

Richard Edge, No. 18 ACI Motorsports, Masters Winner, Race 2.

“That felt really good. Yesterday we had some tough luck. My radio went out so I didn’t hear the track limit warnings yesterday and that cost me a ten second penalty so that was tough day. I focused on today, got a good start and focused on hitting my marks and keeping the guys behind me. Overall, I am happy. Really happy for everyone.”

• Broadcast. Races air live at PorscheCarreraCup.us, on the IMSA YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@imsaofficial, on the Peacock streaming app and at IMSA.tv. All are archived on the Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica.

• On the web. www.PorscheCarreraCup.us.

  • Image courtesy of Porsche Motorsport North America.

09222024