Van Berlo earns Porsche Carrera Cup North America Saturday Long Beach Win

Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands – Long Beach – Rounds 3 of 16

Long Beach, California. Kay van Berlo (Netherlands living in Miami, Florida) earned his third-straight Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands victory of the season today at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. The Pro class points leader raced from the overall pole position to the win in the No. 3 Kelly Moss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car. In the Pro-Am class, Alan Metni (Austin, Texas) added to the Kelly Moss tally with his second win of the 2022 season in the premier one-make race series. Wright Motorsports driver John Goetz (Weston, Connecticut) piloted the No. 57 to the Am class win in Round 3 of the 16 race series. Round 4 will close out the Long Beach, California weekend on Sunday, April 10.

Pro Class.
Despite ambient temperatures being nearly 20-degrees Fahrenheit lower than Friday’s practice day, the heat stayed high at the front of the Pro class grid in today’s 40-minute race on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street circuit in Southern California. Van Berlo brought the 32-car grid down to the green flag with Trenton Estep (San Antonio, Texas) in the No. 6 MDK Motorsports Porsche. Joined by Riley Dickinson (New Braunfels, Texas) in the No. 53 Kelly Moss machine and No. 58 Topp Racing Porsche of TJ Fischer (Vacaville, California), the Pro class was a battle each green flag lap. Estep would be forced into a runoff lane falling into the pack early. On his fight back to the front, he would be involved in an incident at the famous Long Beach “Hairpin” final corner, which would end his day as well as the No. 81 ACI Motorsports Porsche of Grant Talkie (Sarasota, Florida).

The issue in the hairpin would include more cars when the leaders completed the lap. When the Kelly Moss teammates crossed a line of fluid at the apex of the hairpin, both spun, others would follow. Van Berlo was able to execute a pirouette and maintain the lead. Dickinson, close behind him, who was closer to the wall when he spun, took longer to return to the pace and fell to sixth-position. A short green period left most cars in the same order before a yellow would fall again. Unable to clear the track in time, Round 3 of the championship finished under caution with van Berlo leading the No. 9 JDX Racing Porsche of Parker Thompson (Canada), the No. 58 of Fischer, the McCann Racing No. 8 of Michael McCann (Canton, Ohio) and the No. 11 Deluxe 311RS Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car of Dimitri Dimakos (Chicago, Illinois) rounding out the top-five. Van Berlo extends his points lead over Thompson with a second 40-minute race scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Van Berlo will start from pole position in race two. He set the fastest race lap with a time of one-minute, 19.660. It was his second sub-1:20 lap making him the only driver in the field to break that barrier.

Pro-Am Class.
Metni captured his second win of the season having taken the first Pro-Am class victory of the season in Round 1 at the Sebring season opener. His primary protagonist in the Pro-Am points battle, Kelly Moss teammate Efrin Castro (Dominican Republic) in the No. 65, suffered a first lap end to his race when the pink and black Porsche was forced up onto the curbing surrounding the fountain corner. Castro became high-centered but was able to extricate himself. However, the damage was great enough that he was unable to continue. The 2021 Pro-Am class champion would finish 32nd today. Jeff Mosing (Austin, Texas) chased Metni across the line in the No. 56 Topp Racing Porsche. Curt Swearingin (Chattanooga, Tennessee) raced the No. 17 ACI Motorsports machine to a third-place finish in class.

Am Class.
Wright Motorsports returned to the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Am class victory circle with John Goetz (Weston, Connecticut) in the No. 57. Bill Smith (Dallas, Texas) put the Topp Racing No. 42 in second-place with Robert Hanley (Foxfield, Colorado) giving JDX a second podium on the day with a third-place in the Am class.

To the point.
Van Berlo padded his points lead with the win and fastest race lap in Race 1. The 2021 Pro class runner-up entered with 55 points – 17 over Dickinson – but enters Round 4 with a total of 85 markers. An additional 25 for the win, four for the two pole positions and one for fastest race lap. By virtue of his second-place finish, Thompson gains one spot moving into second-place in the points with 54.

Where to Watch.
Replays of both races can be found on Porsche Motorsport North America TV presented by Deluxe: (https://www.youtube.com/c/PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica).

Next Up.
Round 4 of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands will take the green flag tomorrow, Sunday, April 10, at 4:20 p.m. local time (7:20 p.m. ET).

Kay van Berlo, No. 3 Kelly Moss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
“I was able to get a good run at the start. I knew if I could get through sector one clean, the rest of the sectors would be safe and that is what happened. I was able to build a small gap and that put me in a safe spot. First time racing here so it is a bit of a guess of what the balance is going to be like, how quick are we going to be? Pretty soon we got down to really fast times and I thought ‘geez, this is going to be quicker than qualifying.’ We got down to a pretty good lap time which gave us the pole position for tomorrow. It was a little confusing because we didn’t have great radio communication here. We came around the corner and I see a bunch of cars standing there. I took a big angle to make it and I barely tapped the throttle, probably not even five percent, and I lost it right away. I saw Dickinson in my mirror, and he does the exact same thing. When I felt I lost it I just went full throttle hoping I would do a 360 which worked out. It worked out for me but it didn’t for Riley. I have to say, that was part luck and we had a pretty good gap. When the other guys came around the corner and they saw me and Riley they slowed down significantly which allowed me to stay in lead position.

The thing about racing here is that the track is different every lap. There is debris on track, someone goes off, there is a yellow here and a double yellow somewhere else. There is a lot going on and a really small margin of error. I am super happy we came home with the fastest lap, the win and good points for the championship. A bit too hectic for comfort but we ended-up on the right side.”

Porsche: Why We Race.
Our racing drives your Porsche. Motorsport is more than a marketing platform to Porsche. It is who we are, it is in our DNA. We race to improve the breed. Research and Development leads our motorsport programs around the world to ensure the lessons we learn on the race track today become the technological heart and soul of your Porsche tomorrow. Porsche Motorsport North America is the sole importer for the Porsche 911 GT3 R, Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport and Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars in the United States and Canada.

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. The second season of the championship is scheduled to host 16-rounds at eight venues. Each 40-minute race counts toward a season-long driver and team championship in each of three classes: Pro, Pro-Am and Am.

More on Porsche Carrera Cup North America by The Cayman Islands can be found at www.PorscheCarreraCup.us.
About Porsche Cars North America, Inc. | One Porsche Drive, Atlanta, GA 30354 USA
Established in 1984, Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA) is the exclusive U.S. importer of the Porsche 911, 718 Boxster, 718 Cayman, Macan, Cayenne, Panamera and Taycan. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, since 1998, PCNA is also home to the first Porsche Experience Center in North America featuring a module-based 1.6 mile driver development track, business center, and fine dining restaurant, 356. The company operates a second Porsche Experience Center near Los Angeles. That 53-acre complex features a driver development track with eight educational modules totaling 4.1 miles, a business center, and Restaurant 917. PCNA supports 194 independently owned and operated Porsche dealerships in the U.S., including supplying parts, service, marketing, and training. They, in turn, work to provide Porsche customers with a best-in-class experience that is in keeping with the Porsche brand's more than 70-year history of leadership in the advancement of vehicle performance, safety, and efficiency. PCNA is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Porsche AG, which is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.

At the core of this success is Porsche's proud racing heritage that boasts some 30,000-plus motorsport wins to date.

Image courtesy of Porsche Motorsport North America, Bob Chapman

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