JDX Racing sweeps Porsche Carrera Cup North America Monterey weekend

Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands – Laguna Seca – Round 6 of 16

Monterey, California. JDX Racing earned two class victories in today’s sixth round of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands. With the overall win in both of the 40-minute races for the premier one-make series, Parker Thompson (Canada) led the veteran team at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in the No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. His teammate, Robert Hanley (Foxfield, Colorado), charged to his first career victory in the Am class at the Monterey, California-area track. Efrin Castro (Dominican Republic) returned to the Pro-Am class victory podium for Kelly Moss.

Pro Class.
Starting on the outside of Row 1, Thompson charged deep into the first two turns of the 2.338-mile, 11-turn track nosing ahead of polesitter Trenton Estep (San Antonio, Texas) into the second corner. From there, as he did in race one on Saturday, Thompson managed the Michelin tires, the track and the competition to stay ahead for the full 40-minute feature. Riley Dickinson (New Braunfels, Texas) crossed the finish-line in second-place after pressing Thompson from behind the wheel of the 500+ hp No. 53 for much of the event. Points leader Kay van Berlo (Netherlands, now living in Miami, Florida) was part of the one-two-three finish claiming third-place in the No. 3, just behind his Kelly Moss teammate. The top-five was completed by Estep, No. 4 MDK Motorsports Porsche and Leh Keen (Atlanta, Georgia) driving the No. 12 311RS Motorsports machine.

Pro-Am Class.
Efrin Castro returned to his winning ways after a difficult race one here in Monterey. The 2021 Pro-Am class champion drove to a clean win in the No. 65 Kelly Moss Porsche. Curt Swearingin (Chattanooga, Tennessee) earned his second podium of the weekend in the No. 17 ACI Motorsports Porsche. The second-place finish was the season-high for Swearingin after two third-places finishes. ACI teammate Pedro Torres (Wellington, Florida) was in third-place for the Chattanooga-based race team, his highest of the year.

Am Class.
Robert Hanley earned his first victory in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Am class bettering class points leader and race one winner Mark Kvamme (Columbus, Ohio) in the No. 43 MDK Motorsports Porsche. John Goetz (Weston Connecticut), who finished in second-place in Saturday’s first race, took the final step of the podium, driving the No. 57 Wright Motorsports Porsche to third-place. Hanley’s victory was made even more impressive after an accident in Race 1 forced the team to do extensive rear suspension repair in time to make the grid for this morning’s race.

To the point.
The weekend tightened the points battle in each of the three classes as well as the Entrants’ title chase. Van Berlo retains the Pro class championship lead with 143 points over Thompson’s 121. Dickinson holds third-place with 87 markers, two up on Estep who sits in fourth-place with 85. TJ Fisher (Vacaville, California) breaks into the top-five in points with 60 points captured in the No. 58 Topp Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. Despite an uncharacteristic 12th-place finish for Alan Metni (Austin, Texas) as a result of contact on track in Race 2, the 2021 class runner-up holds the Pro-Am class championship lead with 108 points in the No. 99 Kelly Moss machine. Justin Oakes (Houston, Texas) was also involved in the same incident but earned a fourth-place finish in class keeping the No. 47 Nolasport machine in second-place points with 95. Swearingin’s two-podium weekend closed the gap on the leaders with the Tennessean in third-place with 83 points. Castro holds fourth-place with 79. With 130 points, Kvamme is 25-points ahead of his nearest rival, Goetz. Hanley’s win and three earlier third-place finishes, has him in third-place of the Am category, one point ahead of Bill Smith (Dallas, Texas) with 94. For Entrants, JDX’s strong Monterey showing closed the Jeremy Dale-owned operation to within 13 of Kelly Moss, 137-124.

Next Up.
Following three event weekends since March – including two California events in the month of April – the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands will now take a May and much of June off. Round 7 and 8 will take place at Watkins Glen International in New York state, June 23 – 26.

Parker Thompson, No. 9 JDX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Pro Class Winner.
“Turn 2 at WeatherTech Laguna Seca treated the No. 9 JDX Motorsports Porsche pretty well this weekend. It seems like we could make that outside line work really well. We made all of our passes there this weekend. Today was a little different than yesterday’s race. Both the Kelly Moss cars [Thompson and van Berlo] were on their new Michelins. We were on our one-run qualifying tires. I had to earn my money on the first eight laps of the race, I had to keep Riley behind me, but our car was hooked-up so good. It was a rocket ship. I just had to keep it on track but, if I kept it on the black stuff, we were going to win that race.”

Efrin Castro, No. 65 Kell Moss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Pro-Am Class Winner.
“Today is a wonderful day. I came in first-place which is something I needed to do after yesterday’s mistake. I was able to bounce back and, by the grace of God, we came away with the victory. The team did an excellent job with the setup of the car. I couldn’t be more thankful to Kelly Moss for the work that they do. This was a win a needed to accomplish this weekend.”

Robert Hanley, No. 4 JDX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Am Class Winner.
“We had a tough day yesterday. This is how JDX Racing bounces back. It was a very good day. [After the repair for damage sustained in Race 1] I have complete trust in the team and the work that they do. They did everything they needed to do to make sure the car was right, and it was perfect. The bigger challenge was that when we arrived here today, we had overcast skies and we thought we would have lower temperatures for the day. So, we went a little bit higher on tire pressures. When the skies cleared, that meant we were a little overinflated. I had to manage that the last four or five laps as it became more pronounced as temperatures and pressures increased. We were able to manage pace. It was a big step for me to come and join this series this year. It is a new race car, a new team for me. My son, Daniel, is my car chief so we are able to do this together. I am a proud Dad.”

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.

05012022

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