After running separate opening round events at Sebring International Raceway and Spring Mountain for Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama and Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West – both series are set to feature on the same weekend for the first time this year at Sonoma Raceway this weekend.
Between the two series, a total of 63 Porsche race cars are entered – both the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS versions.
It won’t be just the individual championship battles on the line at Sonoma; the weekend also will feature the second round of the Porsche Endurance Challenge North America.
All the Sonoma race action from both championships will be streamed live on the Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube channel.
PORSCHE SPRINT CHALLENGE NORTH AMERICA BY YOKOHAMA
The opening round of Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama was held at Sebring International Raceway last month with teenage newcomer Cole Kleck making an immediate impact by sweeping both Pro-Am races in the GT3 Cup category with Topp Racing.
The rookie finished ahead of fellow Texas driver and 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup Pro-Am champion, Alan Metni in both instances. Robert Tutino – who was a two-time polesitter at the historic circuit in 2023 – finished third twice with his Canadian outfit, VPX Motorsports.
In the 992 GT3 Cup Masters class, David Williams controlled the first race of the weekend to win with TPC Racing, in addition to finishing third on the overall podium.
The battle for the remaining Masters podium positions, though, was a duel between Daryn Dean and Scott Blind. While the latter held the runner-up spot at the start, he gave way to Dean with 20 minutes to go in the contest.
However, it was a reversal in Race 2 on Saturday, as Blind – the 2024 Sprint Challenge 992 GT3 Cup Masters champion – captured his first victory of 2025.
In the Cayman battle, Jens Hanston added his name to a long list of drivers who successfully continue to climb the Porsche Motorsport ladder.
In 2023, Hanston emerged atop the PCA Club Racing GTD2 podium charts. Two years later to open the 2025 Porsche Sprint Challenge North America season, he finished atop both races for the Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport class.
Hanston held off fierce pressure from Kellymoss racer Loni Unser in both races. Unser wasn’t the only female on the grid who had an impressive opening weekend, as Anna Cecchi scored a double podium with a third female racer, Erika Hoffmann finishing fourth in both events in Pro-am.
In the Cayman Masters class, Alain Scalzo – who finished second in the 2024 Cayman Masters championship – had a dominant performance in both races.
PORSCHE ENDURANCE CHALLENGE NORTH AMERICA
Blind backed up his race two Sebring win with a solo run to victory in the opening round of Porsche Endurance Challenge North America.
The Ruckus Racing driver sealed his win with 10 minutes remaining in the two-hour enduro. Blind made his winning pass on fellow Sprint Challenge Masters driver Daryn Dean, driving inside of Turn 17 and setting sail to win by more than four seconds.
Dean, meanwhile, co-drove to his own Pro-Am class victory alongside Alec Udell and the Kellymoss team while still finishing second overall.
The duo of Charlie Hayes and Reinhold Krahn finished second in the Am class behind Blind, while Frank Vitiello and Daniel Bloom paired up to finish third.
Rounding out the Pro-Am class was Mike Mim and Zachary Vanier in second, with Dan Ammann and Owen Trinkler in third.
In the Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport categories, Charles Espenlaub and Brandon Chappell with HM Road Racing finished first amongst the Pro-Am pairings after starting the race first-in-class.
PORSCHE SPRINT CHALLENGE USA WEST
Two weeks ago, another young star shone bright to take both race wins in the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West opening round at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch.
After finishing on the podium multiple times but eluding victory in 2024, Luke French conquered the top step for the first time in both rounds, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for Competition Motorsports. French was untouchable at Spring Mountain, starting from pole, and leading every lap en route to the win.
Behind French, however, was an avid battle between drivers Daniel Hanley and Brannan Hankins, with Competition Motorsports and Loftus Motorsports, respectively.
Hanley bested Hankins by an even three-tenths of a second in Race 1 for runner-up, while Hankins flipped the deck on Sunday to secure second by nearly 11 seconds.
In the 992 GT3 Cup Masters category, Premier Racing’s Douglas Brandt led home his teammate Michael Lando in both races.
While the weekend sweep by Henry Marshall will go down in the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport victory books, it was not easy to achieve. However, a home-track advantage certainly helped, as his HM Road Racing team – based out of Spring Mountain – started both rounds first and finished first.
Following behind were a handful of pursuits. Tim Smith – a data team specialist-turned-driver for BR Racing – finished runner-up within two seconds of Race 1 behind Marshall and in third place after Race 2.
Meanwhile, Greg Herback – Smith’s teammate at BR Racing – fought for his inaugural podium of the season after finishing fourth in Race 1 and climbing past his competitors in Race 2 for the runner-up spot.
This weekend at Sonoma, a total of six sprint races will be contested across the two championships with the weekend finishing with a 90-minute battle at the second round of Porsche Endurance Challenge North America on Sunday.
