Road America was once again a bustling site for the Porsche Sprint Challenge by Yokohama series, which brought together its North America and USA West championships for a joint event at Elkhart Lake. Additionally, the fan-favorite track played host to the second of four Porsche Endurance Challenge North America races in its inaugural season of competition.
Across the three championships – which totaled to seven races on the weekend – more than 100 Porsches took to the longest racetrack on the circuit at 4.048-miles, all battling for points as the 2024 season nears its end.
Porsche Endurance Challenge North America:
Emerging victorious in the second round of Porsche Endurance Challenge North America was Charlie Hayes in a solo driving effort aboard the No. 233 Porsche 992 GT3 Cup. The Charlie Hayes Racing squad elected to delay its mandatory pit stop as others planned the opposite, and Hayes cycled to the lead as a result.
He kept the lead and went on for the win, but faced fierce pressure from Nik Romano – whose Porsche he shared with Therese Lahlouh – which was on the same strategy. Fresh from her first Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama podium at Watkins Glen, Lahlouh again impressed to run at the front before handing over to here teammate.
Romano loomed large in Hayes’ mirrors in the closing laps, but could not prevail before the checkered flag. Elliott Skeer and Aaron Jeansonne finished third to make it a double podium for Charlie Hayes Racing.
The Cayman Pro-Am class struck trouble immediately at the drop of the green flag. A hard, multiple-car collision on the front stretch brought out a lengthy red flag. The hour-long race was delayed until just before the 30-minute mark – while the drivers thankfully were uninjured – several cars and the Road America pit wall were heavily damaged.
Despite the wreckage at the start, the remaining Cayman competitors settled in during the race and it was Ian Porter with Rafa Racing Team by JDX who also captured the win in a standalone effort. The duo of Michael Clark and Loek Hartog scored the runner-up position with Rob Walker in third.
Porsche Endurance Challenge North America – Race Results
Porsche Sprint Challenge North America:
Jared Thomas notched his eighth and ninth wins of 2024 in the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup class, and did so with fun “intersquad” flair particularly on Sunday. After sailing to the win on Saturday from pole position – and in a new racecar after an incident in the last round at Watkins Glen International – Thomas battled door-to-door for the lead with series newcomer Aaron Jeansonne (Charlie Hayes Racing).
Thomas, owner of JTR Motorsports Engineering, fields Jeannsonne’s entry in a separate single-make series and was sure to show off his Porsche skills to his protégé. Thomas made a switch back move on Jeansonne about 10 minutes into the sprint race, looking to his outside before diving to the inside, to make the winning pass.
In his Sprint Challenge debut, Jeansonne finished on the podium twice with third place on Saturday and second place on Sunday behind his team boss. He swapped podium spots with Paul Bocuse, who finished second in Race 1 and third in Race 2 for MDK Motorsports.
Scott Blind with Ruckus Racing made significant strides in his fight for the 992 Masters class championship with a win and runner-up finish. Blind entered Road America just 21 points behind Mark Boden, whose best finish this weekend was third. Blind’s second-place result on Saturday came behind part-timer Peter Atwater, while Kyle Washington and Rob Walker also took home podium trophies.
In the 991 GT3 Cup class, Dimitri Dimakos with Honey Badger Motorsports scored both victories, although the true championship battle was between podium finishers Niels Meissner and Tony Malito. The pair were separated by only 19 points ahead of Road America, and Meissner finished one position ahead of Malito in both rounds.
In the 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport class, Endurance Challenge winner Ian Porter led another weekend sweep, while the female trio of Loni Unser, Chloe Chambers and Caroline Candas spiritedly battled in both sprints for the remaining podium positions. All three brought momentum to Road America – Chambers coming off an F1 Academy win in Barcelona, Candas being the most recent class winner from Watkins Glen, and Unser finishing runner-up in the same race for her best finish of the season.
All three ladies ultimately scored a podium at Road America. Unser finished second in Race 1 and third in Race 2, Candas finished third in Race 1 and Chambers finished runner-up in Race 2.
The 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport Masters class lineup shuffled throughout both races at Road America, with Alain Scalzo of Scalzo Autosport and William Peluchiwski of Kellymoss earning the victories. The points were crucial for Scalzo, who continues to chase Michael Clark in the championship. Clark lucked into second place on Saturday following a crash ahead of him and finished fourth on Sunday to maintain a large points advantage going into the finale at Sonoma.
Patrick Dempsey, meanwhile, finished second for his first Sprint Challenge podium on Sunday. The trophy comes after hard- fought battles all weekend with fellow Cayman Masters drivers, even one that resulted in a last-lap incident taking away what could have been a double podium weekend.
Porsche Sprint Challenge North America GT3 Cup Results – Race 1 and Race 2
Porsche Sprint Challenge North America 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport Results – Race 1 and Race 2
Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West:
Blake Mcdonald of BR Racing and Anthony Mcintosh of JTR Motorsports Engineering split Porsche 992 GT3 Cup Pro-Am class victories among the USA West competitors at Road America.
Mcintosh controlled Race 1 on Saturday before Mcdonald made his late move for the win, his sixth of the season, to expand his championship points lead.
However, in Race 2, Mcintosh returned the favor early into the bout en route to his victory on Sunday.
Casey Dennis powered to a podium finish in Race 1 and was poised for the same in Race 2, but a battle with John Dubets in the closing minutes saw both drivers run wide in Turn 1 and Dennis ultimately spin.
Dubets then pulled to pit lane just ahead of the checkered flag, giving way to teammate Patrick Mulcahy for third place and his first podium of 2024.
In the 992 Masters class, Kevin Woods swept his third consecutive weekend with BR Racing, even finishing top three overall on Sunday. The remaining podium positions mirrored each other in both races, with Kyle Washington finishing second and Laura Ely finishing third.
Michael Gaulke with Competition Motorsports also swept his Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport Masters class at Road America, doing so even after an unpinned hood forced him to start from the back of the pack in Race 2.
Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West Results – Race 1 and Race 2
One event remains for both Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and USA West by Yokohama, and it will be another joint event albeit this time on the home soil for USA West.
Both championships will head to Sonoma Raceway on September 27 – 29 for their season finales. Additionally, the track in Northern California will host the third of four Porsche Endurance Challenge North America events, with only Circuit of The Americas remaining on the single-make series’ 2024 calendar.
Race replays for all North American Porsche one-make series are available on the Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube channel.
