ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. (August 7, 2024) — Our inaugural Porsche Carrera Cup North America proved successful as Dan Clarke managed his second podium finish of the year in his first weekend running with our team, while Sabré Cook also earned a top-ten finish in the first race of the weekend.
In addition to our successful debut with the Porsche Carrera Cup, our flagship IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship LMP2 team went all the way from starting in P11 to fighting for a podium position and finishing in fourth, maintaining our championship position of third place and closing the gap to the leaders!
The weekend makes for a promising end of the year as just two more events await the IWSC, and three remain for the PCCNA.
Podium Finish in Porsche Debut
The IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America was the first event with Dan Clarke, Sabré Cook, and Kenton King joining Era Motorsport’s newly formed Porsche Carrera Cup North America team after the trio’s previous team pulled out of the series halfway through the season.
While it was a difficult transition, the hard work and dedication of the mechanics, crew, drivers, and team representatives meant the team was ready to impress when the first practice session rolled around on Thursday afternoon.
Dan Clarke immediately made his mark driving the No. 64 Reis-Nichols Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to the second-fastest time in the session with a 2:09.799, less than one-tenth of a second off of the session leader.
Clarke repeated his second-fastest performance in qualifying when on his final flying lap he put in a 2:08.370 to secure his position on the front row of the grid for the start of Race 1 on Saturday.
While Clarke got off to a great start in Race 1, damage to his front splitter on the second lap stunted his speed, leading to a solidly impressive top-10 finish, crossing the line in sixth place.
Sunday’s Race 2 saw Clarke starting fourth on the grid, but finding his way into the lead after just a few turns, and then battling hard with the pole-sitter for the majority of the first lap before a caution came out while Clarke was in second. Eventually, at the end of the 40-minute race, Clarke had kept at the front of the pack and made his way onto the podium in third, matching his highest finish of the season with his podium at Watkins Glen.
“This result today is the best way I can thank Era Motorsport for the last month,” Clarke said. “Working with them has been a breeze, they were really patient getting this new program started.”
“My teammates deserve a lot of credit for being here too. I wish they were able to get the results they deserved this weekend because they've worked tirelessly to make it here.”
“Thank you to my old 2022 Porsche Together Fest winning team Bartlett Performance for taking time out of their lives to bring our Reis-Nichols Motorsports car back to Indianapolis and under the Era roof.”
“I even get to continue the relationship with my engineer Chris and some of the mechanics I worked with this year. Having all these parties come together, roll their sleeves up, and get straight to work, for the passion of motorsport, and for me, is something I'm really grateful for and proud to be a part of.”
“The Porsche Carrera Cup Series is not easy, but somehow we managed to be consistently in the top 3 this weekend. I credit that to everyone.”
Sabré Cook made her way to a top-10 finish in the No. 37 PenFed Credit Union/privé products car on Saturday despite another competitor pushing her off the track with just twelve minutes remaining in the race. Cook fell from seventh to eleventh but worked her way back up to ninth for her sixth top-ten of the season.
Cook was also on her way to another top-ten finish in the second race running ninth when a mechanical issue on the fourteenth lap forced her retirement.
“I’m so proud and impressed by the first-time effort of ERA in the Carrera Cup. To hit the ground running mid-season in such a competitive series is a big ask and the whole crew really pulled together to make this happen for Dan, Kenton, and myself."
"We had a strong pace all weekend and I’m really happy for Dan to go out there and clinch a podium for the team!"
"I wish we could’ve also secured two top-10 finishes for the team but circumstances outside our control deterred that. Nevertheless, the pace was there and I’m really optimistic for future results with the team.”
Kenton King also saw success running in the No. 74 Mint Group car as high as fifth in class in the first practice session, and performing 11 overtakes in Race 2.
Team owner Kyle Tilley was happy with the team’s first outing after all the effort put in across the board.
“Despite being gutted for the way Sabrés race 2 ended, overall I couldn’t be happier with how things went for our first outing in the Carrera Cup North America” he said. “With how quickly everything had to come together for this, I wasn’t sure what to expect when we showed up to the track this week, but it seems like all of our hard work paid off!”
“It was a trial by fire that really pushed us with regard to pulling everything together, but the results speak for themselves. I’m incredibly thankful to Dan, Sabré, and Kenton for the opportunity and coming on board with Era; as well as all our new crew members who have come along for the ride. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for us.”
The next round of the Porsche Carrera Cup will take place September 20-22 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as part of the IMSA Battle on the Bricks, before heading to Road Atlanta and Circuit of the Americas to finish out the year.
Wiltshire Scores Fourth in Second-Ever IMSA Race
Returning this weekend to the IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship, Stuart Wiltshire made his second start with us in the No. 18 LMP2 car alongside full-season driver Ryan Dalziel.
The IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America marked Wiltshire’s second-ever start in the series after his first event at the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last month.
Despite starting 11th on the grid, Wiltshire got to work moving through the field once the green flag dropped on Sunday, reaching 8th in class by lap 15 with two cautions during that time.
When Ryan Dalziel took over as the driver for the second part of the race, Wiltshire had already gotten the car to sixth place, ready for the three-time Rolex 24 Winner to push for the remaining half of the race.
Dalziel continued to move the No. 18 through the field, reaching third place with the help of some pit strategy before a block from a GTD car with a puncture dropped him behind another competitor putting him in fourth, where he finished the race.
“It really was a great race here at Road America this weekend,” Dalziel said. “We’ve had a lot of success here in the past with two wins as a team, and while we didn’t end up on the podium this weekend I think we proved we still have the pace here even against such a massive LMP2 field.”
“Stuart has been acclimating really well to the car despite never having raced a prototype outside of historics until last month, so it’s been great seeing him find his speed and his confidence. He did really well in his stint and put me in a good position to finish off the race.”
“The engineers were excellent as always, giving me a fast car and calling a really great strategy, that combined with perfect pit stops from our crew put me up front for the final stint.”
“Glad we were able to shorten the points gap and maintain third in the championship this weekend. Hopefully, we can capitalize on that in Indianapolis next month.”
Wiltshire shared in the excitement as he watched Dalziel cross the finish line for his first-ever IMSA top-five.
“This weekend was an absolute blast!” he said. “Fourth place in my second-ever IMSA race is an incredible result, and I can’t thank the Era Motorsport crew enough for getting me here. All the guys on the team did a fantastic job, and were a pleasure to work with.”
“I feel like with seat time I’ve gotten a bit more confidence, and I suppose that shows in the results this weekend. Ryan was an excellent driver to share the car with and was constantly giving me tips and helping me find speed with each new session. Plus he put in one hell of a stint to finish off the race.”
“The race engineers Scott Besst and Nico Brisseau were on top of it all weekend too! Their help behind the scenes going through the data made a big difference, and their strategy calls throughout the race were top-notch.”
“Road America was such a fun track, and the massive crowd of fans that turned up made things even better.”
“Massive thanks to Kyle and Sarah for giving me the opportunity to fill in for Dwight these past few events. I really enjoyed myself and have made some lasting memories for sure.”
Finally, Kyle Tilley was also happy with the result to cap off the weekend.
“This was a great weekend for points!” he said. “We closed the gap to the championship leaders and still sit third overall so we’re quite happy with the result.”
“Stuart and Ryan were great on track and made for a great pair these past few events. I’ve been really impressed with Stuart’s growth in the car in such a short amount of time as well.”
“I’m super thankful for everyone on the LMP2 side of things, especially as Sarah and I were sometimes having to focus our attention elsewhere with the new Porsche program, everyone stepped up and brought their A-Game, and it shows!”
The next round for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be from September 20-22 with the six-hour IMSA Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before finishing the season at Road Atlanta for Petit Le Mans.
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