Riley Dickinson can now remove ‘provisional’ from his title as 2023 Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America champion.
The Texas resident overcame the pressure of the competition and performing in front of his hometown crowd to win both rounds at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA). Sunday’s 16th round of the 16-race season was a pole position to checkered flag for the 21-year-old driver of the No. 53 Racing For Children’s Kellymoss Porsche. It concluded the third season of the premier Porsche one-make series the same way it started: a pole-to-victory race for Dickinson.
“It was a bit chaotic,” he said. “A bit of a messy race. Ultimately, I think we put on a good race for the fans. We had a little bit of everything: some full course yellows, some restarts, quite a bit of action in turn one. Taking what we learned [from the first race], I had a good idea of what to expect from the restarts. Bringing in what we learned on those restarts, I was able to use it today to put our best foot forward.
“This has been a pretty surreal event. It being my home track it is pretty special, but I think it has been for all the teams. What a fantastic way to finish out our season. This is a testament to everyone at Kellymoss. When I heard we had the opportunity to finish our season at COTA, I was thrilled. I knew how much this event means to the world of racing but also to me and to my partner Porsche of Austin. It has been a special experience. Thank you to our friends at Racing For Children’s, it has been a special journey with them.”
In the Pro-Am class, James Sofronas scored back-to-back wins in his first trip into the series in 2023. While having no impact on Pro-Am championship – which had already been settled in the favor of Efrin Castro in the No. 65 Kellymoss Porsche – Sofronas’s wins were impressive for the driver returning from early season testing injuries.
“We are going to have a bigger involvement in Carrera Cup North America next year and I wanted to experience it for myself firsthand,” Sofronas said.
“I thoroughly enjoyed it. I knew the race was going to be rough and tumble, so having probably 500 starts in different series in my career, I knew what to expect. At one point at the start, I got hit on both sides and the steering wheel snapped 90-degrees. I was in midair while a car was four-wheels up on the inside curbing in [Turn] 2. I don’t know how I didn’t wreck. I think the only reason I didn’t was because I just hit a car to my left and to my right and it straightened me out. Car still felt good. The car was strong, and the brakes were good. I got PJ [Hyett] in Turn 8 and he gave me the room and we went two-by-two all the way into Turn 1, but I was able to out brake him and pull away. All-in-all the guys did a great job. As a team owner I am pleased with the effort and personally happy to get a few wins here.”
The finale also witnessed championship runs by Mark Kvamme, who needed to score wins in the Am class for both races. Following early race contact, his primary rival and MDK Motorsports teammate Scott Noble retired from the event and was awarded last place. Kvamme kept a cool head and not only earned the spots needed to win the title, but he also scored his eighth race win of the year in the No. 43.
“This was 100 percent not the way I wanted to win this championship,” said Kvamme. “Scott has been such a great competitor all season long. He races super fair. We had a great race [on Saturday]. I wanted to battle with him and see what happens. I hate to say it but, that’s racing. That has happened to me in the past and I feel really bad for him. At the beginning of the season, I had him. But then he just put this head down and worked. He came right at me. Right now, he is faster than me. So, I just had to be as smart as I could in the races. It has been a great year.”
Porsche Motorsport North America will announce the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup North America on Monday, October 23.