The Texan Has Led Every Lap through the First Three Races
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America points leader Riley Dickinson brought home his third straight Pro class victory Saturday as part of the Grand Prix of Long Beach. The first of two 40-minute feature events for the all-Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car series saw the 20 year-old Texan hold off early pressure to claim a pole-to-checkered flag victory in the No. 53 Kellymoss-prepared Porsche.
- Pro Class Winner: Riley Dickinson (No. 53 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).
- Pro-Am Class Winner: Alan Metni (No. 99 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup).
- Am Class Winner: Mark Kvamme (No. 42 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup)
Highlights:
- Green to Checker. This was the third straight race Dickinson has led start-to-finish.
- Four-Timer. Dickinson now has four series victories in his career. He has started all 35 races in the history of the Porsche one-make series.
- Staying Close. Series rookies Tom Sargent (No. 17 McElrea Racing) has finished second to Dickinson in all three of his North American race starts.
- Metni on Top. Alan Metni won his first race of the 2023 season. The 2022 Pro-Am class champion was elevated to the victory after race officials declared a start line infringement for Toronto’s Marco Cirone.
- No Amateur. Mark Kvamme won his second Am class race of the year in the MDK Motorsports car.
- Under Yellow. Unlike the season-opening races at Sebring International Raceway, Round 3 saw two separate caution periods, the second ending the race under yellow. The first incident involved John Goetz when the No. 57 Wright Motorsports Porsche was pushed into the flower bed at the famous fountain corner on Lap 1. He was unhurt but the car was not able to continue. The second incident involved Michael McCarthy, Travis Wiley and Jason Hart with eight minutes remaining in the race. McCarthy’s No. 7 Kellymoss Porsche and Wiley’s No. 77 Topp Racing-entered machine made contact. Wiley continued but the No. 7 was turned backwards against the wall with rear end damage. Hart rounded the corner and made heavy head-on contact with the green and white Porsche. All involved were evaluated and released from the infield care center.
Quotes:
Riley Dickinson, No. 53 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Winner, Race 1: “A bit tricky at the beginning. We fought a bit of understeer with the car. I don’t think we were expecting the track conditions to be what they were. The (first) full-course caution helped us quite a bit to get some temperature in the front tires, which is what I needed. When we went back green, we put together a few good laps and grew a gap. The full-course caution at the end of the race with my teammate Mike McCarthy was a disappointment. I feel bad for him, and I feel bad for the team.”
Mark Kvamme, No. 43 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Am Winner, Race 1: “Long Beach is just about survival. Those cement walls are very, very close. That first lap, I just wanted to survive, and I barely survived. I got hit from behind and I rear-ended the guy in front of me who rear-ended the guy in front of him. It was a big old stack up at the fountain. As the old expression goes, in order to finish first, you first must finish. I was just focused on that. My sponsor, Racing to End Alzheimer’s, is local, they are in Palos Verdes, so it is big to win for the sponsors.”