INDIANAPOLIS – The Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama steams towards its second season with great momentum.
The Porsche Motorsport Pyramid North America series will have access to the newest Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car, the type 992, for its top class and a strong seven-race schedule developed to minimize conflicts with other major sports car racing events. In addition, Porsche Motorsport North America and USAC announced the formation of the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West, a six-weekend season developed to provide race teams in the western United States and Canada a more geographically favorable travel schedule.
Unveiled in October 2020 and running its first race at Sebring International Raceway in March 2021, the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America is the first one-make racing step on the Motorsport Pyramid, a tier below the premier single-brand Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands. With the goal of moving drivers, teams and marketing partners from club level racing to a more professional and competitive environment, the series plays an intricate role in the growth and development of Porsche Motorsport.
Buoyed by the success and positive impact of the championship, Yokohama Tire will remain as the sole tire partner and supplier to both the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama and the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama.
The Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama championship will launch its sophomore season at the location of its first event, Sebring Int’l Raceway. The famous Sebring, Fla., facility will host the twin, 40-minute races, March 12–13 in conjunction with the World Endurance Championship test days. It is one week prior to the classic endurance event, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Just more than one month later, the new Ozark International Raceway in Gravois Springs, Mo., will host Porsche Sprint Challenge as its first major motorsport event, April 22–24. The 3.87-mile, 19-turn facility will provide an exciting setting for the early season rounds.
Virginia Int’l Raceway in Alton, Va., returns to the schedule for the second year, June 3–5 to start the summer season of racing. Later that month, July 1–3, the Sprint Challenge North America will join the NTT IndyCar Series at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. This will be the first time for the series at the 2.258-mile track in Lexington, Ohio, and the only time the series will run with the open wheel racing championship. On July 29–31, Road America will pair the Sprint Challenge North America with the Sprint Challenge USA West for the final of three doubleheader one-make weekends during the season.
The season will close in Austin, Texas at the Circuit of the Americas. The Formula 1 circuit will play host to the finale, Sept. 16-18. An additional race date will be held in the month of September.
The success of the inaugural season of the USAC-managed Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama, coupled with requests from teams based west of the Mississippi River, has moved up the launch of the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama. Originally anticipated as a future development to help ease the burden on west coast race teams interested in participating at the Challenge level of the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid, demand was so great after the first year of the Sprint Challenge that USAC and PMNA shifted the debut of the six-race season to occur in 2022.
Opening its first race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on April 1–3. From Monterey, Calif., the West championship will travel north to Sonoma Raceway, April 15–16, to join the SRO in the Wine Country of California. The series will have the first of four flex events – races at which competitors can pick two to count toward the total of six championship points paying events – at the Ozark Int’l Raceway on April 22–24 with the Sprint Challenge North America championship.
Competitors can pick VIR (June 3–5), Road America (July 29–31), as additional flex options. Utah Motorsports Campus in Tooele, Utah, will play host to rounds of the USA West, Aug. 12–14. The series will join the North America championship at COTA for the final two rounds, crowning its champions Sept. 16–18. Another race date will be held in the month of September, again in conjunction with the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America which is also offered as a flex option.
“The first year growth of the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama exceeded our high expectations,” said Erik Skirmants, Series Manager, Porsche Motorsport North America. “The championship grew to include one of the largest all-Porsche starting grids anywhere in the world at Road America. That positioned us to accelerate our strategy for 2022 introducing the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West well ahead of schedule. Kevin [Miller], Randy [Hembrey] and the entire USAC staff have accomplished what many thought was impossible for a first year series. Going forward, they have crafted a schedule that includes incredible venues that will be hugely popular with our Porsche customers. In addition, they have done so without restricting those same customers from competing in every Porsche-supported race series in the United States and Canada. That was thought to be impossible, but it supports why USAC was chosen to guide the Sprint Challenge level of our Pyramid. They understand our objectives and the goals of the Porsche one-make customer at this level.”