DANVILLE, Virginia (June 5, 2023) – TPC Racing and the team’s four drivers put together another winning and multiple podium weekend at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) with a Cayman-class victory Sunday and a total haul of six podium finishes over two days in another productive weekend of USAC Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama competition.
In its third year in Porsche Sprint Challenge, TPC Racing has scored at least one victory and a string of podium finishes in the year’s first three race weekends. The initial win of the season and in TPC’s Porsche Sprint Challenge career came in the first race weekend of the year at Sebring International Raceway in March. David Williams captured a Porsche GT3 992 Am class victory in his TPC Racing No. 237 Mission BBQ Porsche 992 GT3 Cup at Sebring and hasn’t finished off the podium since.
In addition to a second 992 Am victory in April at Barber Motorsports Park, a pair of podium results this weekend at VIR – third Saturday and second on Sunday – have let Williams build his early-season 992 Am championship lead after the first six races of the year.
The year’s other race winner is Porsche Junior driver Chloe Chambers who drove to her third Porsche Sprint Challenge Cayman class win of the season Sunday at VIR in the No. 70 Monoflo International Cayman GT4 Clubsport.
Chambers swept both weekend Cayman sprints from the pole in her series debut at Barber and recovered from being knocked out of contention in the first turn at the start of Saturday’s Cayman race at VIR for a convincing and controlled win Sunday.
Chambers’ victories are the first overall wins for TPC Racing in Porsche Sprint Challenge. Combined with Williams’ pair of 992 Am wins, TPC Racing’s career-win total in the all-Porsche Sprint Challenge series has quickly grown to five races in this year’s opening trio of event weekends.
Joining Williams as a double-podium finisher at VIR was the returning Tom Kerr who secured a pair of Cayman Am-class podiums in his No. 73 Vein & Vascular Institute of Tampa Bay Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport. Kerr has previously raced with TPC in IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup and Lamborghini Super Trofeo competition but immediately proved he is well suited for Cayman competition. Kerr finished third on Saturday and then improved to second in Sunday’s Cayman finale.
Another debuting TPC driver at VIR also hit the podium in his very first Cayman race. Evan Hinkle was announced as a driver of the No. 77 Monoflo International Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport earlier this year – switching off with teammate Tillman Schmid this season – but had to wait until June to make his first start. Replicating Schmid’s first race at Sebring, Hinkle raced to a third-place showing in Saturday’s first Cayman race, which also marked his first time in competition on racing slick tires.
Next up for TPC Racing in Porsche Sprint Challenge competition is a Porsche GT3 Cup feature event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, June 30 – July 2.
Harris Levitas, TPC Racing Director of Race Operations: “The weekend went extremely well. I can’t thank the TPC Racing team enough for all of the hard work everybody did so well together. On the first day at the test event we had a mishap with the No. 70 car but the team worked for about a solid day and got the car put back together. It just shows how this team never quits, never gives us up and always puts in the amazing work from all of the guys to make this event and all of the races possible. It was really cool to have all of the Monoflo International guests with us with the support of Mission BBQ. Everybody just came together for a really good team experience for the weekend. Chloe had the lead in race one and was unfortunately taken out, but on Sunday she was able to show her true talent and put another win on the board. Evan in race one was fantastic, his debut in Porsche Sprint Challenge and his first career race on slick tires. To get third in his first professional level race was very impressive. Tom Kerr came away with two podium finishes and was very comfortable in this GT4 platform. It is always great to have Tom with us and it’s so cool to have him back. David in the 992 race did a great job. No risky moves, didn’t push harder than he had to push and walked away with two podium finishes and really solid points. That’s what is important for the championship.”
David Williams, Driver – No. 237 Mission BBQ Porsche 992 GT3 Cup: “I think the results were good. Second and third, I will take that, it’s good for the point standings when you think about the championship. We gained a couple of points, which is super, super important. But the reality is I never really had the speed this weekend. I was just a little bit off the pace, it’s an intense place, I never really got to where I needed to be, but I stayed out of trouble and got the results that we needed. It ended up being OK but could have done better. I am anxious to get back to Mid-Ohio and see if we can make some improvements there, but in the second half of the season, all of those tracks I know much better. I will be a little more confident going into the back half of the year.”
Chloe Chambers, Driver – No. 70 Monoflo International Cayman GT4 Clubsport: “It was great to finish off with a win at VIR after a rollercoaster of a weekend. It’s good to see how well we as a team can bounce back after setbacks and keep our eyes forward. I’m super thankful to the TPC team for being able to get the car back together for the weekend and Monoflo International for their massive support this weekend. As it’s Monoflo and TPC’s home race, it was awesome to round out the weekend with a win and Evan’s podium!”
Tom Kerr, Driver – No. 73 Vein & Vascular Institute of Tampa Bay Cayman GT4 Clubsport: “I really owe it all to Harris and his Dad, Michael Levitas, as they helped me through the whole weekend. The coaching, the car setup, the car turned out to be perfect towards the end. They coached me to five seconds faster from practice to the last race, but I still have a lot to go. This is my first weekend back in almost two years. So, I am a little rusty, but they kind of kicked a lot of the rust off for me. It was about being consistent and smooth, and those guys were in my ear coaching me the whole time. They never let up on me, and I tried to be smooth and not make any mistakes, and I left with some good hardware. That reflects how good the team is, to tell the truth. The Cayman GT4 is well balanced, it handles well and the brakes are phenomenal. It is still a momentum car, it’s a matter of getting to know the car and trusting the car and carry more speed into the corners than you think you can. I need to keep my focus on keeping my corner speed up. Whatever I asked the car to do, it did it for me. I just need to ask it to do a little more next time!”
About TPC Racing: TPC Racing is the Mid-Atlantic’s premier maintenance, service, tuning and modification center dedicated solely to Porsche sportscars. TPC Racing specializes in R&D and sales of high-performance modifications for Porsche sports cars and race cars, offering a wide range of vehicle upgrades. Best known for a line of forced induction solutions for the Porsche 911, Cayman and Boxster, a long-time focus on only one make, Porsche, has enabled TPC Racing to become experts in Porsche service, tuning, and racing. In 2000, TPC Racing began entering races under its own banner, scoring an SGS-class Championship in 2004 in the Grand-American Rolex Series and was a class winner in the 2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona, and captured the 2013 and 2016 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA Gold Cup Championships. More information can be found at http://www.TPCRacing.com.