ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin (August 2, 2020)
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Riley Dickinson pounced when the race leader made a late mistake in Turn 5 to score a thrilling IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama victory Sunday in the No. 53 Moorespeed Porsche GT3 Cup at Road America.
Dickinson, in his second consecutive season with Moorespeed, won his second career IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup race in the team's No. 53 Porsche one day after taking runner-up honors in Saturday's first race of the Road America doubleheader.
"It was a great weekend," Dickinson said. "Everyone at Moorespeed did a really good job giving me the car I needed. They stayed up pretty late Saturday night making sure everything was good to go, checking all the boxes, and I can't thank them enough for giving me the car today to go get it done."
Starting today's race from the pole, Dickinson was edged for the lead in the fast run into turn one at the start by Saturday's race winner Jeff Kingsley. Dickinson stayed in touch with Kingsley for the majority of the 45-minute race and appeared to have a chance to make a move for the lead on a restart with two laps to go.
Instead, Dickinson frustratingly found a lapped car between him and Kingsley and lost even more ground when the back marker slowed to pit in front of the No. 53 as the green flag waved.
Although several car lengths back, Dickinson stayed in hot pursuit of the leader and soon found the break he needed. Kingsley overshot Turn 5 and Dickinson quickly hustled by to take the lead, taking control of the race as he took the white flag and crossing the finish line a lap later to take the checkered 0.867 of a second ahead of Kingsley.
"We'll take it," said Moorespeed President David Moore. "We didn't get a great restart on that late yellow because of the lapped car that came into the pits to serve a penalty, but we were there when we needed to be, and Riley pounced. He drove a great race, and Jeff Kingsley really drove a great race too. It's good to see, that's what you want to see, two good young guys pushing each other. That's what this series is all about. It's all about driver development, so I think we had a pretty successful day."
Sunday's win is the sixth at Road America for Moorespeed in the last four years of IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup competition on the 4.048-mile road course. Moorespeed Platinum Cup entries swept the 2017 and 2018 weekend doubleheaders and the team earned a Gold Cup class win last year.
Now 18-years-old, Dickinson scored his first race win with Moorespeed in the opening round of 2019's season-ending doubleheader at Road Atlanta last October, ending the year with seven podium results in 16 races and third in the Platinum Cup championship standings.
Both the Saturday and Sunday IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup USA races from Road America will be featured in a one-hour show on the NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) Tuesday, August 11, at 4 p.m. EDT.
Next up for Moorespeed and Dickinson on the 2020 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup USA by Yokohama schedule is the doubleheader at VIRginia International Raceway, August 21 - 23.
"I am really looking forward to the next round of races at VIR," Dickinson said. "I think we have some good momentum for VIR with this win. It is going to be a good weekend for sure."
About Moorespeed: Based in Austin, Texas, Moorespeed is a full-service automotive company specializing in sales, service, repairs and restoration of luxury sports cars and competition on the track in numerous North American road racing series. Founded in 1991 in Austin by brothers David and Chris Moore, Moorespeed offers comprehensive, turn-key service in which people are just as important as parts and relationships are just as vital as results. David Moore and Winslow Mankin, GM -- Director of Customer Racing, welcome and work with every customer as a member of the Moorespeed family, regardless if they are racing or enjoying their sports car on the open road. Moorespeed's road racing programs are designed for all skill levels, and driver development, both on and off the track, is a Moorespeed specialty. Moorespeed is all about the passion for high-performance automobiles and the people who drive them. A commitment to personal service and performance permeates every corner of the company. Learn more at www.moorespeed.com, and contact us at (512) 474-7223. Look for us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MoorespeedRaceEngineering and Twitter @MoorespeedTX.
