Ryan Yardley, alongside David Musial Jr., secured overall victory in the #213 Porsche GT3 Cup Car after qualifying seventh overall and fourth in the Pro-Am class. Both drivers competed in the invitational category for this round.
The race began with AM drivers Alan Metni and Charlie Hayes leading the field to green. Metni edged out Hayes into Turn 1, while Musial Jr. quickly gained two positions in the opening corners, slotting into fifth behind Pro-Am leader Todd Parriott.
By Lap 5, Musial Jr. had passed Parriott to move into fourth overall, just 9.8 seconds behind Metni, who held a 2.2-second advantage at the front. With clean air ahead, Musial Jr. began closing in on Kayden Kelly in third.
A full-course yellow was deployed 14 minutes into the race following a massive rollover at Turn 1. Parriott’s car flipped after defending against Lonnie Pechnik, landing upright in the gravel. Parriott was unharmed and evaluated at the infield medical centre as a precaution.
When racing resumed 11 minutes later, Metni retained the lead, followed by Hayes, Kelly, Musial Jr., and Chris Hutter.
An hour into the race, Musial Jr. dropped to sixth overall and third in the Pro-Am class after being overtaken by Aaron Jeansonne and Riley Dickinson. By Lap 45, he recovered to fifth overall, passing Josh Conley.
Another full-course yellow appeared for Anna Cecchi’s #72 Porsche Cayman, which suffered a gearbox failure.
During this caution, drivers pitted for fuel, tires, and driver changes, with Yardley taking over from Musial Jr. in the #231 Porsche. Yardley rejoined fifth overall and third in Pro-Am, while Dickinson stayed out to lead the field to green with 2 hours 21 minutes remaining.
Yardley quickly engaged in a wheel-to-wheel battle with Metni for fourth, also contesting the Am class lead with Reinhold Krahn. Yardley overtook Metni on the first lap of the restart, then passed Krahn the following lap to move into third overall, remaining third in Pro-Am behind Jared Thomas.
When Dickinson pitted, relinquishing the lead, Yardley was just 1.7 seconds behind Thomas.
Within a lap, Yardley capitalised on Thomas’ slight mistake at the corner apex to take the race lead with 2 hours 15 minutes remaining. Five minutes later, he had opened a 4.3-second gap, asserting his pace as the race entered its second half.
Half an hour later, Yardley dominated with a 15-second lead over Thomas in second and AM leader Krahn in third. With 1 hour 38 minutes remaining, Yardley pitted to hand the car back to Musial Jr., who reclaimed the lead with an 18.9-second advantage over Hutter, while Hayes led the AM class in third.
Musial Jr. continued to extend the lead, holding a 27-second advantage with just over an hour remaining. With 50 minutes to go, he made the final pit stop, handing the car back to Yardley.
Rejoining fourth and second in Pro-Am, Yardley cycled back to the lead within minutes and rapidly extended his margin, eventually crossing the finish line 37.6 seconds ahead of Thomas. Metni completed the overall podium in third.
In addition to the overall win, Yardley and Musial Jr. claimed the invitational class victory. Hutter/Thomas took the official Pro-Am victory. Metni/Blind took home the Masters class victory.
Yardley will next return to Road Atlanta in early October for the Porsche Carrera Cup North America, bringing valuable track experience to the upcoming round.
Header Image: Porsche Motorsport North America
