New Zealander Ryan Yardley has launched his 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup North America campaign with a pair of second-place finishes at Sebring this weekend. Meanwhile, fellow Kiwi Madeline Stewart endured a heartbreaking season opener.
Yardley showed impressive pace leading into Qualifying, topping the final Practice run by a significant 0.632 seconds over Riley Dickinson. Stewart faced a more challenging start, finishing 21st and 24th in the two sessions.
During Qualifying, the battle intensified between Dickinson and Yardley. Dickinson ultimately secured pole position with a blistering time of 2:01.689, but Yardley was right behind him, qualifying in second place just a third of a second adrift.
Unfortunately, the session was interrupted when Stewart crashed late, bringing out a Red Flag. The damage to her car proved irreparable at the track, forcing an early end to her weekend. Thankfully, Stewart emerged unharmed, though it was undoubtedly a disappointing start to her season.
In Race 1, Yardley made a solid start, immediately putting pressure on Dickinson into the first corner. As he slotted in behind Dickinson, Zachary Vanier attempted an ambitious move around the outside of both of them, briefly pulling alongside the leader before slotting in between Dickinson and Yardley. Later in the lap, as Yardley pressured Vanier, the Canadian ran wide, allowing Yardley to reclaim second.
Yardley quickly closed the gap to Dickinson, attempting a move around the outside of Turn 1 at the start of Lap 3. He couldn’t make it stick but continued to shadow Dickinson. Over the next few laps, Dickinson gradually eked out a gap on Yardley. By the halfway point of the race, Dickinson had increased his lead to 1.6 seconds, with Yardley also opening up a 1.3-second gap to Vanier behind.
The gaps continued to widen as tyre wear became a significant factor. By the end of the 40-minute race, Dickinson greeted the chequered flag 5.6 seconds ahead of Yardley, with Jimmy Llibre making his way past Vanier for third.
Race 2 saw Yardley start aggressively, initially attempting an outside pass on Dickinson at Turn 1. When that didn’t work, he showed his nose again at Turn 2 but couldn’t quite pull alongside. He remained close behind the leader until a collision further back brought out the Safety Car. After roughly 12 minutes under yellow, the race restarted. Dickinson managed to open a small gap on the restart, and Yardley initially faced pressure from Vanier behind. However, as the clock ticked down, the gap widened as Vanier came under pressure himself.
Dickinson pulled clear at the front, building a lead similar to the opening race. Yardley established a two-second cushion in the final laps, giving the Kiwi some breathing room. As the 40 minutes concluded, Dickinson crossed the line to sweep the weekend, with Yardley taking second and Vanier holding off the competition for third.
Following Round 1 of the 2025 Championship, Yardley sits second in the standings, trailing only 2023 Champion Dickinson. Stewart sits towards the bottom of the table following her difficult first round of the season.
The Porsche Carrera Cup North America series will resume for Round 2 in early May, joining the Formula One event supporting the Miami Grand Prix from May 2-4.
Header Image: Porsche Carrera Cup North America
