Kiwi racer Ryan Yardley qualifyied second and came home with two second place podium victories, and with it the championship lead, while compatriot Madeline Stewart saw her hopes dashed early in a dramatic opening race at Indianapolis before topping off the weekend with a Top 10 finish in the second race.
Qualifying:
In qualifying, Aaron Jeansonne set the benchmark with a pole-winning time of 1:25.015. Yardley wasn’t far behind, delivering an impressive 1:25.234 to line up alongside Jeansonne on the front row for Race 1, just 0.219s adrift.
Stewart, meanwhile, battled through a tougher session and ultimately qualified 13th with a lap of 1:26.280, leaving her with work to do once the lights went out.
Race 1:
At the start, Yardley was squeezed out at Turn 1 as Zachary Vanier used the inside line to slip past, dropping the Kiwi back to third.
Further down the order, Stewart also lost ground off the line when Alan Metni, who started alongside her, made the better getaway.
As Vanier surged into the lead, Yardley fought back, diving up the inside of Jeansonne and going side by side down the main straight. But the Kiwi was left stranded on the outside through Turn 7, unable to make the move stick.
Drama unfolded soon after when JP Martinez ran straight off at the same corner, skidding across the grass before slamming into the tyre barriers and ending his race.
Stewart’s afternoon ended moments later when she was hit from behind by Michael McCann, spinning her into the grass along with McCann and James Sofronas. While Sofronas managed to continue, both Stewart and McCann were forced to retire, triggering a lengthy yellow flag period.
Racing resumed nearly 20 minutes later, and Yardley wasted no time attacking Jeansonne, forcing his way through at Turn 1 to reclaim second place. But just as momentum began to build, Yves Baltas went off after contact with Jimmy Llibre, ending up backwards in the tyre wall and bringing out the safety car only two minutes into the restart.
When the race went green again, Yardley was immediately put under pressure by Jeansonne and Riley Dickinson, but held firm and began to edge clear. The Kiwi opened a gap of nearly a second to the chasing pack, though Vanier continued to extend his advantage out front.
Yardley mounted a late charge to close the margin, but the laps ran out and he had to settle for second place—another strong podium finish to consolidate his championship lead.
Race 2:
Yardley lined up on the front row once again in second place, with Stewart starting further back in 14th.
When the lights went out, Jeansonne held his advantage through Turn 1, while Yardley initially fended off Vanier before being shuffled back to third a couple of corners later. Stewart, meanwhile, made a strong launch, jumping three spots off the line and challenging Sabre Cook through the opening corners. Though she couldn’t complete the move, Stewart held her ground in 12th after Matheus Leist briefly slipped ahead.
At the sharp end, Yardley quickly settled into a rhythm, pulling a gap of more than a second over Yves Baltas in fourth while keeping within striking distance—less than 0.7s—of the two leaders.
Further back, drama unfolded when Metni, the Pro-Am leader, clipped the rear of John Jodoin after being overtaken, spinning him around and dropping him to the tail of the field. Race control handed Metni a drive-through penalty for the contact.
As the laps unfolded, Yardley found a way back past Vanier at the final corners to reclaim second place, setting his sights on Jeansonne, who had opened up a 1.3s advantage.
Stewart benefited when Leist was forced into the pits with car trouble, elevating her to 11th. By mid-race, she was stuck 3.4s adrift of Cook but enjoyed a comfortable 4.7s cushion over Sofronas, who never threatened her position.
At the front, Jeansonne displayed relentless pace, steadily increasing his gap over Yardley to 2.2 seconds. But as the clock wound down, the Kiwi dug deep, cutting the margin back to a single second in the closing stages. Despite his late charge, Yardley ran out of laps and had to settle for second—his second podium of the weekend.
Stewart’s persistence was rewarded when Cook spun off after a lock-up in the closing laps, promoting her into the top 10. After the disappointment of her Race 1 retirement, the Kiwi bounced back with a composed drive to claim 10th.
Yardley leaves Indianapolis as the new championship leader, extending his advantage to 10 points after a consistent double-podium performance.
The Carrera Cup North America season now moves to Road Atlanta, with the next round set for October 8–11.
Header Image: Porsche Motorsport North America
