Road America provided the final chapter of the inaugural Porsche Sprint Trophy PCA season, where Joel Johnson and Connor Hare emerged as the series' first champions.
Joel Johnson and Connor Hare were crowned the inaugural
Johnson secured the GT3 Cup championship aboard his JDX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, while Hare completed a season-long battle with Peter Haabestad to claim the Cayman crown.
The championship deciders concluded a four-round inaugural season that began at Sebring International Raceway before visiting Lime Rock Park, Watkins Glen International and Road America.
Johnson overcomes a challenging finale.
Johnson arrived at the 4.048-mile Wisconsin circuit leading the GT3 Cup standings, but contact in the opening race complicated his title bid. A scheduling mix-up then forced him to start the final contest from the rear of the field.
“I made a mistake in the first race and had a little contact with a really close friend of mine,” Johnson said. “I had a great start and a great restart in that race.
“Then, in the last race, my teammate had some confusion on the start time. We got to the grid late and had to start at the back.”
Johnson recovered to finish third in the overall Road America weekend classification behind Erik Benedikt and Griffin Fujii. That was enough to secure the championship with 74 points, 13.5 clear of Fujii.
The title brought Johnson’s career full circle after he began competing in PCA Club Racing in 2020. He subsequently progressed to Porsche Sprint Challenge North America in 2024 and later made starts in Porsche Carrera Cup North America.
“I bought a car and joined a little local track, and somebody suggested I buy a proper race car with a roll cage in it,” Johnson said. “I bought a Porsche 996 that had been a street car and was made into a race car.
“Somebody said, ‘Why don’t you join a race?’ I joined my first race at Lime Rock Park, and the journey started there.”
After experiencing multiple levels of Porsche Single-Make competition, Johnson believes the new series is an important bridge between traditional club racing and Porsche’s professional championships.
“It’s awesome to see the commitment that Porsche Motorsport has to the sport, going all the way down to the club level,” he said. “What a great series it was, and what a great experience. The competition was awesome, and it was a lot of fun.
“The stewarding, the rules enforcement, and the support are fantastic. For somebody who might not have the budget to do a full Sprint Challenge season, they can get a feel for organized racing and hopefully go from there and build some good relationships.
“The paddock in PCA Club Racing is really strong. Some teams have been around racing for a long time and have experience at much higher levels, so the experience you can have there is fantastic.”
Johnson completed the eight-race season with 74 points. Fujii finished second with 60.5 points, while Matthew Siegal placed third with 54.
Second-generation racer Hare completes title campaign.
Hare entered Road America with a 13-point advantage over Haabestad, but the championship remained in contention heading into the final weekend as the duo battled it out aboard their Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsports.
The Cayman rivals immediately found themselves in trouble when an incident developed around them as the field approached the green flag in the opening race.
“The first race was just total mayhem,” Hare said. “Peter and I were right sandwiched between all the cars that had that incident coming to the green. That was a little sketchy.”
Hare ultimately topped the Cayman overall weekend results ahead of Haabestad and Doug Lawson. He finished the season with 78 points, 8.5 ahead of Haabestad, with Lawson third on 41.5.
With the title finally settled, Hare described a combination of celebration and relief after a campaign that began at Sebring in January.
“It’s been about an eight-month process to come through and do all of this,” Hare said. “It’s a mix of jubilation and relief at the same time to finally get through it. It has been quite an adventure and super rewarding.”
Hare’s connection to PCA began through his father, who took him to track events from approximately four years old. That early exposure eventually developed into a racing program built around Porsche machinery.
“My dad has been a PCA member since I can remember,” Hare said. “I’ve been going to the track with him since I was a little kid, coming to track days and doing the HPDE stuff.
“I wanted to follow in his footsteps and drive Porsches. We started with a 996 road car that we slowly converted into a race car, and we raced that for a little bit.”
After moving into a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, Hare selected Porsche Sprint Trophy PCA as his introduction to a more professional racing environment.
“When Sprint Trophy came up, it seemed like a great opportunity to dip our toes into a little more of the professional racing scene,” Hare said. “It gave us a feel for what Porsche Motorsport North America brought to the table, what running with USAC was like and what that next level of motorsport looked like.”
New 911 Challenge makes North American public debut.
The Road America finale weekend also served as the setting for the first public appearance of the new Porsche 911 Challenge in North America. Displayed in the paddock throughout the event, the latest addition to the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid drew significant attention from competitors, teams and fans eager to get their first close look at the car.
Porsche Motorsport North America President and CEO Volker Holzmeyer was on hand to celebrate the milestone and discuss the future role of the 911 Challenge within Porsche's customer racing ecosystem.
The unveiling underscored Porsche's continued commitment to creating clear and accessible pathways for drivers at every level of the North American Porsche Motorsport Pyramid, from grassroots competition through professional racing.
Excitement grows for 2027 series return.
Porsche Sprint Trophy PCA by Yokohama
Barber returns to the PCA Club Racing National schedule as part of a combined event with Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama, giving competitors a firsthand look at the next step on the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid. Road America will again host the championship finale over Labor Day weekend.
2027 Porsche Sprint Trophy PCA by Yokohama schedule
* Dates are subject to change.
February 5–7: Sebring International Raceway
May 21–23: Barber Motorsports Park
July 9–11: Watkins Glen International
September 4–6: Road America
All Porsche Sprint Trophy PCA by Yokohama races stream live – and are available to watch anytime – on the Porsche Motorsport North America's
Final Championship standings.
GT3 Cup
Joel Johnson – 74 points
Griffin Fujii – 60.5
Matthew Siegal – 54
Cayman
Connor Hare – 78 points
Peter Haabestad – 69.5
Doug Lawson – 41.5
Road America results.
Race 1
GT3 Cup
Erik Benedikt, #211
Griffin Fujii, #270
Joel Johnson, #227
Cayman
Connor Hare, #182
Peter Haabestad, #176
Doug Lawson, #121
