Madeline Stewart achieved her first top-10 finish in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America at Road America, finishing seventh in race one and eleventh in race two, marking a breakthrough weekend that established her as a top-10 contender in the series.
JDX Racing driver Madeline Stewart enjoyed a breakthrough weekend in Porsche Carrera Cup North America where she achieved her maiden top-10 finish. Competing at Road America, the Kiwi racer took a significant step forward in performance as she battled among the leading group of drivers.
After two consistent qualifying laps had secured her a top-10 starting spot for race two, Stewart charged forward from 13th on the overall grid in race one to finish in seventh. An 11th place finish in race two completed a superb weekend for Madeline who will now look to establish herself as a top-10 challenger.
Stewart was looking to bounce back at Road America after a significant crash at Watkins Glen during an unfortunate first-lap incident. Nonetheless, Madeline competed well in race one and showed good speed as she missed out on her second points scoring finish of the season by just one place.
The JDX Racing driver’s best result of the season had been a 13th place effort at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and the Kiwi racer was aiming to push towards the top-10 as the Porsche Carrera Cup North America drivers tackled the formidable Road America circuit.
The opening practice session of the weekend took place on Thursday afternoon and Madeline enjoyed one of her best showings to date. Setting the 11th fastest time, Stewart was just three-quarters of a second away from the quickest time set by championship leader Loek Hartog. In the second session, Madeline almost matched her time from free practice one and this again placed the JDX Racing driver 11th in class.
Looking to build on her momentum heading into qualifying, Stewart began the session on the front foot and this saw the Kiwi driver hold down a position inside the top-10 after the initial runs. Following a red flag during the middle portion of the session, Madeline fitted a new set of tyres for a final qualifying attempt.
The JDX Racing improved by a further half a second from practice to set the 13th fastest time, 12th among the Pro class competitors. Her consistency was excellent and this secured her a top-10 starting spot for race two, her best effort in her Porsche Carrera Cup North America career to date.
Madeline lined up 13th on the overall grid for the opening race of the weekend and made a superb start in her JDX Racing machine. Stewart successfully negotiated a number of incidents among the Pro class drivers to move up to ninth overall, eighth in class at the end of lap one.
Overtaking the Pro-Am machine of Pedro Torres would be crucial to a good result and Stewart was immediately showing her intent. Fellow Pro class racer Colin Kaminsky was closing in on the pair and although Madeline made a good move on Torres on lap five, Kaminsky was able to follow her through.
Stewart’s attention was now focused on defending from Kaminsky and despite her best efforts, the Topp Racing Performance driver moved ahead. Nonetheless, the Kiwi racer was enjoying her best showing in Porsche Carrera Cup North America and was comfortably holding down a position inside the top-10. On lap 10, the safety car was deployed as Kenton King was stalled on track and the restart would provide further opportunities for Stewart to move forward.
The race restarted on lap 12 and Stewart capitalised superbly on an incident ahead to move into seventh position, her best ever running position in the series to date. Madeline was now running amongst the lead group and showing great confidence in her JDX Racing machine.
Michael McCann was applying pressure to Stewart but her pace remained strong and she was rarely forced into defensive lines. On lap 14, she set her personal best lap of the race and although McCann closed the gap to within two tenths of a second on the final lap, Stewart took the checkered flag in an excellent seventh position.
Stewart lined up ninth on the grid for race two of the weekend and made a clean start, dropping two positions to 11th at the end of lap one. The safety car was also deployed for an incident involving Jody Miller with the race restarting on lap three.
Madeline lost one position to Michael Cooper as the drivers got back up to speed, before settling into a nice rhythm among her fellow Pro class drivers. Crucially, Stewart was pulling out a gap from the leading Pro-Am class competitors behind and this allowed her to focus forward and target back-to-back top-10 results.
By lap eight, Madeline had edged her way onto the rear of Cooper and was now looking for a way past the Baby Bull Racing driver. Setting a personal best time on lap 13, Stewart had cut the gap to just three tenths of a second and was soon into 11th after Sabre Cook pitted with a technical issue. Continuing to apply pressure to Cooper in the closing stages, Madeline crossed the line in 11th position to complete an excellent weekend of racing at Road America.
Stewart enjoyed a breakthrough weekend in Porsche Carrera Cup North America and firmly established herself as a top-10 contender among the Pro class racers. The JDX Racing driver showed excellent speed in both qualifying and the pair of races, with her seventh-place result in race one highlighting her potential.
Madeline will be looking ahead to the next round of the championship which takes place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the weekend of 21st/22nd September.
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