Ian Porter On Verge of Clinching First Career Driver’s Championship, With Caroline Candas On Tap for Female Driver Development, Porsche Junior Titles
SONOMA, California (September 28, 2024) – The RAFA Racing team makes its second stop in less than a week on two different continents, ready to turn their fortunes around with an eye on a number of Porsche Sprint Challenge North America championships this weekend at Sonoma Raceway.
Ian Porter and Caroline Candas are both on track to clinch their first career professional drivers’ championships in their RAFA Racing by JDX Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsports. Porter needs only to start Saturday’s first race of the weekend to clinch the Porsche Sprint Challenge Cayman Pro-Am title. Candas finds herself in the same situation to clinch the Mobil 1 Female Driver Development and Porsche Junior championships in the Cayman class.
Likewise, Rafa Martinez is searching for redemption after two strong weekends ended unfortunately early through no fault of his own. Martinez was part of the two-car RAFA Racing effort that competed just last weekend at Monza in the GT4 European Series. Teammate Jon Lancaster qualified and drove the No. 812 RAFA Racing McLaren Artura GT4 to second overall and the lead in the Pro-Am class before passing the car to Martinez. Martinez held serve, keeping a stream of cars behind him and holding on to a podium spot in the class before a rival driver badly misjudged a brake zone with just three laps remaining, taking out Martinez and leaving the car unable to compete in Sunday’s race two.
That unfortunate luck is now behind the three-car Porsche Sprint Challenge effort for RAFA Racing this weekend, with the focus fully forward.
Porter enters his No. 86 Grid Finder Porsche Cayman having won nine of 12 races in his first season behind the wheel. Though the three-time Call of Duty World Champion and X Games medalist is no stranger to top prizes, this season’s “analog” championship has been a brand-new challenge for the rookie racer. He’ll also drive the Porsche Endurance Challenge race solo, following his solo victory at Road America in the last round.
Like all three of the RAFA Racing by JDX drivers competing this weekend, it is Porter’s first competitive visit to Sonoma Raceway. As he has prior to each event this season, the esports Hall of Famer and OpTic gaming superstar known as Crimsix learned the track through iRacing, helping to get up to speed prior to Friday’s first official session.
Candas has followed her teammate through most of the season, locking down second in the Cayman Pro-Am driver’s championship and riding 10 podiums, including a win at Watkins Glen and five second-place finishes, to the Junior and Female Driver titles. Candas, a French-native, had never raced a rear-wheel drive car prior to this season. Instead, she leaned on what she learned during an outstanding karting career and a season in touring cars. While essentially locked into the second position in the standings, she’ll be gunning for a second win at Sonoma in her No. 84 8Twelve Wheels Porsche Cayman.
Martinez and regular fourth driver Paige Morales are swapping places from the previous round at Road America. An incident on the test day there left Martinez unable to compete in the Sprint Challenge races, waiting for the Endurance Challenge race at the end of the weekend. The start of that race featured a multi-car incident at the front of the Cayman field that collected both Martinez, driving the car that Morales drove in the sprint races, as well as Candas. The RAFA Racing by JDX team and crew spent the following weeks using parts from each of those cars to allow one Cayman to race as Martinez’ No. 85 RAFA Racing Club Porsche Cayman. Morales will spend the weekend onsite to support her RAFA Racing teammates, but step aside in competition for the season finale.
Following test sessions Wednesday and Thursday, official Porsche Sprint Challenge competition at Sonoma Raceway this weekend was officially underway on Friday with both morning and afternoon Cayman practice sessions, with solid results.
Porter, Martinez and Candas were second, third and fourth, respectively, in the opening practice, trailing Patrick Dempsey in the Cayman class. Porter and Candas jumped to the top two positions in practice two, showing the RAFA Racing pace entering the race weekend.
Saturday starts with Cayman qualifying at 10:20 a.m. PDT. The weekend’s first 35-minute plus one lap race goes green Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. PDT with Sunday’s second and final sprint scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. PDT. The one-hour Porsche Endurance Challenge closes the weekend Sunday afternoon with a 4 p.m. PDT start. All races can be seen live on Porsche Motorsports North America’s YouTube channel at Youtube.com/@PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica.
About RAFA Racing Club:
RAFA Racing, utilizing the motto “Race As Family Always,” is a motorsports club and race team founded by and made for high-performance auto drivers, supporters, and fans of all types. Started by Rafael Martinez, the Club aims to create a space for high-performance car enthusiasts to enjoy like-minded individuals, network and share ideas on and off the track, and bond as one team with a common interest. The RAFA Racing Team made its debut in 2023 with a runner-up finish in the McLaren Trophy Europe Series, and expands that footprint to include Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and SRO GT4 Europe in 2024. The Club’s off-track presence can be felt on social media and beyond, including YouTube, Instagram and Facebook and at RafaRacing.Club.
