The Trio of RAFA Racing Sprint Challenge Drivers Will Drive a Fan-Designed Grid Finder Livery on the Championship Winning Porsche Cayman at Circuit of the Americas
AUSTIN, Texas (November 4, 2024) – Taking “Race As Family Always” to heart, RAFA Racing by JDX has unveiled the driver line-up for the Porsche Endurance Challenge North America finale at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), November 22-24.
Porsche Sprint Challenge series regulars Ian Porter, Caroline Candas and Rafael Martinez will team up in a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport for the first-ever six-hour race, which takes place at RAFA Racing’s home track of COTA. All of the RAFA Racing by JDX drivers are in either their first or second year of competition, foregoing any true experienced, professional drivers eligible to drive in the race.
The trio has had their successes, however. Porter captured the Porsche Sprint Challenge Cayman Pro-Am championship this season in the same car that will be driven in the endurance race, and currently sits in a tie atop the Endurance Challenge standings. The three-time Call of Duty World Champion and X Games medalist earned 10 wins in 14 races during the Sprint Challenge season on his way to a dominant season. Porter won the Road America round of the Porsche Endurance Challenge driving solo.
Running just behind him in many of those cases, and taking a pair of wins of her own, was Candas. The French driver joined RAFA Racing a year ago following her success at the RAFA Racing Female Driver Development Shootout and finished second in the Porsche Sprint driver standings. In addition to her two wins, Candas finished second to her teammate Porter on six different occasions.
Martinez jumped into the deep end as a driver during the 2024 season, competing in both Porsche Sprint Challenge and the SRO GT4 European Series Championship. The transition included new tracks, as this season marked the first as a driver in the States for the El Salvador-born driver and entrepreneur. Martinez co-drove to the podium in the GT4 European Series round at Hockenheim.
The trio will drive the No. 86 Porsche Cayman that Porter piloted to his season-long championship. Paige Morales, the team’s fourth Porsche Sprint Challenge driver in 2024, will join the trio and the team on site for additional and welcome off-track support and duties, though she will not be driving in the six-hour race.
That car will have a different look than the orange and white he drove during the season, thanks to partner Grid Finder. Grid Finder offered a livery competition to users of the platform with the opportunity to turn a virtual livery into the same one used in real life. The winner of the contest, and the look of the car during the six-hour endurance race, will be unveiled in the coming days.
The Texas-based RAFA Racing return to their home track of COTA for the event, which begins with a test day and pit stop practice on Friday, November 22. Saturday features two more practices, followed by qualifying, with the race scheduled for 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CST on Sunday, November 24. The race can be seen live on the Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube channel at YouTube.com/@PorscheMotorsportNorthAmerica.
RAFA Racing by JDX Quote Board
Caroline Candas, Driver: “Ian, Rafa and I have pushed each other all year, and now we get to do that in the same car. It will be my first real endurance race at six hours and I’m really exited about this because it’s my target for the future! We know the car and COTA so I think we can go really fast. This is an exciting way to finish a really awesome season with my RAFA Racing teammates.”
Ian Porter, Driver: “This is what I would consider my first true endurance race, and I’m really excited to drive it with Caroline and Rafa. There’s a lot to look forward to, including trying to stack up against the pro drivers and doing it at our home track. Grid Finder stepped up with the livery contest in a way that just brings us closer to our fans. We can’t unveil it yet, but it’s going to be the best looking car on the grid and hopefully at the end of the race in victory lane.”
Rafael Martinez, Driver: “We started this season with Ian and Caroline and I at Sebring in separate cars and I’m really looking forward to finishing it with all three of us in together to see how well we can do. We ‘Race As Family Always’ but this time it’s all in the same car and that makes this really special. Grid Finder helped us expand this weekend to include our racing family that isn’t always at the track with us and we’re going to have a fantastic livery because of that. The number one goal for a race like this will be to keep it clean, and if we can do that we’ll be in contention at the end.”
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.
