PCC NA: Sabré Cook secures second top-10 finish of the season in Long Beach
- RACERS
- 4 minutes ago
- 4 min read
With another solid and hard-fought performance in the second round of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America at the Long Beach Street Circuit, Sabré Cook secured a top-ten finish in Race 1, as she continued a competitive start to the 2026 season.
With another solid and hard-fought performance in the second round of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America at the Long Beach Street Circuit, Sabré Cook secured a top-ten finish in Race 1 and narrowly missed out on another in Race 2, as she continued a competitive start to the 2026 season.
Returning to the iconic 1.968-mile temporary street circuit for the first time since 2023, Cook arrived with positive momentum after equalling her career-best result of sixth place at Sebring. Driving the all-white privé products #37 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for JDX Racing, she looked to build on her previous experience at Long Beach, where she had recorded a best finish of 12th during her rookie season.
The weekend began on Friday with two practice sessions under sunny conditions, where Cook immediately demonstrated competitive pace. She was seventh-fastest in FP1 with a 1:20.947 lap, just four tenths off the overall benchmark, before improving to a 1:20.703 in FP2 to remain comfortably inside the top ten as track conditions evolved.
In qualifying later that afternoon, Cook showed strong initial pace on her first set of new tyres, but as times continued to drop across the field, she slipped slightly down the order. She ultimately secured P11 on the grid with a 1:20.463, while her second-best lap of 1:20.528 would place her inside the top ten for Race 2.
Race 1 on Saturday saw Cook line up P11 overall and P10 in the Pro class. She made an excellent start, gaining two positions through the opening corners to move into ninth overall while also clearing a Pro-Am entry. In the early stages, she settled into a tightly packed group behind leaders, immediately finding a strong and consistent rhythm in the 1:20.5 range.
Running just half a second behind Cole Kleck, Cook applied sustained pressure throughout the race, repeatedly posting competitive sector times, particularly in sector two, as she searched for an opportunity to pass.
Despite her clear pace advantage, overtaking proved extremely difficult on the narrow and unforgiving Long Beach street circuit. Cook spent much of the race running directly in the gearbox of Kleck’s #78 Topp Racing Porsche, losing valuable time but maintaining relentless pressure. Briefly closing the gap again on lap 15, she continued to push hard.
With a strong exit out of Turn 8, Cook made an attempt, drawing alongside Kleck into Turn 9 after a strong run, but Kleck defended firmly. This allowed Paul Bocuse to capitalize, attacking Cook on the main straight and completing a move around the outside into Turn 1. Cook immediately had to switch to defensive mode, holding off Capestro-Dubets behind to secure P10 at the chequered flag.
It nevertheless marked her second consecutive top-ten finish of the season, reinforcing her consistency after Sebring.
Sunday’s Race 2 presented another opportunity, with Cook starting P10. She again made a clean getaway, gaining a position on the outside into Turn 1 and engaging in a close battle with Kleck while also defending from Alan Metni behind. Completing the opening lap in P11, Cook remained in the thick of a tightly contested midfield group.
As battles unfolded ahead, she capitalized to move into the overall top ten by lap four. Running close behind Kleck and Capestro-Dubets, Cook maintained strong pace in the low 1:20s, including a 1:20.862 early in the race. However, as the stint progressed, she came under increasing pressure from Paul Bocuse, who closed a one-second gap and eventually found a way past around lap 10 to take P10.
Cook responded immediately, improving her pace with laps of 1:20.854 and later a 1:20.759, but Bocuse was able to extend his advantage to around 2.5 seconds. Despite continuing to find gains, particularly in the first sector, Cook was unable to close the gap sufficiently to mount another attack. In the final stages, she stabilized her position, maintaining a safe margin over Metni.
With five minutes remaining, Cook made a final push, gaining a few tenths on Bocuse, but ultimately took the chequered flag in P11, narrowly missing out on a second top-ten finish of the weekend. Nevertheless, it marked her best result to date at Long Beach and another valuable points haul.
Reflecting on the weekend, Cook acknowledged both the positives and areas for improvement:
“We had really strong pace to start the weekend, especially in practice and on our first set of new tires, but unfortunately, we just didn’t get the job done in qualifying,” said Cook. “At a tight street circuit like the Grand Prix of Long Beach, track position is everything, and with how narrow the circuit is, it makes it really tough to move forward. We did everything we could to push in the races, but I made a few mistakes that cost us."
“Overall, I’m disappointed with how the weekend played out, but it is my career-best finish at Long Beach, so there are positives to take. I’m trying to stay optimistic—there was a time I would have been thrilled with this result, but now I know we’re capable of more, and that’s what we’re chasing."
After two rounds, Cook sits 11th in the Pro class standings with 21 points, continuing to show consistent front-running potential. She will now look ahead to the next round at the Miami International Autodrome, where the series will race in support of Formula 1 and where she has previously enjoyed strong performances.