PCCNA: Madeline Stewart enjoys weekend of progress at Watkins Glen

JDX Racing driver Madeline Stewart enjoyed a consistent weekend at Watkins Glen where the Kiwi racer made sustained progress in the latest round of Porsche Carrera Cup North America, scoring one championship point in Race 2, displaying consistency in her race pace across the event.

Photo credits: Porsche NA

JDX Racing driver Madeline Stewart enjoyed a consistent weekend at Watkins Glen where the Kiwi racer made sustained progress in the latest round of Porsche Carrera Cup North America.

Stewart completed two clean races and achieved a best result of 16th overall, 15th in the Pro class in race two, narrowly missing out on achieving her second points scoring result of the season.

Stewart arrived at Watkins Glen after a positive weekend in Montreal where the JDX Racing driver scored her first points of the season. The Kiwi racer took a step forward in performance and narrowly missed out on securing her first Pro class top-10 finish of the campaign. Madeline also honed her racecraft as she battled competitively with the Pro-Am class pacesetters at one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar.

On her first start at Watkins Glen in 2024, Stewart achieved a best result of 16th and although it was a challenging weekend for the JDX Racing driver, she was now determined to score her first points at the venue. With a number of medium and high-speed corners, its characteristics are somewhat similar to that of Road America, the venue of Stewart’s most successful event in her Porsche Carrera Cup North America career to date.

After a good start to the event last time out in Canada, Stewart was looking to replicate this in the first free practice session on Thursday morning. It was a session of improvement for the JDX Racing driver whose quickest time came on her final lap of the session. Madeline’s fastest time of a 1:52.418 saw her end free practice one in 23rd overall, 17th in the Pro class.

Stewart continued to improve in free practice two and this was reflected in her lap times. The JDX Racing driver was just one of a handful of Pro class drivers to set a quicker time in the afternoon session with Madeline shaving almost half a second off her fastest time from the morning. At the end of the day, the Kiwi racer was classified in 22nd position overall, 17th in the Pro class.

Qualifying was the first session held on Friday with the cool and clear conditions proving ideal to set a fast lap time. Along with a number of her rivals, Stewart lost a couple of laps due to exceeding track limits as she pushed the boundaries on the exit of turn one. Nonetheless, this part of the circuit was Madeline’s strongest and her quickest time through the first sector was on-par with those inside the overall top-10.

At the end of the thirty-minute session, Stewart had set the 20thfastest time overall while her lap of a 1:49.712 was quick enough for 16th position in the Pro class. Throughout the entire field, Stewart was one of the most improved drivers from Thursday to Friday and she was now looking to continue this trend in the first race later that day.

The opening race of the weekend took place on Friday afternoon with Stewart aiming to make progress from 20thposition on the overall grid, 16th in the Pro class. The JDX Racing driver made a clean start and held her position on the opening lap, before moving up one spot on lap two. Michael De Quesada spun at the final turn and this elevated Madeline into 19th overall, 15th in the Pro class.

Stewart now had Masters championship leader Scott Blind ahead and the Ruckus Racing driver was protecting his position well. On lap six, the race was neutralised after Marco Cirone went off at the Inner Loop and his car required recovery.

After some work was carried out to repair the barrier, the race resumed just past the halfway point with Stewart quickly making progress. Contact on the restart at the Toe between Michael McCann and Jared Thomas saw both drivers drop down the order with Madeline moving up to 17th overall, 13thin the Pro class. The race was soon brought under a second full course yellow period after debris was required to be recovered by the marshals.

The restart took place with eight minutes remaining and it was a challenging final portion of the race for Stewart. After McCann made his way through on lap 15, Madeline had lost some momentum and this allowed Pro-Am racer James Sofronas to also overtake the JDX Racing machine.

Stewart then defended from fellow Pro class driver Wesley Slimp with the Kellymoss driver moving ahead on the penultimate lap. As a result, Stewart took the chequered flag in 20th position overall, 15th in the Pro class to complete a productive opening race. A post-race penalty awarded to McCann promoted Madeline to 19th position overall, 14th in the Pro class, in the final classification.

Photo credits: Porsche NA

The second and final race of the weekend took place on Saturday morning with Stewart lining up from 19th on the overall grid, 16th in the Pro class. As the drivers left the pit lane, light rain began to fall which added to the challenge at Watkins Glen. It was a busy start through the opening turns and Stewart did a superb job to avoid a sizeable incident which unfolded around her.

With a number of cars stricken on the exit of turn one with damage, the race was neutralised with a full course yellow period required. Under the safety car, Stewart was up to 17thspot overall, 15th in the Pro class. Her position was improved further when Riley Dickinson pitted his Kellymoss machine following lap one contact of his own.

After a lengthy cleanup, the race resumed with twenty-minutes remaining and therefore Stewart still had time to move forward into the points scoring places. On the first lap of the restart, the JDX Racing driver was now a further position after Alan Metni pitted to change a punctured tyre. After his early race setback, Dickinson then made his way through and Stewart was therefore now in 16th position overall, 15th in the Pro class.

Into the closing stages of the race, Stewart’s priority was to resist the challenge posed by Wesley Slimp as the two young Pro class drivers battled for position. Madeline was doing well to ensure the gap behind remained at over half a second and therefore the Kellymoss driver was unable to mount a sustained attack.

On the penultimate lap of the race, Stewart set a personal best time and this allowed her to open up the margin to one second. A strong final lap saw Madeline take the chequered flag in 16th position overall - then promoted to 15th overall post penalties and 14th within the Pro class, to end her weekend at Watkins Glen.

Scoring one championship point, it was a clean event for Stewart as she displayed consistency in her race pace across the event. Although the JDX Racing driver experienced a difficult start to her sophomore campaign, she has now hit her stride during the middle portion of the season and will now be targeting regular championship points.

The next round of Porsche Carrera Cup North America takes place at Road America on the weekend of July 31st/August 1st.