PCCNA: Strong pace goes unrewarded for Sabré Cook in Miami
- LIAM REDFORD
- May 5
- 5 min read
Sabré Cook displayed front-running pace during the latest round of Porsche Carrera Cup North America at Miami, where she ran as high as fifth and was set to contend for a podium finish before contact from competitors on multiple occasions eventually led to a late-race retirement.
Sabré Cook displayed front-running pace during the latest round of Porsche Carrera Cup North America but her efforts were unrewarded after contact from a competitor led to a late-race retirement.
Racing at the Miami International Autodrome, Cook showed impressive speed from the outset on her way to an eighth-place qualifying result.
Cook ran as high as fifth in race one and the JDX Racing driver was set to contend for a podium finish before contact from competitors on multiple occasions forced her to retire from the race with damage. Changes in the timetable due to inclement weather led to the second race in Florida being cancelled with the hope that a make-up race can be scheduled for later in the season.
Cook arrived in Miami looking to build upon a strong start to the season which has seen the JDX Racing driver battle for top-10 results within the highly competitive Pro class. After equalling her career best finish in the season opening event at Sebring International Raceway, Cook drove smartly on the streets of Long Beach to bank further championship points while achieving a best result of tenth. Now looking to push inside the top-10 of the overall standings, Cook was aiming to rely on her past experiences racing at the Miami International Autodrome to gain an edge over her rivals.
The temporary circuit has been a successful venue for Cook in previous years with Sabre finishing sixth on debut in 2023, while she has a total of four top-10 results at the track. Last season, Cook showed encouraging pace on her way to an 11th place finish in race two, while displaying consistent speed over the course of the event.
With an expanded support package in 2026, the Porsche Carrera Cup North America drivers first hit the circuit on Thursday afternoon for the first of two free practice sessions. It was an extremely positive start to the event for Cook who set the seventh fastest lap overall with her quickest time of a 1:58.745 coming on the final lap of the session. Her speed through the final sector was particularly impressive as the JDX Racing driver was fourth fastest through this part of the circuit.
Friday’s action began with free practice two which was held during the afternoon. Cook made a fast start to the session as she quickly jumped inside the top-10 with her first lap of practice. Following a trip to the pits midway through practice, Cook improved on her second run to set a quickest lap of a 1:57.969 which once again placed her in seventh position.
Qualifying took place on Friday evening and with slightly cooler track temperatures, lap times once again improved. Cook showed excellent speed from the outset and with a series of fast and consistent lap times, the JDX Racing driver qualified in eighth position with a quickest time of a 1:56.763. For the race two grid, Cook gained one position courtesy of her second fastest lap which was only one tenth of a second slower than her outright best.
Race one in Florida took place on Saturday afternoon with Cook lining up from eighth position on the grid. As the lights went out, it was a busy run down to the opening turn with a misjudgement in the braking zone from Cole Kleck leading to a multi-car incident. Cook did a nice job to slow for the incident, however she still received contact while her rivals attempted to avoid the spun cars.
The race quickly entered a full course yellow period with both Kleck and Aaron Jeansonne out of the race, while the running order had been considerably shuffled. Cook ended lap one in eighth position overall, seventh in the Pro class, as she assessed the damage to her JDX Racing machine.
Racing resumed on lap five and Cook again drove smartly to take to the inside run off at the first turn in an attempt to avoid further contact. Although losing out to Tyler Maxson, Cook was able to take advantage of a series of incidents throughout the restart lap. At the head of the field, Callum Hedge made contact with race leader Jared Thomas and this relegated the JTR Motorsports Engineering machine to the rear of the field.
As the drivers approached turn 11, positions shuffled further with Cook moving into sixth position ahead of both Scott Blind and Nikita Lastochkin. On lap six, a battle between Alan Metni and John Jodoin allowed Cook to close in on Tyler Maxson as the quartet begin to fight for positions inside the top-5.
On lap seven, a phenomenal move from Cook on Maxson at turn 16 saw her briefly move ahead of the championship leader before Maxson fought back at the final turn. As Maxson resisted Cook’s challenge, he was able to move forward and now Sabré was applying significant pressure to Jodoin while she fended off a recovering Lastochkin.
Cook’s perseverance paid off on lap nine as she got a superb exit out of turn eight and cleared Jodoin down the back straight. As the drivers approached turn 11, Lastochkin made a move on Jodoin and this led to Jodoin making contact with Cook which spun around the JDX Racing driver. As a result, Sabré fell to tenth position overall, seventh in the Pro class.
At the final turn, Marco Cirone spun and with his car stricken on the circuit, the race entered a second full course yellow period. This was a fortunate period for Cook who could now catch her fellow Pro class drivers ahead of the restart. Cirone’s car initially moved under its own power before coming to a halt for a second time which extended the period spent behind the safety car.
The race resumed with six minutes remaining and Cook was quickly defending from Pro class rival Jared Thomas. The two drivers were battling for position for the first half of the lap before Thomas pulled clear and Cook overtook Pro/Am class leader Patrick Mulcahy. Now in ninth position overall, eighth in the Pro class, Sabré passed the Masters class driver of Scott Blind with only Pro class machines now ahead.
Cook was now involved in a superb battle for fourth position as multiple drivers were searching for their first career top-5 finish. On lap 15, contact at turn one between Jodoin and Lastochkin allowed Cook to pass Lastochkin while German racer Janne Stiak was beginning to close in on the group.
As the drivers approached the final hairpin, Cook was applying pressure to Jodoin and she looked to the outside of the ACI Motorsports machine. Stiak moved to the inside of Cook and on the exit of the corner, he moved across the track and squeezed Cook into the outside wall. This caused significant damage to the JDX Racing machine and as a result, Cook was forced to retire from the race. It was an unfortunate end to a highly promising drive for Sabré as she drove confidently while contending for a career-best finish.
The second race of the weekend was set to take place on Sunday morning, however due to inclement weather the timetable was revised which led to the cancellation of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America contest. The premature end to the event was disappointing for Cook who showed excellent pace at the Miami International Autodrome and the JDX Racing driver was set to contend for a career best finish.
The series now takes a short break before returning at Watkins Glen on the weekend of June 25th/26th.
