This week I’m in sunny Sebring, Florida, for a welcome trip to the inaugural Apex One endurance race. I’m starting the week by testing with Mark Calzaretta, and I’m excited to help him in learning his new Porsche Cup car.
I last worked with Mark earlier this year, in his previous Porsche Cayman GT4. This new car is an exciting upgrade for him as he prepares for his upcoming season in it.
In addition to working with Mark, I’m also looking forward to seeing Apex One host their first endurance race. This has been in the works for several months, and there’s already a follow-up round planned for February at Circuit of the Americas. The entry list for the endurance race features a great mix of GT cars, including GT3, GT4, 911 Cup cars, and more throughout the various classes.
Testing is already underway at Sebring, and Mark and I have both had a tremendous amount of fun getting him dialed in with that new car. This 992 Porsche Cup platform has so many exciting advancements, which allows the driver to have tremendous adjustability. But those advancements require more mental bandwidth for driving as well as a firm knowledge of which buttons do what, so it’s an interesting learning curve.
I’m fortunate to have worked in the Carrera Cup paddock for the last several years, so these cars are very familiar to me, and helping Mark get his set up properly makes a big difference, so he can simply focus on the driving.
I always enjoy the opportunity to drive these incredible machines, and to help drivers accelerate their learning curve. So far, it’s been a great event here at Sebring, with open track all day, and we’ve already made a lot progress as we develop through the test. I look forward to seeing what Mark can do with this car once he has a full season with it under his belt. He’s already got a great head start for 2026!