Dino Zamparelli has told TheCheckeredFlag.co.uk that he doesn’t just want to win the 2015 Porsche Carrera Cup GB, he wants to “dominate” the championship in his maiden season.
Zamparelli is following in the footsteps of his former Formula Renault BARC sparring partner Josh Webster in making the transition from GP3 to the Carrera Cup, and wants to replicate Webster’s feat of winning the BTCC support category in his first year.
To do so though, the 22 year old will have to overcome one of the most competitive grids the championship has assembled in recent years, a challenge the Parr Motorsport racer certainly isn’t phased by.
“Personally, I’m going in to win as you would expect. I’ve got a strong aim for this year though and that’s to go and dominate the series,” said the Anglo-Italian.
“This is a single-make series, so naturally it’s going to be tough to make that little bit of a gap, but that’s what testing is for. It’s a case of let’s see what happens, but I’ve got my eyes firmly set on the title.”
Whilst Zamparelli enjoyed a successful season in GP3 last year with six podium finishes and a seventh place championship finish, the money involved in progressing up the single-seater ladder left him seeking a move to sportscars for the upcoming campaign.
The 2008 Ginetta Junior and 2011 Formula Renault BARC champion says a move to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, which is enjoying a resurgence this season, and a return to his roots on the BTCC support package was his best option.
“Porsche Carrera Cup GB instantly stood out as a championship that’s going places, plus with the Le Mans programme that Porsche has it’s an enticing prospect,” Zamparelli explained.
“Myself and Bristol Sport looked at the options, and I had a taster day here driving Josh’s [Webster] car funnily enough and I really liked it. From there we decided it would be an exciting route, back on the touring car package, and Parr Motorsport presented themselves as a great team to be with.”
Zamparelli has been busy preparing for his sportscar competition debut over the winter with a number of test outings in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racer. Whilst he’s been happy with his progress, he admits he won’t know exactly where he stands until the opening weekend of the season.
“The pre-season has been good, we’ve had a four or five days in the car,” he concluded.
“It’s obviously a lot different to a single-seater, so I’ve been trying to get used to the tyres, the brakes, the acceleration. It takes a little bit of time, but I think we’re getting there, though we’ll find out for sure in qualifying at Brands.”
Zamparelli was speaking to The Checkered Flag during the Porsche Carrera Cup GB’s official media day at Silverstone last week. The 2015 season kicks off around the Brands Hatch Indy circuit over Easter weekend, April 4/5.