Momentum… Whose got it? After an enthralling opening round on the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit the Porsche Carrera Cup GB is headed to a somewhat bigger play-ground. For the first time ever an official championship round will take place on the full Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit. For the second time ever the series is a support act for one of motor sport’s crown jewels: The World Endurance Championship.
Dino Zamparelli (GT Marques) and Dan Cammish (Redline Racing) took a win and a second apiece at the season opening rounds and are thus tied on championship points. Whilst Cammish took the flag at the conclusion of the opener, a controversial track limits penalty handed the win to Zamparelli. Tom Sharp (IDL Racing) sits twelve points back after a rostrum and a fifth at Brands Hatch and a solid start to the year was just what the winner of the 2015 finale needed to begin a potential title challenge.
Stephen Jelley (Team Parker Racing) and Tom Oliphant (Redline) were both embroiled in a spectacular second race scrap for third, where Jelley emerged victorious. A better finish for Oliphant in race one means the two are tied on twenty-six points apiece. Charlie Eastwood (Redline Racing) made a strong debut as the 2016/2017 Porsche Scholar and he sits but two points further back.
The entirety of the Pro-Am1 class is split by nine points. Justin Sherwood (Team Parker) leads Euan McKay (In2Racing) by a solitary two points, although neither driver was victorious at Brands. John McCullagh (Redline) was and is only one point further back, with Peter Jennings (G-Cat Racing) separated by another two points from McCuallgh. Sean Hudspeth (Parr Motorsport) starred in race two but a difficult race one puts him fifth in class, again with a gap of two to his nearest rival, Dan McKay (In2Racing) who became an unfortunate victim of a messy race one tangle.
In Pro-Am2 Tautvydas Barstys is fastest for Juta Racing, leading Ian Dockerill (Asset Advantage Racing) and Peter Kyle-Henney (Parr Motorsport). Intersport driver Mark Radcliffe won the second race on the Indy Circuit and sits fourth in the class classification. Three drivers join Pro-Am2 to boost the overall entry to twenty-six. Graeme Mundy races as an independent and has experience of the GP circuit from a Porsche Mobil1 Supercup outing in 2014. Salih Yoluc joins In2Racing after a difficult spell in British GT and the entry is rounded out by Team Parker Racing and Adrian Barwick.
Following the dramatic and close racing the series enjoyed at Brands, the wide open sweeps of Silverstone with a lot of tarmac run-off area should hopefully encourage more of the same this weekend, when a clearer championship picture will emerge. Currently it is tight at the three peaks of Carrera Cup GB but after race one on Saturday afternoon at 12:55pm and race two on Sunday morning at 09:10am , those with the momentum should start to make the break.
