Charlie Eastwood (Redline Racing) was untroubled in round eight of the 2017 Porsche Carrera Cup GB, claiming his third victory of the campaign. However, Eastwood was unable to remove Dino Zamparelli’s JTR machine from his rear view mirror, with the Bristol Sport supported driver finishing only a second behind the Irish charger.
The eighth instalment of the Carrera Cup GB saga for 2017 was the first to feature the revised rolling start procedure introduced after Oulton Park’s first race had to be suspended following a multi car shunt following said race’s rolling start.
No such issues on Sunday morning, however an early safety car was required after Graeme Mundy (Team Parker Racing) left the road on the opening tour at Wilson. Mundy’s indiscretion the low, Alex Martin’s Pro-Am1 success at a scorching pace the high for Stuart Parker’s eponymous squad. Mundy’s exit meant every Pro-Am1 finisher received an accolade, with championship leader Justin Sherwood second in class for Team Parker Racing and championship returnee, former Pro-Am2 champion, John McCullagh third in class for Redline.
Pro-Am2 featured similar opening lap drama when class leader Peter Kyle-Henney (In2Racing) left the road. Whilst Kyle-Henney would recover from his first lap travels, his race was more permanently derailed after an off on the approach to the Bomb Hole later into the event.
This left the Gentleman’s division wide open and an enthralling scrap for class honours was headed at the flag by David Fairbrother, his first success and the first class silverware for the new Slidesports team. Ian Dockerill (Asset Advantage Racing) was second in class, as Shamus Jennings (G-Cat Racing) slipped to fourth with a spectacular final lap spin. Jennings’ error allowed Rupert Martin (Team Parker Racing) to claim another class rostrum.
At the head of the order, Eastwood and Zamparelli lead the charge but it never looked likely that the order would switch. After a rapid start Lewis Plato and Tio Ellinas settled into third and fourth for JTR, whilst Euan McKay (Redline Racing) jumped Tom Oliphant (Redline Racing) as the lights flickered out.
Covering the top six in such quick fashion may seem unfair, however this was a race of tension as opposed to out and out battling, with no position changes amongst the top six throughout the race’s fourteen lap duration.
Having not read the script, Redline duo Dan McKay and debutant Scott Malvern diced thrillingly, with Malvern’s brief tenure of the Nationwide backed GT3 Cup in erstwhile championship leader Dan Cammish’s absence providing a contender for ‘overtake of the year’. The former Formula Ford GB champion capitalised on a minute McKay error at the Bomb Hole and bravely hung on to the outside line at Coram to steal seventh. Ross Wylie would finish tenth for Slidesports, with Tom Wrigley charging from a pit lane start to eleventh for In2Racing.
With race two live and televised on itv4 at 16:05, so far Carrera Cup GB at Snetterton may not be providing all the drama on circuit, however the wider reaching championship implications of this weekend are tremendous. Eastwood, Martin and Fairbrother your race one winners. Full results from this weekend’s TOCA drama at Snetterton may be found here.
