Dan Cammish (Redline Racing) claimed the final two pole positions of the 2017 Porsche Carrera Cup GB, returning to action in imperious style after a freak fire forced him out of the second race at Silverstone earlier this month.
The Pro classification ahead of the two remaining duels for the first generation of Type 991 GT3 Cup is somewhat jumbled, with drivers struggling to set consistently rapid times. Tio Ellinas (JTR) starred with a second fastest time for the opening race, but sits behind both his team-mate Dino Zamparelli and championship leader Charlie Eastwood (Redline Racing) on the grid for race two.
Zamparelli holds the momentum after qualifying, outpacing Eastwood on both fastest and second fastest times to take third on the opening race grid and second for the season finale. Irishman Eastwood sits one place behind on both starting line-ups but a scant four point advantage somewhat predicates against a conservative approach going into tomorrow’s event.
Euan McKay (Redline) further underlined the lack of lap time consistency, his best effort strong enough for fifth but his second best only guaranteeing him eight on the round fifteen grid. Lewis Plato (JTR) takes away fifth on the latter grid, and starts only a place behind McKay E for round fourteen.
Dan McKay (Redline) and Tom Wrigley (In2Racing), aside from Cammish, were the only Pro contenders who achieved identical starting positions, seventh and ninth respectively. Tom Oliphant (Redline) has one eighth position slot and one sixth to his credit. Ross Wylie (Slidesports) exited the session at Stirlings after suffering a front right tyre issue, and will start twenty first and last for both races.
Pro-Am1 is far easier to decipher. Points leader Alex Martin (Team Parker Racing) untroubled with a double pole position, Silverstone star Karl Leonard (Parker) forced out of the session early with mechanical issues and at the back of both class grids. John McCullagh (Redline) stunned and was Martin’s nearest challenger with a pair of seconds. Justin Sherwood (Team Parker) took two thirds but his bid to reclaim the championship advantage was hampered by his over enthusiastic use of track limits and subsequent lap time deletions. Graeme Mundy (Parker) has two class fourths to his credit.
In Pro-Am2 Peter Kyle-Henney once more proved unstoppable for In2Racing, and despite holding a three point championship advantage Shamus Jennings (G-Cat Racing) finds himself firmly on the back foot with Ian Dockerill (Asset Advantage Racing) between him and Kyle-Henney on both grids. David Fairbrother (Slidesports), Rupert Martin (Parker) and Matt Telling (Welch Motorsport) hold identical formation on both grids.
With two races remaining, to be held at 10:40am and 04:17pm respectively, the destiny of the three class crowns is still very much shrouded in doubt. Zamparelli and Kyle-Henney hold track position heading into battle but both need to overcome, admittedly scant, points deficits. Martin meanwhile holds all the aces in Pro-Am1, but the racing thus far in 2017 proves only one thing is guaranteed tomorrow. Unmissable Carrera Cup GB drama.
Full results from all of the TOCA action this weekend at Brands Hatch can be found here: http://www.tsl-timing.com/event/173903
