News

• IDL Racing’s Tom Sharp takes his maiden Porsche Carrera Cup GB race win to become the inaugural Rookie Class champion
• Juta Racing’s Ignas Gelzinis comes out on top in nail-biting Pro-Am1 title battle
• Redline Racing’s John McCullagh secures the Pro-Am2 Championship
• Teams’ Championship goes to Redline Racing who beat Team Parker Racing to the prize

Race one

2015 Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion Daniel Cammish (Leeds) secured his eleventh win of the season in an action-packed race at the historic Brands Hatch GP circuit. The former Formula Ford champion took a stunning lights-to-flag victory to add to his impressive winning spree while there was also gripping action further down the field as John McCullagh (Great Smeaton) sealed the Pro-Am2 title.

26-year-old Yorkshireman Cammish (Redline Racing) got off to a great start and spent the rest of the race managing the gap to the chasing pack. That included IDL Racing’s Tom Sharp (Camberley) and GT Marques’ Dino Zamparelli (Clifton) in their Rookie class tussle as well as the ever-dangerous Michael Meadows (Samsung SUHD TV Racing) and Jayde Kruger (Brookspeed).

“It was a similar start to other races this season, so I knew it was just about keeping some space out on the track and controlling the pace,” Cammish said. “The speed was definitely there for me this morning and I was just pushing the car to its limits and making it go faster. After winning the championship in the last round I don’t think my mentality has changed at all, I have always raced to win and I always will.”

Sharp and Zamparelli eventually came home second and third meaning the Rookie title went down to the afternoon’s race. Both drove impressively at the wheel of their 460 hp Porsche and it was evident how much they wanted to win one of the biggest prizes in UK Motorsport. The result meant that Zamparelli needed to overcome an eight-point deficit to be crowned champion.

In the Pro-Am1 class, Ignas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) bagged his fifth category win of the season just ahead of fierce rival Jordan Witt (Redline Racing). The result meant that the spectacular season-long title battle went down to the final race with both drivers tied on 143 points each. “I am a bit frustrated that I didn’t get fastest lap,” Gelzinis stated. “I have to tell myself that you can’t do a lot about traffic. I have pole position for this afternoon’s race but the main thing for me is to make it to the finish line. The ideal outcome for me would be to get a good start and stay at the top. I am just going to tell myself to drive like there is no tomorrow!”

One title was decided in the morning’s race with John McCullagh’s third position in class proving enough to clinch the Pro-Am2 championship. G-Cat Racing’s Peter Jennings and Juta Racing’s Tautvydas Barstys finished the race first and second, but with McCullagh’s main rival Nerijus Dagilis (Juta Racing) only managing ninth, the former rally driver could celebrate the championship win.

“Coming into the Carrera Cup GB from club racing was always going to be an interesting experience,” McCullagh commented. “We have had our twists and turns, a few podiums and a few non-finishes, but we have ultimately managed to race to victory. Today was all about capitalising on a good qualifying and bringing the car home in one piece. When I arrived into the paddock it was announced that I had won the Pro-Am2 championship and I was absolutely delighted to say the least!”

Race Two

IDL Racing’s Tom Sharp took his maiden Porsche Carrera Cup GB career win from pole to clinch the Rookie Class Championship and the incredible £50,000 winner’s prize. The 24-year-old overcame intense pressure from Dan Cammish behind to ensure he would be walking away with one of the biggest prizes in UK Motorsport.

Sharp knew going into the race that a top four finish would guarantee him the championship but was also determined to go for the race win. As his IDL Racing car took the chequered flag with both those objectives achieved, the delight was clear for all to see as he punched the air in joy.

“This is an absolute dream and words can’t describe how it feels,” Sharp said. “It will probably take a while until it sinks in. To have Dan (Cammish) behind me the whole race and to be able to hold him off was really special. IDL Racing is family-run team with everyone playing a huge part and now we can all share the moment. The quality in this championship is top class so to come through and take a win is amazing. This win is very sweet!”

Cammish and Dino Zamparelli (GT Marques) rounded off the top three meaning Zamparelli ended the season in fabulous style with four consecutive podiums, a feat he deserves great credit for following a tough start to the season. Brookspeed’s Jayde Kruger finished fourth as he continued his incredibly consistent run of results with Samsung SUHD TV Racing’s Michael Meadows in fifth to tie up second in the Pro Championship.

Fittingly the Pro-Am1 title battle went right down to the very last lap of the race with Juta Racing’s Ignas Gelzinis and Redline Racing’s Jordan Witt (Nantwich) neck-and-neck once again. Gelzinis knew that all he needed was to finish ahead of Witt to win and following some intense on-track action, the Lithuanian duly delivered to finish one place ahead of Witt in second and wrap up a sensational championship win. Credit must go to Witt though for pushing him all the way. “It’s been a tough season with lots of pressure from Redline who are a great team,” Gelzinis said. “Juta is a lot smaller which psychologically is hard and there have been lots of incidents throughout the season, so I couldn’t be more delighted. I’ve really enjoyed the title battle and that race summed it up. At the end of the day there’s one champion and it’s me so I’m happy.”

In the Pro-Am2 category, Inlec-backed John McCullagh ensured it was the perfect weekend with his sixth class win of the season. He was joined on the podium by the Juta Racing duo of Tautvydas Barstys and Nerijus Dagilis. The class has thrown up some of the most exciting racing on the grid this season and this race was no different with some exceptional overtaking moves.

Results also meant that Redline Racing wrapped up the Teams’ Championship with the dynamic pairing of Dan Cammish and Jordan Witt finishing 19 points ahead of Team Parker Racing’s Josh Webster and Stephen Jelley.

Drivers’ Championship provisional final standings (top six)

1. Dan Cammish Redline Racing 324 394
2. Michael Meadows Samsung SUHD TV Racing 226
3. Josh Webster Team Parker Racing 203
4. Tom Sharp IDL Racing 192
5. Stephen Jelley Team Parker Racing 191
6. Dino Zamparelli GT Marques 180

Pro-Am1 Championship provisional final standings (top three)

1. Ignas Gelzinis Juta Racing 154
2. Jordan Witt Redline Racing 149 (two point post-race penalty)
3. Jack Falla Redline Racing 86

Pro-Am2 Championship provisional final standings (top three)

1. John McCullagh Redline Racing 124
2. Nerijus Dagilis Juta Racing 108
3. Iain Dockerill Asset Advantage Race Team 90

Teams’ Championship provisional final standings (top two)

1. Redline Racing 413
2. Team Parker Racing 394

Ends

For more information, please contact the Porsche press office team:

Kate Gregory - Press Office Assistant
Email: kate.gregory@porsche.co.uk
Mobile: 0118 916 5050

Jonathan Campkin - Carrera Cup GB Press Officer
Email: Jonathan.campkin@porsche.co.uk
Mobile: 07500 578805

Rob Punshon - Press Officer
Email: rob.punshon@porsche.co.uk
Tel: 0118 925 2733
Mobile: 07881 008950

Nick Perry - Product Affairs Manager
E-mail: Nick.perry@porsche.co.uk
Tel 0118 925 2721
Mobile 07775 860 291

Mike Orford - Head of PR
Email: mike.orford@porsche.co.uk
Tel: 0118 925 2720
Mobile 07774 728911

Press website: porsche-press.co.uk and newspress.co.uk
Press email: press@porsche.co.uk

Press Twitter: @PorscheGB_PR
Porsche News: newsroom.porsche.com

Editors’ Note:

Porsche can claim more than 30,000 race victories in almost every motor sports series worldwide, and while many of these successes have been achieved with immensely powerful specialist race cars like the evocative 917 and 956, the iconic 911 sports coupe is the bedrock on which the peerless racing reputation of the Stuttgart marque has been built.

The 911 demonstrates perfectly the Porsche philosophy of not only building sports cars in order to win races, but also to gain development know-how that can be incorporated into the evolution of its road cars. Successive generations of the rear-engined 911 have been honed on the race circuit since its debut in 1963, with customers benefitting from continuous improvements in key dynamic areas such as engine performance, braking and aerodynamics.

Porsche is the world's largest manufacturer of racing cars; the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car competes in the Mobil1 Supercup, the world’s fastest international one-make Championship, which supports Formula One Grands Prix. The 911 GT3 Cup also entertains spectators around the world racing in the many domestic Carrera Cup Championships in Germany, Asia, France, Italy, Japan, Scandinavia and Great Britain. The all-new GT3 R is the first step for drivers moving up to GT racing, while the 911 RSR is the standard-bearer for the Porsche Works teams in international blue riband events like Daytona and the Le Mans 24 Hours.

With a record number of overall victories, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in Le Mans history. In 2014, Porsche returned to Le Mans and the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with the factory-run 919 Hybrid sports prototype race car in the top LMP1 category, and scored its first outright victory in its debut WEC season in the final race in Brazil.

This June, Porsche scored its 17th and latest success in Le Mans when Britain’s Nick Tandy, New Zealand driver Earl Bamber and German F1 star Nico Hulkenberg took the chequered flag in their 919 Hybrid LMP1 after 24 hours of flat out racing. Chasing this trio across the line was the second 919 Hybrid of Brendon Hartley (New Zealand), Mark Webber (Australia) and Timo Bernhard (Germany) to deliver a 1-2 result for the Stuttgart team.