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Training 1

Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain, Former double champion and Championship rookie top practice in North Yorkshire, Training 1
Meadows and Zamparelli fastest in weather-affected practice at Croft

• Samsung SUHD TV Racing's Michael Meadows deals with wet conditions to top morning session with a 1:24.042
• Parr Motorsport’s Dino Zamparelli quickest in rain-sodden afternoon session ahead of Stephen Jelley and Dan Cammish
• Familiar faces set the standout lap times in Pro-Am1 and Pro-Am2

Free Practice One

Samsung SUHD TV Racing’s Michael Meadows topped the morning timesheets as the talent-packed Porsche Carrera Cup GB field was forced to overcome tricky damp conditions at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire. The 2.1-mile track was covered in wet patches at the beginning of the 35-minute session but conditions gradually improved as the 27-year-old exited the pits late on to set the pace.

The 2012 and 2013 Carrera Cup GB champion, who comes off the back of a superb win at Oulton Park, is feeling confident going into the weekend. “Since we left Spa-Francorchamps, I have been driving well and feel good in the car,” Meadows said. “I spent the first couple of laps getting used to the Porsche again and then went out to get a feel of the track in the wet in case those conditions reappear for the races. Overall I don’t think this is too difficult a track if you are confident in yourself and the car and I don’t see any reason why Dan (Cammish), Nicholas (Latifi) and I can’t be out at the front fighting it out.”

Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholar Josh Webster (Team Parker Racing) and current Championship points leader Dan Cammish (Redline Racing) were best of the rest with Parr Motorsport’s Paul Rees in fourth. The 29-year-old Oxford-based driver, who took pole position here last year, looked at home from the get-go.

“It was quite a strange session,” Rees said. “Everyone was waiting for the times of the guys on slick tyres to drop before heading out and getting to grips with the conditions. The times from this session will definitely be a few seconds off qualifying pace. This is a track I did very well at 12 months ago and I’m really looking forward to racing here. I feel like we’ve made a big step forward as a team.”

In the Pro-Am1 category, Berkshire’s Mark Cole (Parr Motorsport) finished ahead of rivals Jordan Witt (Redline Racing) and Jack Falla (Redline Racing). The 49-year-old will be hoping he can carry that form through to tomorrow’s qualifying and secure grid positions that will give him a good chance of taking some solid points.

Lithuanian Tautvydas Barstys (Juta Racing) topped the Pro-Am2 timings ahead of Redline Racing’s John McCullagh and Asset Advantage Race Team’s Iain Dockerill. The 28-year-old set the quickest time at the end of the session when the track was drying out.

Free Practice Two

Parr Motorsport’s Dino Zamparelli was the pacesetter in the afternoon session as the 25 identical 460 hp Porsche 911 Cup Cars took to the challenging Croft track once more. There were just 15 minutes of dry running before rain put bay to any hopes of a long run on the slick tyres.

“I was on rather a conservative run so I’m surprised to come top,” the Bristolian stated. “I feel in good shape for tomorrow and really prepared following our test here last week. It’s now all about taking that pace into tomorrow and Sunday.”

Just over a tenth separated the top three with Stephen Jelley (Team Parker Racing) and Dan Cammish (Redline Racing) pushing Zamparelli all the way. Usual contenders Josh Webster (Team Parker Racing), Tom Sharp (IDL Racing) and Michael Meadows (Samsung SUHD TV Racing) were next in the pecking order.

Pro-Am1 front-runner Jordan Witt continued his impressive form finishing seventh overall and top in class. The 24-year-old will be determined to have a good qualifying to give him the best shot of overtaking Ignas Gelzinis at the top of the points standings. His nearest challenger was Mark Cole (Parr Motorsport) who built on his strong morning outing.

Former British Junior Rally Team driver John McCullagh, who lives in Great Smeaton just five miles away from Croft, showed positive signs of adding to his three podiums so far this season by topping the Pro-Am2 timings. “We didn’t do too much in either of the sessions as wet tyres could be crucial this weekend,” the Inlec-backed driver said. “Last time I was here in the Porsche Club Championship I picked up two podiums and I’d love to repeat that this time out.”

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

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

Hannah Palmer: Press Assistant
Email: Hannah.palmer@porsche.co.uk
Tel: 0118 916 5050

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

Rob Punshon: Press Officer
Email: rob.punshon@porsche.co.uk

Tel: 0118 925 2733
Mobile: 07881 008950

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.



All reports on the previous season can be found in our archive.