News

• Redline Racing's Dan Cammish wins both Porsche Carrera Cup GB races, takes double pole and bags both fastest laps to extend points lead to 41
• Samsung SUHD TV Racing's Michael Meadows and Team Parker Racing's Josh Webster take a second and third each
• Karl Leonard and Ignas Gelzinis take the honours in Pro-Am1
• John McCullagh named 'Driver of the Weekend' and Redline Racing receive the 'Team of the Weekend' accolade

Race One

Current Championship points leader Dan Cammish took his fifth win of the season thanks to a commanding drive in Round 7 of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Croft. The 26-year-old, who started on pole, got off to an excellent start and always looked in control despite pressure from Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholar Josh Webster.

The Yorkshireman led by a distance into the first corner but his time advantage was immediately wiped out by a safety car period after an incident between Jack Falla and Ryan Cullen. The former Formula Ford champion didn’t let that deter him and was able to manage the gap to the defending champion behind and bring his Nationwide-backed Porsche home in top spot.

“It’s not often that you launch a car like that,” said Cammish. “After the safety car, I just turned the speed on and managed the gap. The race was effectively over by the halfway point and it was just a case of watching where Josh was and reacting if he got any closer. You can see tyre management is an issue here but that is something we’re fairly good at.”

Cammish and Webster were joined on the podium by Samsung SUHD TV Racing’s Michael Meadows who spent large parts of the race battling with Stephen Jelley for third. The 27-year-old was intent on finding a way to get past Jelley on the notoriously tight track before it all came together for the former double champion.

There were good drives too by Tom Sharp (IDL Racing), Nicholas Latifi (Samsung SUHD TV Racing) and Paul Rees (Parr Motorsport). Championship rookie Sharp looks to be gaining confidence at the wheel of his 460hp flat-six 911 and will be one to watch in the second half of the season.

In the Pro-Am1 category, Irishman Karl Leonard (Team Parker Racing) finished narrowly ahead of Redline Racing’s Jordan Witt and Juta Racing’s Ignas Gelzinis. “I’ve never been to Croft so I’m really happy with this,” the 38-year-old said. Everything just seemed to open up for me nicely which was good after possibly the worst qualifying I’ve ever done. Jordan gave me a bit of hassle at the end but it was a nice feeling to get over the line first.”

Great Smeaton-based John McCullagh continued his fine form at his home track by finishing over six seconds ahead of his nearest Pro-Am2 rival. GT Marques’ Francis Galashan and Asset Advantage Race Team’s Iain Dockerill completed the top three. “I’m absolutely delighted,” McCullagh stated. “It was important to keep our noses clean. I managed to avoid the incident on the first lap and after that it was a case of keeping the others behind me. I was focused on the car and the tyres and bringing it all home safely.”

Race Two

Redline Racing’s Dan Cammish made it a Croft clean sweep as he eased to his second Porsche Carrera Cup GB win of the day and extended his Championship points lead to 41. Not content with taking home two first place trophies, the Yorkshireman also ensured he set both fastest laps of the day to complete the perfect weekend in front of his home crowd.

The Leeds-based driver got off to a great start once more which is crucial on a track as narrow as Croft. Cammish’s focus subsequently turned to keeping Josh Webster and then Michael Meadows at a comfortable distance in order to take the chequered flag and his sixth win of an incredible season.

“It was great out there in the best car on the grid,” the 26-year-old commented. “I’ve had a fantastic day with two wins, two poles and two fastest laps. This gives me massive confidence looking ahead to the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup next weekend. The second race was very similar to the first as I always felt we had that pace. It’s massive to win at home in front of lots of people who have backed me.”

Samsung SUHD TV Racing’s Michael Meadows followed Cammish across the line in second ahead of 2014 champion Josh Webster. The Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholar moves up to second in the overall points after another well-deserved pair of podium finishes.

Championship returnee Stephen Jelley (Team Parker Racing) picked up another strong haul of points with his second fourth place finish of the day and IDL Racing’s Tom Sharp was once again on the pace to come home fifth.

Pro-Am1 front-runner Ignas Gelzinis stretched his overall lead to six points with another class win and fastest lap. However it was far from easy going for the Lithuanian who sustained intense pressure from Redline Racing’s Jordan Witt in the closing stages. “It was a tough race but I’m delighted with the pace we had,” the 24-year-old said. “We didn’t have the pace in the first race so it was a good recovery. I had been pushing Leonard hard and so when he went off into the gravel, it was my time to pounce. At the end we had a good fight with Witt but I managed to finish first and extend my lead at the top of the points.”

Not to be outdone by Redline Racing teammate Dan Cammish, John McCullagh also rounded off a faultless weekend of two wins, two poles and two fastest laps in the Pro-Am2 class to pick up the ‘Driver of the Weekend’ prize. The Inlec-backed driver led home G-Cat Racing’s Thomas Jennings and Juta Racing’s Tautvydas Barstys to take a one point lead in the standings. “Carrera Cup is a difficult game with plenty of fantastically fierce competition so this is an awesome feeling,” McCullagh commented. “It’s great to win in front of my friends, family and sponsors.”

Provisional points standings
1. Dan Cammish: Redline Racing 163
2. Josh Webster: Team Parker Racing 122
3. Stephen Jelley: Team Parker Racing 120

Pro-Am1
1. Ignas Gelzinis: Juta Racing 75
2. Jordan Witt: Redline Racing 69
3. Karl Leonard: Team Parker Racing 64

Pro-Am2
1. John McCullagh: Redline Racing 59
2. Iain Dockerill: Asset Advantage Race Team 58
3. Nerijus Dagilis: Juta Racing 43

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.