April...2010 Monthly Feature
READY TO ROLL...PORSCHE CARRERA CUP GB Following unprecedented competitor demand, the 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup GB is full, with a 28-car entry confirmed well ahead of the opening races of the season. Interest in Britain's fastest one-make racing category has run at record levels since the close of the 2009 season and the list of registered contenders has now hit the 28-car limit for the first time in the eightyear history of the championship. To ensure that all registered contenders can start all the races, the field has been capped at 28 cars. However, the championship organisers have now opened a reserve list in case any slots become available.      It is also possible that spaces at specific race meetings may become open and these will be offered to any teams or drivers on the waiting list. In October 2009, the Carrera Cup GB set a new grid record at Brands Hatch when a 27-car field lined up for the deciding races of the season. That mark should be bettered when the 2010 season gets under way. "This is an incredible situation for the Carrera Cup GB," said championship manager Marion Barnaby. "We have capped the entry at 28 for logistical reasons and the response has been amazing. The drivers and teams have worked very hard to get to this stage and now we are set for the best season ever for the Carrera Cup GB.     I'm particularly pleased that the field is a great mix of established competitors and an influx of newcomers." The biggest squad on the grid will be the six-car team from Motorbase Performance and team boss David Bartrum says that the capacity grid is testimony to the commitment of Porsche Cars GB. "I said a year ago that the Carrera Cup was buzzing and it's now off the scale," said Bartrum. "It proves that the work of Marion Barnaby and the Carrera Cup team has really paid dividends. It's really good to see a sell-out grid in the current climate."      No...Driver...Category...Team 3 Tim Harvey  pro Red Line Racing 4 Steve Parish pro-am2 Motorbase Performance 5 Mark Hazell  pro-am2 JHR 6 Andrew Shelley pro-am1 Red Line Racing 7 Glynn Geddie pro Team Parker Racing 8 Jonas Gelzinis pro-am1 Juta Racing 9 Michael Meadows pro Red Line Racing 10 Michael Leonard pro-am1 Team Parker Racing 13 Glenn McMenamin pro-am2 Red Line Racing 15 Richard Denny pro-am2 Parr Motorsport 16 Euan Hankey pro Team Parker Racing 18 Archie Hamilton pro-am1 Red Line Racing 19 Tautvydas Barstys pro-am1 Juta Racing 20 George Richardson pro-am2 Motorbase Performance 34 Tony Gilham pro-am1 Re-Design Racing 40 Ray Dias pro-am2 GT Marques 43 Tom Bradshaw pro JHR 44 Michael Caine pro Motorbase Performance 48 Oliver Jackson pro-am1 Motorbase Performance 50 Paul Hogarth pro-am2 IN2Racing 66 Liam Griffin pro-am1 Motorbase Performance 68 Tommy Dreelan pro-am1 Celtic Speed 70 Stephen Jelley pro Team Parker Racing 77 Charles Bateman pro Motorbase Performance 79 Bob Lyons pro-am2 Celtic Speed 87 Alex Martin pro-am1 GT Marques 99 George Brewster pro-am2 Celtic Speed tba Ahmad Al Harthy pro-am1 Red Line Racing     Tim Harvey (Red Line Racing). The two most experienced drivers in the field set the pace all day, with Harvey posting his best time in the morning running and Caine going fractionally faster in the afternoon. However, the young pretenders were firmly in contention with 19-year old Glynn Geddie (Team Parker Racing) very close behind in third and pro-am1 leader Ollie Jackson (Motorbase Performance) in a fine fourth. Michael Caine struck the first blow in the battle for the 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup GB when he set the fastest time during the pre-season test and media day at Silverstone on Wednesday 17 March. With 24 of the 28 registered contenders enjoying a full day of testing on the National circuit, less than half a second covered the top 10 drivers by the end of the afternoon and it was Caine (Motorbase Performance) who set the ultimate pace by just nine-thousandths of a second from "We know we can be faster," said Caine. "But we just had one new set of tyres this afternoon and we're trying to keep the running down on the car. Motorbase is certainly making its mark." Harvey was equally pleased with his day's work.       "There was some work we wanted to do today and I'm very happy with where we are," said the 2008 Carrera Cup champion. "We've been concentrating on race pace and consistency." Geddie, who is stepping up to the pro category this season, was third overall, only 33-hundredths of a second behind Caine. "A 56s lap was definitely on; if we hook it up it'll be alright," said Geddie who tried a late run at the end of the day to try and grab the top slot but was marginally slower than earlier in the afternoon. Jackson was an excellent fourth overall and topped the pro-am1 category. "To be two-tenths off Michael is pretty good," said Jackson of his team mate. A tenth of a second behind Jackson to be second in pro-am1 was Tony Gilham (ReDesign Racing) after a good day's work, although three pro drivers split them in the overall times. Carrera Cup Scholar Michael Meadows (Red Line Racing) took fifth from former touring car racer Stephen Jelley (Team Parker Racing) and 2009 Scholar Tom Bradshaw (JHR). Behind Gilham came Carrera Cup Scholar Euan Hankey (Team Parker Racing) while Charles Bateman (Motorbase Performance) completed a very closely matched top 10. In pro-am2, reigning champion Glenn McMenamin (Red Line Racing) set the pace. "This is the first day when you see where you are and that's a very positive start to the season," said McMenamin. Leading the chase in pro-am2 were George Brewster (Celtic Speed) and George Richardson (Motorbase Performance).      Stephen Jelley will contest the 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup GB with Team Parker Racing after confirming a deal with the Leicester team at the beginning of March. Jelley, who also comes from Leicester, has spent two seasons racing in the BTCC, but is now switching to the Carrera Cup GB and had his first test session at Oulton Park. "I ended the BTCC last year on a good note," said Jelley. "But the winter has been really, really difficult and you can only stay where you can afford to be. The Carrera Cup GB is a very good championship and the car is the thing that makes it. It's a great race car and very user friendly. I came from F3 and went into BTCC, so I'm not afraid of different cars." Jelley joins Carrera Cup GB with Team Parker Racing Jelley says that a season in the Carrera Cup could widen his opportunities for 2011 and beyond. "At the end of the year there will be a whole new world of championships available to me. It gives me another string to my bow in a great championship. I've managed to get some good sponsors together in a tough time and the association with Porsche and the hospitality I can offer my guests at race weekends is paramount." Team boss Stuart Parker is delighted with the latest signing for his team, where Jel ley will race alongside Euan Hankey and Glynn Geddie. "I think it's fantastic that a guy with two years' touring car experience chooses the Carrera Cup and is happy to com to us as a team," said Parker. "It says a lot for the strength of the championship this year and 2010 really is going to be the year to win it. Stephen comes with all the right ingredients, including the singleseater background."      Jelley enjoyed his first testing laps at Oulton Park. "I didn’t know what to expect on the first test, but I was impressed. The power was very good and the car has good low-speed grip. It's going to take a little time to get used to the car. I'm going to have to work with the team and make sure I'm comfortable in the car and doing everything I need to be competitive." Parker says that the coming season could be the best yet for the Carrera Cup GB. "I think there are nine drivers who could go and win the first race," he said. "By no means is this going to be an easy championship. It's going to be a fantastic season. We're going into the year with probably the strongest squad we've ever fielded. We've got three drivers who will all be in contention and they will push themselves on."	Porsche Carrera Cup GB extends partnership with Piper-Heidsieck   Winners in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB will again be celebrated in style this season following confirmation of the continuation of the partnership between the championship and Piper-Heidsieck Champagne.   The Carrera Cup GB, which is the fastest one-make race category in Britain and a key support event to the British Touring Car Championship, is set for a superb season in 2010, with a capacity 28-car field, great racing and fierce competition across three categories. The successful drivers will be presented with Piper-Heidsieck Champagne during the traditional end of race podium celebrations.   Established in 1785, Piper-Heidsieck is one of the world's finest brands and is based in the Champagne region of France. Since 2009 Champagne Piper-Heidsieck has been distributed by First Drinks Brands - the UK number one premium spirit company.   To mark the second year of an on-going partnership between two globally recognised brands, the end of season overall champion in the Carrera Cup GB will be presented with a jereboam of Champagne, which is equivalent to four standard bottles of Champagne.           Hot-Lap Ride for porschesport.com   Our very own up and coming photographer "Luke Holroyd" was taken out to experience Silverstone at high-speed...the seat was offered to porschesport.com owner and Porsche motorsport artist "Paul Holroyd" Paul stated that "it's Luke's Birthday tomorrow (18th March) so I gave up the seat for him"...after Luke  said that it was fantastic and was lost for words.   Porsche announces further backing for GT3 Cup Challenge   Porsche Cars GB has announced further support for the new Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, which starts at Brands Hatch on 10 April. The 2010 driver of the year will win the use of a Porsche Cayman S road car for a year, while the regulations have been opened up to include 2009 model 911GT3 Cup cars.   The new series is open to any 911GT3 Cup car from 2009 and earlier and will be administered by the Porsche Club GB with official backing from Porsche Cars GB. The new series replaces the previous Porsche Open and sits comfortably beneath the Carrera Cup GB.   With the Carrera Cup GB entry now capped at a capacity entry of 28 cars, it has been decided to open up the GT3 Cup Challenge to 2009 model cars as well as earlier cars. "There are close links between the Carrera Cup and the GT3 Cup Challenge and with the Carrera Cup having such a strong entry, it was logical to allow the 2009 cars into the GT3 Cup Challenge," said Marion Barnaby, motorsport manager for Porsche Cars GB.   In addition to the award of a Cayman S for a year for the overall GT3 Cup Challenge driver of the year, Porsche is continuing its support for the Porsche Club Championship. The 2010 Club champion will win a fully supported race weekend in the GT3 Cup Challenge in 2011.   The GT3 Cup Challenge is an established concept across the world, with race series in Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Brazil and the USA. The British series will be the seventh GT3 Cup Challenge to be established.   All cars in the GT3 Cup Challenge will run on the same Michelin slick tyres as the Carrera Cup GB and the series will enjoy competitor hospitality, tyre support and parts support.