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Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain, Race report
Close-fought qualifying ends with twin pole positions for Dan Cammish

Reigning Porsche Carrera Cup GB Champion Dan Cammish (Redline Racing) started his title defence in style by securing pole position for rounds one and two of the 2016 Championship at Brands Hatch.

In hot pursuit was double 2015 race winner Dino Zamparelli (GT Marques), who closed in to within 0.031 seconds of Cammish at one point: “I felt I had the pace to take pole position, but if I had to rate my best lap, it would have been a nine out of ten. We were in the fight, but I made a tiny mistake on just one corner and that cost me. It’s so close with five corners on this circuit, but being on the front row for both races is a solid start and I want to push Dan as hard as I can.”

The fastest time of the qualifying session sets the grid for race one, while the line-up for race two is determined by a driver’s second fastest time. Most drivers chose to run the 30-minute session in two parts, a mid-session tyre change providing the opportunity for improvement.

Zamparelli pushed Cammish hard in the latter stages of the session, both drivers improving in a flurry of fastest laps, but Cammish always managed to keep a few hundredths ahead: “The car felt completely different from testing, it was a lot easier to get heat into the front tyres. The traffic was okay and I was really happy with my first set of tyres. I wasn’t sure I could improve, but a few of us got into a line and managed four or five clear laps. Qualifying is so important with the times being so close and Brands is tough to overtake on, so I’m glad to be on pole.”

Returning after a year away and underlining his potential, Lithuanian driver Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) found a single-lap pace that secured him third on the grid for race one, although his second fastest lap left him ninth for race two: “There was a lot of traffic and slow cars warming up their tyres. I struggled to get the best from my first set, so went out early on my second set and took a little longer to make sure they were properly warm. I tried to take advantage of this and managed one fast lap, but it’s a real learning curve for me. Although the tracks are familiar, the car is completely new to me.”

Reigning Rookie Champion Tom Sharp (IDL Racing) showed consistent pace to line up fourth for race one and third for race two. Of 2016’s Rookies, Porsche Scholar Charlie Eastwood (Redline Racing) edged ahead with a pair of fifth place starts: “I lost some time in the car yesterday when my radiator was punctured by a stone. This meant that I didn’t understand as well as I might have done when the tyres would be at their best. I definitely could have made more time, so this is encouraging for the races tomorrow.”

Every bit as close-fought was the Pro-Am1 category, with newcomer and Rookie Sean Hudspeth (Parr Motorsport) taking top-spot by the narrowest of margins, just 0.002 seconds, from Dan McKay (IN2 Racing). The start for race two sees those positions reversed, with McKay leading the category away from the lights.

Hudspeth said of a performance that saw him inside the top 10 overall: “It’s my first time at Brands Hatch and I just couldn’t find the time on my second set of tyres to improve. It’s a completely new car to me and despite being hard on myself, I worked hard to give the team a good result.”

Maintaining his pre-season form in the Pro-Am2 category was reigning Champion John McCullagh (Redline Racing) who starts both races at the head of the category: “Testing went really well, but it took 74 laps to get the pace we wanted. We did two tyre runs and I managed to get them worked in quickly, and that showed in my times.”

Round 1 of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB season will start at 10.00 tomorrow, with the second round at 15.30. Coverage of Sunday’s action will be broadcast on ITV4, with round two covered live.

Less than half a second separates the top 10 drivers in practice setting the scene for an action-packed opening round on the tight Brands Hatch Indy circuit. Follow the Championship at @CarreraCupGB and @PorscheGB on Twitter, and visit www.porsche.co.uk/CarreraCupGB for more information and the full race entry list.



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