Porsche 911UK Forum

Welcome to the @Porsche911UK website. Register a free account today to become a member! Sign up is quick and easy, then you can view, participate in topics and posts across the site that covers all things Porsche.

Already registered and looking to recovery your account, select 'login in' and then the 'forget your password' option.

Porsche GB GT3 Cup Challenge 2012

Flaherty Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB

Former double British Rallycross champion Mark Flaherty is the latest driver to join the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB and will make his debut at Rockingham this weekend (19/20 May) in rounds three and four of the season.

Flaherty is returning to the sport after a break of 14 years and will make both his circuit racing and Porsche debut at Rockingham. Previously, all his competition experience has been on the mixture of gravel and asphalt of rallycross tracks.

Flaherty, now based in Berkshire, won the British Rallycross title in 1991 and 1992 at the wheel of an MG Metro 6R4 and then competed in Europe against all the biggest names in the sport. He stopped competing in 1998 to concentrate on business and has now decided that, aged 49, it is time to return to competition.

Flaherty will join Redline Racing to contest the balance of the GT3 Cup Challenge GB. 'I've never raced a Porsche and I've never raced on a circuit, so I've got a lot to learn," he says. 'It's a totally different driving style and a totally different car. I've already had a run with Glynn Geddie and I can't wait to get started." Backing for the programme comes from Wokingham-based Flaherty Homes.

'We're excited to be joining the GT3 Cup Challenge with Mark," said Redline team boss Simon Leonard. 'Porsche is new to him, but he's learning fast and we're looking forward to getting him up there."
 

Attachments

  • gt3challenge_320.jpg
    gt3challenge_320.jpg
    43.7 KB · Views: 29,078
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB

Birch secures double victory at Rockingham.


James Birch won both races at Rockingham as the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB visited Northamptonshire for rounds three and four. There were also podium finishes for Peter Smallwood, John Ferguson and Justin Sherwood as the series once again produced some thrilling racing.


Qualifying.

With rain having fallen a few hours before qualifying started, the session was run on a drying track but the greasiness of the circuit meant that the drivers were forced to contest the whole session on wet tyres. Birch
(In2Racing) eased to pole position lapping the circuit in an impressive best time of 1m35.490s. 'I went out there to get pole so very happy to be leading from the front, I enjoy driving the car in the wet to be honest,"
he said. John Ferguson (Ask Racing) recorded his best qualifying result so far with second position, just under half a second shy of Birch's best time. Championship leader Stephen Liquorish (Team Parker Racing) was third fastest as the top three were separated by less than seven tenths of a second, and considerably faster than the rest of the field in challenging conditions. They would line up in the same order for the second race.


Race One.

The first race of the weekend was an action packed affair with drama right until the final corner of the final lap. The circuit was much drier than it had been in qualifying so the whole field opted to run on slicks. Birch managed to hook up a near perfect start to lead the pack into Deene Hairpin with fellow front row starter Ferguson holding second and Justin Sherwood (Team Parker Racing) up to third after managing to get away better than Liquorish who ran fourth. Whilst Birch streaked clear by 3.6 seconds over the first two laps, Sherwood began to exert pressure on Ferguson for second which allowed Liquorish to close up on the pair but before a three way battle for second was allowed to develop, Sherwood slowed with a right rear puncture and was forced to pit to replace it, dropping him to the back of the field. This left Ferguson and Liquorish to dispute second place for the rest of the race. Liquorish looked the quicker of the two but he could not find a way through as Ferguson robustly defended and countered every move.

As they went onto the final lap Ferguson looked to have done just enough to hold on to second but Liquorish got alongside at Tarzan which put him on the outside for the final chicane, with neither driver wanting to concede position they both braked too late and ran onto the grass. Liquorish was so eager to get back on track first and claim second place that he spun. Neil Houston (Team Parker Racing) and Peter Smallwood (Parr Motorsport) who had been running fourth and fifth for most of the race arrived at the chicane just as Liquorish and Ferguson were scrambling back on to the circuit. This delayed Houston but Smallwood threaded his way through cleanly to take second place, his best result of the season to date, this was made all the more remarkable considering he had started from ninth.

Ferguson recovered the quickest of the three drivers caught up in the mayhem of the final chicane to finish third with Houston fourth and Liquorish fifth. There was close racing all the way down the field including between two of the debutants of the series, Mark Flaherty (Redline Racing) and Guy Riall (Almara Racing) who were separated by half a second at the line for sixth and seventh, with Flaherty ahead. In class two, Tom Hallissey (Ask Racing) claimed victory.

The last corner drama not only shuffled the finishing order but also gave Birch an emphatic winning margin of 19 seconds. 'I'm really really happy. I got a good start, managed to get a bit of a gap and then just tried to hold it from there," he said.

'The car was fantastic," said Smallwood of his charge through the field.
While Ferguson admitted he was 'delighted," to secure his first podium of the season.


Race Two.

The second race of the weekend saw Birch complete his clean sweep of victories but not by quite as convincing a margin as in the first race. He made another good start from pole to lead into Deene Hairpin despite the efforts of Neil Houston who having made a rocket start from sixth on the grid had momentarily run side by side with Birch. The majority of Houston's good work was undone at Deene as Ferguson and Sherwood dived through demoting him to fourth just ahead of Liquorish who had not made a great getaway.

There were more changes of position further round the opening lap as Sherwood swept past Ferguson at Tarzan to take second position. The eventful start to the race was swiftly neutralised as the safety car was deployed to remove Tom Hallissey's car from the side of the track after he had connected with the barriers. At the restart Birch timed his bolt towards the line perfectly, catching Sherwood off guard and allowing him to make a crucial break away. Sherwood ran at a solid pace though and kept Birch honest by making sure that for the first few laps after the restart the gap was no more than two seconds, before in the later stages of the race Birch edged a little further clear to win by just over four seconds.

Sherwood took a comfortable second position finish as behind him battle raged once again between Ferguson and Liquorish. The latter passed Houston for fourth at mid race distance and then closed the gap to Ferguson rapidly and spent the final eight laps shadowing his every move. However, Ferguson defended well for the second time during the weekend and held Liquorish off until the chequered flag to claim the final podium position.

'It's fantastic to make it two wins out of two and come out with full points, I'm very happy," said Birch. 'I came here to win both races and we've managed to achieve the dream," he added.

'I'm satisfied with that today, James ran a good pace and I did my best to keep up with him," said Sherwood of his first podium of the weekend.


Results.

Race One: 1. James Birch; 2. Peter Smallwood; 3. John Ferguson.
Class One: 1. Tom Hallissey.
Fastest Lap: Birch 1m23.738s (83.40mph).

Race Two: 1. James Birch; 2. Justin Sherwood; 3. John Ferguson.
Fastest Lap: Birch 1m22.216s (84.94mph).


Provisional overall points after round four
1.Birch 66; 2.Liquorish 61; 3.Houston 60; 4.Smallwood 57; 5. Sherwood 42. Class Two: 1.Cowne 28; 2.Hallissey 11.


Next rounds: Thruxton, 17th June.
 

Attachments

  • rock2_132.gif
    rock2_132.gif
    112.8 KB · Views: 29,076
Birch takes Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge double at Thruxton

James Birch made it five wins from six races in the 2012 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB at Thruxton on Sunday (17 June) with a peerless performance. In his wake, John Ferguson and Steven Liquorish battled hard for second and in the later race the place was only decided in Ferguson's favour on a dramatic final lap.

Qualifying
Only Birch (IN2 Racing) and John Ferguson (ASK Racing) went into qualifying with any previous race experience of the sweeping Hampshire track and Ferguson's only prior race at Thruxton had been in Formula Ford 20 years ago.

Sure enough, it was Birch who set the pace with an assured performance to take pole for round five with a best of 1m17.777s. 'I've not been here for two years, but it is a circuit I like," said Birch. 'I love the fast, flowing tracks." Birch also secured pole for round six with the fastest second-best qualifying time.

Running second to Birch was Steven Liquorish (Team Parker Racing), the best of those with no prior experience of Thruxton. 'It certainly wakes you up a bit," he said after 10 laps of qualifying. Ferguson was third fastest for both races and admitted that there was room for improvement. 'My lines around the fast bits are ridiculous: I'll try and chase them in the race and learn from that," he said. Racing newcomer Guy Riall (Almara Racing) was fourth, with Mark Flaherty (Redline Racing) fifth despite not getting a really good lap in. Wrapping up the top six was Mark Cowne (Team Parker Racing) after learning the track on a very wet track day earlier in the week.

Round five
Birch didn't get the start he wanted and was immediately bundled back to third place by Ferguson and Liquorish. The leading trio ran nose-to-tail over the opening laps but Birch was soon looking to re-assert his authority and he dived ahead of Ferguson on the exit of Noble on the second lap. 'I haven't quite got the hang of the starts yet," admitted Birch. However, once ahead he drove an assured race to steadily build his lead and was later able to moderate his pace to preserve his tyres on a track where tyres are always under intense strain. 'Thankfully I wasn't under too much pressure," said Birch after taking his fourth win from five races.

While Birch controlled the race, things were far from settled in the contest for second. Liquorish had his hands full of the charging Ferguson and a trip over the kerb at the chicane took the front splitter off Liquorish's car. 'I then had absolutely zero turn-in on the fast left-hander," reported Liquorish as he battled on. Ferguson's dogged attack was rewarded when he edged into second on lap eight and the Irishman duly moved clear as Liquorish struggled with his ill-handling car. 'I had a great start but I was still learning the circuit over the first few laps," said Ferguson after a strong drive. For Liquorish, third was a case of damage limitation. 'That was really hard work and very frustrating," he said.

Fourth place was in doubt until late in the race as Flaherty had to push on to defend from Cowne mid-race once Riall had dropped to the tail of the pack with a high-speed spin at Church. 'I was hanging on to their coat tails," said Riall after an impressive opening stint. Flaherty ran a solid fourth until his tyres started to fade and that helped Cowne close in. For several laps, Cowne defied his lack of racing experience to challenge for fourth, but then lost his splitter over the kerb at the chicane.

Despite that handicap, Cowne did hold fourth for a couple of corners. Flaherty spun at the complex, but two corners later Cowne had the first of two spins that dropped him back to sixth behind the recovering Riall. All three had raced hard on their Thruxton debuts.

'I went out on second hand tyres: they were shot early on," said Flaherty. 'I was playing catch up at the end," said Riall. 'I can't believe the difference the splitter makes," said Cowne. 'That's the best race I've had so far."

Round six
Birch got a peach of a start for the second race of the afternoon and made the pace right from the start. He pulled clear of Liquorish on the opening lap and was then able to control the race from the front with another classy performance to extend his winning sequence to five races and extend his championship lead. 'I just went for it with three or four quick laps and then tried to maintain the tyres after that," said Birch after winning by over six seconds. 'Brilliant: I couldn't be happier," he said after scoring 44 points in a perfect day's work.

Behind Birch, a fierce battle raged for second as Ferguson recovered from a tardy start to chase after Liquorish. For lap after lap it was neck and neck as both drivers pushed to the limit. Finally, it all came down to the last lap as Ferguson made his move with a bold attack at Church Corner. The cars touched and Ferguson was through. 'I knew it was the last lap and he was struggling coming out of the Complex," said Ferguson, who had a lucky escape mid-race when he hit a pheasant that was walking across the track. Liquorish was a disappointed third after fending off his rival until two corners from the flag.

Flaherty slotted into fourth place, but had Riall and Crowne close behind and Riall challenged for several laps before a spin at the Complex dropped him to sixth. Instead, Cowne moved in to take up the challenge on Flaherty and the racing novice mounted a relentless attack on Flaherty. The places never changed, but there was still little more than a second between them after 25 minutes of racing.

'The easier option is to follow someone," said Flaherty, who had battled all day by using second hand tyres. 'It was absolutely riveting," said Cowne. 'I was on his tail the whole time."

Results
Race One: 1 James Birch; 2 John Ferguson +8.610s; 3 Steven Liquorish; 4 Mark Flaherty; 5 Guy Riall; 6 Mark Cowne. Fastest lap: Birch 1m18.376s (108.21mph).

Race Two: 1 Birch; 2 Ferguson +6.606s; 3 Liquorish; 4 Flaherty; 5 Cowne; 6 Riall. Fastest lap: Birch 1m18.205s (108.45mph).

Provisional overall points after round six:
1 James Birch 110; 2 Steven Liquorish 93; 3 John Ferguson 69; 4 Neil Houston and Mark Cowne 60; 6 Peter Smallwood 57; 7 Mark Flaherty 48; 8 Justin Sherwood 42; 9 Guy Riall 39; 10 Tom Hallissey 8.
Next rounds: Croft, 21/22 July.
 

Attachments

  • thrux1_453.jpg
    thrux1_453.jpg
    135 KB · Views: 28,986
Sherwood and Liquorish win at Croft

Justin Sherwood and Steven Liquorish took a win apiece as the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB headed north to Croft for rounds seven and eight (21/22 July). Championship leader James Birch secured a double podium finish but failed to win a race at a round of the series for the first time this season. Nevertheless he was able to extend his lead to twenty points. There was also a first overall podium finish for Mark Cowne.

Qualifying

Warm and dry conditions greeted the drivers on Saturday morning as they went into qualifying. Championship leader James Birch (Birch Racing) emerged as the pacesetter, claiming pole position after lapping the North Yorkshire circuit in 1m25.614s. 'I'm very happy with qualifying today. Obviously the main aim, as always is to get pole position and we did it again," he said.

Steven Liquorish (Team Parker Racing) was second fastest but trailed Birch's best time by over a second. Simon Blanckley (sibsport performance) was third ahead of Justin Sherwood (Team Parker Racing) as three tenths of a second separated second from fourth. John Ferguson (Ask Racing) was fifth on his first visit to the circuit, with Mark Cowne (Parr Motorsport) rounding out the top six. The grid positions for the second race would be the same as for the first.

Round seven

As the lights went out pole sitter Birch made a decent getaway to lead the pack into the first corner, Clervaux. However, fellow front row starter, Liquorish made a poor start and dropped to fourth behind the fast starting Sherwood and John Ferguson. Sherwood's good start put him on the tail of Birch as the field headed down the back straight towards Tower for the first time. Sherwood got a better run than Birch and darted to the outside before out-braking Birch into Tower and sweeping into the lead of the race. He then set about building a gap to Birch and by the end of lap four he led by over two seconds.

Birch tried hard to respond but could not make significant inroads into Sherwood's lead and the gap stabilised at around three seconds. As the race entered the latter stages though, Birch's tyres began to go off and this enabled Sherwood to cross the line five seconds clear. 'A fantastic result for me really," said Sherwood. 'I got a good start and seemed to get a good run out of the chicane and then I was in front before the braking zone and I was on the racing line, it was a good move."

Birch took second, a result which enabled him to extend his championship lead. 'We just ran too low on the tyres at the start and I was a sitting duck during the first three laps," he lamented. 'Fantastic from Justin, he drove a great race," Birch added. Behind the leading pair, Liquorish battled back past Ferguson in the early stages but could not lap at the same pace as Sherwood and Birch, so ran a lonely third for the majority of the race, crossing the line just under 15 seconds behind the race winner. Liquorish said: ' My tyres started to go off at the end and I think once you've got to that realisation moment of you're not going to pull second in, it's a case of keeping the car on the track."

Mark Cowne was fourth and grew in confidence as the race developed; consistently improving his lap times in what was his first visit to the circuit. Blanckley failed to finish after a collision with the tyres at Sunny, an incident which ruled him out of the second race as the car was not able to be repaired in time. The second retirement of the race was Ferguson who coasted into the pits five laps from the end with a driveshaft failure.

Round eight

Liquorish won the second race of the weekend after coming out on top of a titanic battle with Birch. Birch led away from pole as Liquorish again made an average start but this time did enough to hold second position into the first corner. From that point Liquorish shadowed Birch's every move. He looked the quicker of the two but try as he might he could not find a way through despite getting alongside Birch on a couple of occasions.

However as the race moved into the closing stages Liquorish got a good exit out of the hairpin and tried the cut back to get alongside Birch on the start/finish straight. As Birch moved across to block, there was slight contact and Birch spun. This gave Liquorish a comfortable last few laps as he cruised to the flag to take his second victory of the season. 'I'm chuffed to bits with it," said Liquorish. 'The team made a big setup change and it worked, the car felt so much better on the brakes."

Birch recovered from his spin to finish second and limited the damage to his championship lead by securing the fastest lap of the race. 'I had a good start. It was a difficult race for me as I was on old rubber. Steve was with me the whole way, it was a good battle. I was having to be quite defensive in places but it was good fun, really enjoyable it's just a shame we had a bit of a coming together at the end but that's just racing I suppose," he said. Cowne finished third to record his first ever overall podium finish. 'This was amazing but I blew the radiator three laps from the end and I was all over the place," said Cowne. 'I really had to nurse the car through to achieve my podium finish."

Results
Round seven: 1 Justin Sherwood; 2 James Birch; 3 Stephen Liquorish. Fastest Lap: Sherwood 1m26.640s (88.29mph).
Round eight: 1 Stephen Liquorish; 2 James Birch; 3 Mark Cowne. Fastest Lap: Birch 1m28.229s (86.70 mph)

Provisional overall points after round eight: 1 Birch 149; 2 Liquorish 129; 3 Cowne 90; 4 Ferguson 69; 5 Sherwood 63; 6 Neil Houston 60; 7 Peter Smallwood 57; 8 Mark Flaherty 48; 9 Guy Riall 39; 10 Tom Hallissey 8.

Next rounds: Donington Park, 18/19 August
 

Attachments

  • croft1_132.jpg
    croft1_132.jpg
    202.2 KB · Views: 6,033
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB heads for Donington

The fabulous sweeps of Donington Park await contenders in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB for rounds nine and ten of the 12-race season (18/19 August). With only the final two races of the season at Silverstone to follow, championship leader James Birch will be striving to maintain or even extend his overall advantage.

The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge is managed by Porsche Cars GB alongside the Carrera Cup GB and is growing as the season develops, with steadily building competitor interest. The series gained championship status this year for the six-event, 12-race season and is for the cars from 2009 or before, including the 996-model cars from up to 2006.

Heading the GT3 Cup Challenge GB entry into rounds nine and ten will be championship leader Birch (GT Marques), who is enjoying a stunning season with five wins and two seconds from eight races to date. The Buckinghamshire racer heads to Donington with a 20-point lead and will need to build that to at least 45 points by the end of the Donington weekend to clinch the title. More probable is that the title contest will be resolved in front of the BTCC crowds at Silverstone over the weekend of 6/7 October.

Last time out at Croft, two drivers kept Birch away from the top step of the podium as Justin Sherwood and Steven Liquorish each took a win for Team Parker Racing. It is Liquorish who is really taking the fight to Birch across the season and his second win of the campaign in the most recent race at Croft shows that Liquorish is still very much in the title race. He now needs to peg back Birch's points' lead at Donington to ensure a cliff-hanging finish at Silverstone.

Although he has not contested all the races this season, former F3 racer Sherwood has shown excellent pace and he will be firmly on home ground at Donington, so expect him to be very rapid. Meanwhile, making a welcome return to the GT3 Cup Challenge after missing a couple of events is Peter Smallwood (Parr Motorsport) and he is another driver with overall podium ambitions.

John Ferguson (ASK Racing) could be a dark horse in the battle for overall wins having shown strong pace at unfamiliar circuits over recent races. Donington should suit the Birmingham-based Irishman and he has the pace to rival Birch, Liquorish and Sherwood at the very head of the contest. Joining Ferguson in the Dublin-based ASK Racing squad is Tom Hallissey in the team's Class Two 996-model 911 GT3 Cup.

Now running third overall in what is proving to be a remarkable debut season of racing is Mark Cowne (Parr Motorsport), while back on track after missing the Croft races will be Mark Flaherty (Redline Racing).

After qualifying at 11.15 on Saturday, round nine will start at 16.30, with round ten at 13.45 on Sunday. Both races will be filmed for transmission on the Porsche Origin website and Porsche's YouTube channel.

Current provisional championship points:
Overall: 1 James Birch, 149; 2 Steven Liquorish, 129; 3 Mark Cowne, 90; 4 John Ferguson, 69; 5 Justin Sherwood, 63; 6 Neil Houston, 60; etc.

Class 2: 1 Mark Cowne, 28; 2 Tom Hallissey, 11.
 
Sherwood takes Donington double

Justin Sherwood was the toast of Donington Park as he claimed a stylish double victory in rounds nine and then of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB (18/19 August).

Racing on his home track for the first time in nine years, Sherwood was peerless as his rivals battled furiously in wake during two highly entertaining. James Birch bagged two podium finishes to maintain his championship lead with just two races to run.

Qualifying
Sherwood (Team Parker Racing) took pole position for both races in a close qualifying session. Initially championship leader Birch (GT Marques) headed the times but a gear linkage problem meant he was only able to complete three laps and spent the majority of the session in the pits.

Steven Liquorish (Team Parker Racing) moved to the top of the timesheets at the half way point of the session and looked on course for pole until, with three minutes remaining, Sherwood leapt ahead with a lap of 1m10.433s. He said: 'Fantastic, it's nice to be back at Donington, even though I only live a couple of miles away it is 2003 since I last raced here," said Sherwood. 'It's a fantastic circuit and the car really stretches its legs round the quick part of the track. Team Parker set the car up beautifully and I'm pleased with that."

Simon Blanckley (sibsport performance) was second, 0.116 seconds adrift of Sherwood after edging Liquorish back to third by one thousandth of a second with a last gasp effort. 'I'm happy, the lads gave me a good car, it should be a good race, it's very close at the front," said Blanckley.

Liquorish meanwhile was disappointed to have missed out on a front row start by such a narrow margin and was left to rue a mistake on his best lap. 'Out of the chicane I just lit it up a little bit too much but the encouraging thing is it's the quickest I've been so we're going in the right direction," he said. Pete Smallwood (Parr Motorsport) was fourth ahead of John Ferguson (Ask Racing) in fifth while Birch was forced to settle for sixth. The order remained unchanged on the grid for the second race of the weekend.

Round nine

Sherwood took his second victory of the season with a dominant performance in the opening race. As the lights went out the pole sitter made a decent getaway but was forced to defend from the fast starting Smallwood who attempted to go around the outside of Sherwood as they headed down to Redgate. With Smallwood out on the dirty side of the track, Blanckley and Ferguson moved past to demote him to fourth.
Meanwhile Birch moved up to fifth past the slow starting Liquorish who found himself down in sixth by the end of the first lap.
On lap two Ferguson found a way past Blanckley to move into second position while Birch and Liquorish passed Smallwood at the Craner Curves.

The next time around Birch and Liquorish overtook Blanckley to be third and fourth. As the five-car train continued to battle relentlessly for position, Sherwood set about building an unassailable lead by setting consistently quick laps. His pace was such that by lap six he had a lead of over ten seconds.

Behind Sherwood, Ferguson drove very defensively in an attempt to keep Birch at bay but eventually the pressure paid off and Birch moved into second. He then pulled a small gap over Ferguson who was instantly under attack from Liquorish. It only took the Team Parker driver one lap to get past but in the process he lost a place to Blanckley. The pair then fought over the final podium place for the remainder of the race.

At the flag Sherwood's margin over Birch was 7.6 seconds. 'I was pleased with that and I really enjoyed it," said Sherwood. 'The car was great and everyone battling enabled me to pull a big gap. After that it was just a matter of pacing myself. That was very much my best drive of the season so far."

Birch finished a rather solitary second after breaking away from the gaggle of cars behind but failing to make significant inroads into Sherwood's lead. 'I'm very, very happy for the championship," said Birch who, by finishing ahead of Liquorish, extended his lead. Blanckley held on to third and managed to both keep Birch in sight and shake off the close attention of Liquorish in the closing stages.

'I'm pleased with that, it was a good but hard race," said Blanckley. Liquorish was fourth whilst behind him Ferguson and Smallwood scrapped for fifth position right until the final corner of the last lap when Smallwood jinked out of the slipstream and encouraged Ferguson to leave his braking a fraction too late, which allowed Smallwood through for fifth. Tom Hallissey finished seventh in his Class Two car.

Round ten

For Sherwood, Sunday's race was pretty much a re-run as high ambient temperatures made it tough for the drivers. Sherwood got away from the start as his rivals battled mightily for second as five cars initially ran in very close formation to make a great spectacle for the crowd.

The fast starting Smallwood cut the early pace in second, but Liquorish had nailed the start this time and ran third before diving into second at the Old Hairpin on the third lap. N ext it was Birch, up from the tail of the grid, who was challenging Smallwood and once ahead the championship leader set off after Liquorish. After a dogged pursuit, Birch grabbed second place at Redgate, but Liquorish immediately re-challenged and went back ahead as Birch ran wide onto the grass at the Old Hairpin.

Once again Birch set about hunting Liquorish down, but he ran out of laps and Liquorish took a well-deserved second place. However, up front, Sherwood had been dominant and won in style to the delight of many family and friends. 'It seemed a bit harder this time," admitted Sherwood. 'I had a moment at the Old Hairpin, but I was able to pull away in the first couple of laps."

'I did have to work for that," said Liquorish after a fine performance. 'It was a good battle with James and when he passed me I just tried to keep him under pressure." Birch, meanwhile, takes a 22-point championship lead into the final two races. "I had the speed to take second," said Birch. 'I was just too eager to get away from Steven and pushed too hard."
Ferguson raced hard to take fourth, but had to fend off the recovering Blanckley as the Newcastle driver battled back after a mid-race moment, while Smallwood took sixth. Mark Cowne (Team Parker Racing) dashed back from holiday to join the grid on Sunday and finished seventh on his Donington debut, while Hallissey again took Class Two.

Results
Round nine: 1 Justin Sherwood; 2 James Birch; 3 Simon Blanckley. Class Two: 1 Tom Hallissey. Fastest lap: Sherwood 1m11.240s (100.00mph).

Round ten: 1 Justin Sherwood; 2 Steven Liquorish; 3 James Birch. Class Two: 1 Tom Hallissey. Fastest lap: Sherwood 1m10.843s (100.56mph).

Provisional overall points after round ten: 1 Birch 183; 2 Liquorish 161; 3 Sherwood 107; 4 Cowne 99; 5 Ferguson 93; 6 Smallwood 79; etc.

Final rounds: Silverstone, 6/7 October.
 

Attachments

  • donny1_253.jpg
    donny1_253.jpg
    172.1 KB · Views: 6,029
The Donington race report

The five-minute film covers the story of rounds nine and ten of the season at Donington Park and features a double victory for Justin Sherwood as well as some great battles in the pack.



The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB concludes at Silverstone on 6/7 October.
 
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB finale at Silverstone

The weekend of 6/7 October marks the biggest date so far in the history of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB as the final two rounds of the season put the drivers in action on the BTCC-supporting programme at Silverstone.

The GT3 Cup Challenge GB is managed by Porsche Cars GB alongside the Carrera Cup GB and has grown steadily across the season. The six-event, 12-race championship is for the Carrera Cup cars from 2009 or before, including the 996-model cars from up to 2006.

Now, for the final two races, the championship steps up to join the Carrera Cup on the BTCC support programme and, with the overall title to be decided by Sunday morning, it promises to be a fitting finale to the season.

Heading the entry into the final two rounds is championship leader James Birch (GT Marques), who has enjoyed a stunning season with five wins, three seconds and a third from 10 races to date. The Buckinghamshire racer heads to Silverstone with a 22-point lead and two more podiums would be enough to claim the title. 'I'm really looking forward to the weekend and, touch wood, wrapping up the championship," said the former single-seater racer. 'I just need to finish and beat Steve," he added.

The Steve that Birch needs to be beat is Steven Liquorish (Team Parker Racing), who has claimed six podiums during a cracking season to be the only driver now in a position to come between Birch and the title. 'Anything can happen yet in the last two races," said Liquorish. 'It's going to be very tight on the National circuit."

With three wins from the last four races, Justin Sherwood (Team Parker Racing) is the man on top form right now. The former F3 racer missed a couple of races earlier in the season so is not in the overall title race, but is more than capable of winning again, while John Ferguson (ASK Racing) and local racer Peter Smallwood (Parr Motorsport) are both podium contenders.

Running fourth overall in a remarkable debut season of racing is Mark Cowne (Parr Motorsport), while new to the grid for Silverstone will be young Harry Whale (IN2Racing) and Nick Staveley (sibsport performance). Harry, the son of experienced all-rounder Nick, is showing great form at this early stage of his racing career, while Staveley makes a welcome return to racing after a five-year sabbatical.


Current provisional championship points:
Overall: 1 James Birch, 183; 2 Steven Liquorish, 161; 3 Justin Sherwood, 107; 4 Mark Cowne, 99; 5 John Ferguson, 93; 6 Peter Smallwood, 79; etc.
Class 2: 1 Tom Hallissey, 32; 2 Mark Cowne, 28.
 
Birch clinches 2012 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB crown

Justin Sherwood and James Birch took a race victory apiece in the final two rounds of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB at Silverstone (6/7 October) and it was Birch who emerged as champion as the series guested on the BTCC support programme.

Second place to Sherwood in round 11 was enough to settle the title, but Birch signed off in style on Sunday with an impressive victory in a race shown live on ITV4 and in front of 30,000 spectators.

Qualifying

The drivers had to deal with tricky conditions during the 20-minute qualifying session as heavy overnight rain left the track damp but drying and everyone elected to run wet tyres for the entire session.

It was Harry Whale (IN2Racing), making his debut in the series, who topped the timesheets setting a best lap of 1m03.219s to secure pole position by a third of a second. 'Fantastic! I was pleased it was wet, I knew going into it that it'd be better for me than if it was dry and it proved that way," he said. Steven Liquorish (Team Parker Racing) was second fastest for both races but claimed the two points for pole position as Whale was not scoring points a guest driver in the championship. 'Pleased with that," said Liquorish. 'Stuart Parker set the car up fantastically, all credit to Team Parker again: a great car underneath me," he added.

Championship leader Birch (GT Marques) was third quickest for both races, lapping within a tenth of Liquorish on both his fastest and second fastest laps. Double winner last time out at Donington, Justin Sherwood, (Team Parker Racing) was fourth with Pete Smallwood (Parr Motorsport) rounding out the top five.

Round 11

As the race got underway polesitter Whale made a tardy start – his first standing start - while from the second row Sherwood hooked up a near perfect start to pull alongside Liquorish and into the lead by the time he reached Copse corner. Birch maintained third ahead of John Ferguson (ASK Racing) as Whale found himself fifth by the end of the first lap.

Further back, contact between Guy Riall (Almara Racing) and Neil Houston (Team Parker Racing) at Copse ruined both of their races as the damage to Riall's car caused him to retire instantly while Houston limped back to the pits with a puncture and consequently rejoined a lap down on the leaders.

The safety car was deployed while the marshals moved Riall's stranded car and Sherwood judged the restart perfectly to pull a decent gap over Liquorish and the rest of the chasing pack. It was then confirmed that Liquorish had been given a ten-second penalty for a false start. That meant as long as Birch stayed within ten seconds of Liquorish by the finish he would be champion. However, unaware of the penalty, Birch pressed Liquorish and found a way through on lap nine and set off after Sherwood.

Although initially the gap decreased, Sherwood had enough in hand to keep the gap to Birch at around two seconds and in the later stages he was able to pull further clear, taking the gap to over four seconds at the flag. He said: 'It's fantastic. I wasn't expecting to win to be honest, starting from fourth. Steve, James and Harry are all quick lads in front of me but I had a cracking start."

Finishing in second Birch was confirmed as champion. 'So, so pleased to win the championship, I'm lost for words a bit to be honest," said Birch. 'Massive thanks to GT Marques for a great end to the season and for being great support."

Completing the podium was Whale who battled back to finish third at the flag. 'I'm thrilled to be on the podium for my first race in the GT3 Cup Challenge," he said. 'Considering I started on pole I am perhaps a bit disappointed, I think it was my start but I've never started one of these cars before."

Ferguson crossed the line fourth just half a second clear of Smallwood but the positions were reversed after the race as Ferguson was given a five-second penalty for exceeding the track limits. Liquorish rounded off the top six courtesy of his time penalty and a spin midway through the race. In Class 2 Tom Hallissey (ASK Racing) took the honours, recording a top ten finish in the process. 'I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the race," said Hallissey. 'During the race we improved on our times from testing on Wednesday by a few seconds so we're heading in the right direction."

Round 12

On Sunday Birch round off his title winning year with a victory in the 12th and final round. Again polesitter Whale was slow away and he was swamped into the first corner. Sherwood tried a repeat of his move from the opening race but Birch covered the inside line and slotted in behind front row starter Liquorish as the pack went into Copse for the first time.

Birch pressured Liquorish and powered through before the end of the first lap. Liquorish was then tagged by Ferguson at Brooklands and the resultant delay demoted the pair to fifth and eighth. This promoted Sherwood to second and he quickly got onto the tail of Birch. However, this did not fluster the champion and by lap nine he began to edge clear.

Behind, Whale was starting to gain on Sherwood and was gifted second position when Sherwood had a spin while lapping Hallissey. Whale then ran into his own trouble with lapped traffic as he was severely held up, allowing the recovering Liquorish to get right behind him.

Whale defended his position and as the race entered the closing stages Liquorish began to struggle with tyres, as he dropped back from Whale and into the clutches of the charging Smallwood. Back at the head of the race, Birch cruised across the line to take his sixth victory of the season. 'I'm so happy, fantastic race. Great end to the season, I couldn't have wished for more," said Birch.

Whale took his best result of the weekend with second. 'I'm over the moon with the weekend, I really enjoyed it," he said. Smallwood battled past Liquorish with an excellent manoeuvre at the final corner of the final lap to claim a podium at his home circuit. 'It was a fantastic race. I've worked so hard for this round, it feels like a win to me," enthused Smallwood. Liquorish was a disappointed fourth with Sherwood fifth and Ferguson sixth. Hallissey again won Class 2 and claimed a top ten finish.

Results
Round 11: 1 Justin Sherwood; 2 James Birch; 3 Harry Whale. Class Two: 1 Tom Hallissey. Fastest Lap: Sherwood 58.031s (101.76mph).

Round 12: 1 James Birch; 2 Harry Whale; 3 Pete Smallwood. Fastest Lap: Birch 58.110s (101.62mph).

Provisional final overall points: 1 Birch 222; 2 Liquorish 191; 3 Sherwood 142; 4 Ferguson 119; 5 Mark Cowne 117; 6 Smallwood 113; etc.
 

Attachments

  • silver1_186.jpg
    silver1_186.jpg
    248.1 KB · Views: 5,895
Birch celebrates 2012 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB title

James Birch sealed the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB title during the final race weekend at Silverstone (6/7 October) and is already aiming to graduate into the Carrera Cup GB in 2013.

Birch won six times in 12 races and was on the podium in five of the other six races in a season when he raced with both IN2 Racing and GT Marques. The 22-year old racer from Amersham made a huge effort even to get to Silverstone as the final two races came during a four-week training course in India with his employer.

He flew to the UK from Bangalore on Friday and then had to hastily re-arrange his return – planned for Sunday afternoon – when the race timetable was changed due to fog early in the day.

'I'm absolutely over the moon and so, so happy," said Birch. 'I'm still a bit lost for words to be honest. It's sunk in a bit but not properly yet, I've just had a really enjoyable weekend. Massive thanks to GT Marques for a great weekend of racing."

For Birch and the rest of the GT3 Cup Challenge drivers, the season finale on the BTCC programme was a real highlight of the year. 'Winning the final race at Silverstone was fantastic," he said. 'It was brilliant coming round Luffield on the last lap and seeing myself on the big screen: that was a really enjoyable moment. I've never driven in front of so many people before so it was a great experience as well."

Now, Birch will turn his focus towards plans for next season. 'For 2013 we're looking to move into Carrera Cup. Obviously that's going to be dependent on funds but hopefully off the back of this weekend we might get some more sponsorship opportunities. Carrera Cup is the logical step for us and that's the reason we did the GT3 Cup in the first place as a feeder. The Carrera Cup is certainly the route I want to go down."
 

Attachments

  • silver2_209.jpg
    silver2_209.jpg
    139.1 KB · Views: 5,892
Silverstone GT3 Cup Challenge race coverage on-line

The final race reports from the 2012 season in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB.

Two films cover the story of rounds 11 and 12 of the season at Silverstone as the season came to a conclusion in front of the 30,000 BTCC crowd.

The weekend featured victories for Justin Sherwood and James Birch as well as some great battles in the pack. Victory in the final race of the season underlined Birch's title success.


Round 11:



Round 12:

 

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
124,354
Messages
1,439,461
Members
48,713
Latest member
3sp1f8
Back
Top