COUNTRY VICTORIA TO WITNESS CARRERA CUP’S FINEST
18/7/2004 22:56 (Press Release) -
It will be a showcase of Porsche racing technology and prowess in Northern Victoria next week when the Australian Carrera Cup features as the primary support category to the V8 Supercars at Winton Motor Raceway.
More than 20 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars will do battle in a three-race program at Country Victoria’s number one sporting event from Friday July 23 to Sunday July 25, as part of round six of the Australian Carrera Cup.
On the Thursday before the event, another showcase of the racing technology will be held at The Bended Elbow pub in Albury, just over the border in NSW. The Bended Elbow is a sponsor for Dean Grant’s entry in the Carrera Cup series, and will be hosting a special breakfast for the public as a preview to the Winton racing over the next three days.
Grant, series leader Alex Davison (Greg Murphy Racing / Glenfords Discount Tool Centres) and series rookie leader Fabian Coulthard (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun) will be signing autographs, radio station 104.9 Star FM will be broadcasting live from The Bended Elbow, and the Porsches of Grant, David Thexton (Thexton Racing / thexton.com.au) and Jonathon Webb (Tekno Autosports) will be on show outside the pub.
While racing fans will certainly get their fix of Carrera Cup action in Albury and Winton, the drivers are launching their assault on the second half of the 2004 season.
Young gun Davison, 24, has won six consecutive rounds in the Australian Carrera Cup – the first five rounds in 2004 to add to the final round last year. He has already been snapped up by V8 Supercar team Castrol Perkins Racing to race full-time for them next year, and during the endurance rounds at Sandown and Bathurst this year.
Not many drivers in any category of motor racing possess a record like Davison’s in the Carrera Cup. The Melbourne-based Porsche star has won 11 of his 14 official Australian Carrera Cup races he has contested.
Looking to close the championship gap on his younger rival, reigning series champion and patron Jim Richards (Jim Richards Racing / OAMPS Insurance Brokers) brings bittersweet memories back to Winton.
Last year Richards won race one, finished second in race two, before contact on the opening corner in race three resulted in him spinning to the rear of the field. This year the 56-year-old has had two race wins, and four round podiums, to sit 123 points behind Davison in the series.
Another Greg Murphy Racing product Fabian Coulthard has been a revelation so far in 2004. The Melbourne-based Kiwi who celebrates his 22nd birthday three days after the event, lies third in the championship and leads the Michelin Porsche Driver to Europe and Michelin Rookie of the Year awards.
Coulthard had his highest round finish at Queensland Raceway earlier this month, with a second placing behind his team mate Davison.
Another three young guns in James Cressey (Team VIP Petfoods), Klark Quinn (Team VIP Petfoods) and Jonathon Webb (Tekno Autosport) join Davison and Coulthard as the under-30 brigade set to make their mark on Australian motorsport.
Winton will also see the Porsche racing resumption for Paul Freestone (Freestone’s Transport) and Charlie O’Brien who has secured Wright Patton Shakespeare sponsorship to see out the season.
In another exciting mini-battle set to continue in Winton, Grant, Tony Quinn (Team VIP Petfoods) and Stephen Borness (Celerity Racing / Logiadd) are all in contention for the 2004 Carrera Cup Challenge, rewarding drivers 35 years or older in a 2003-spec 911 GT3 Cup car.
Round six of the 2004 Australian Carrera Cup at Winton Motor Raceway begins with practice on Friday July 23, qualifying and race one over 10 laps on Saturday July 24, and race two and three over 10 laps on Sunday July 25.
‘Trackside’ on Network Ten will telecast round six of the Carrera Cup on Sunday August 1 at 2pm (check local guides).
The Carrera Cup is the most successful ‘one make’ championship in the world with close-to-identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars built by Porsche’ racing arm in Weissach, Germany set for racing in 2004. All cars have a top speed in excess of 300 kilometres per hour with a 400-horsepower, 6 cylinder Boxer engine which revs to 8000 RPM.
STATS & INFO
Circuit – 3km clockwise
Practice – 11.00am Friday
Qualifying – 11.05am Saturday
Race 1 – 2.40pm Saturday (10 laps)
Race 2 – 9.35am Sunday (10 laps)
Race 3 – 12.10pm Sunday (10 laps)
Carrera Cup Track Qualifying Lap Record – Jim Richards 1:26.0566 (2003)
Carrera Cup Track Race Lap Record – Jim Richards 1:26.0531 (2003)
2003 Round Results – 1. Marcus Marshall 2. Jim Richards 3. Andrew Miedecke
2003 Race Winners – Marcus Marshall x 2, Jim Richards x 1
2004 ROUND RESULTS
Round 1 (Clipsal 500, SA) – 1. Alex Davison 2. Jim Richards 3. Fabian Coulthard
Round 2 (Eastern Creek, NSW) – 1. Alex Davison 2. Jim Richards 3. Peter Fitzgerald
Round 3 (Hidden Valley, NT) – 1. Alex Davison 2. Jim Richards 3. Fabian Coulthard
Round 4 (Barbagallo, WA) – 1. Alex Davison 2. Jim Richards 3. Fabian Coulthard
Round 5 (Queensland Raceway, QLD) – 1. Alex Davison 2. Fabian Coulthard 3. James Cressey
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (AFTER ROUND 5)
1. Alex Davison (Greg Murphy Racing / Glenfords Discount Tool Centres) 804
2. Jim Richards (Jim Richards Racing / OAMPS Insurance Brokers) 681
3. Fabian Coulthard (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun) 630
4. Peter Fitzgerald (Fitzgerald Racing / Abcor, Acer) 462
5. Paul Pedersen (International Motorsport NZ / Lakesawn Lumber) 345
6. James Cressey (Team VIP Petfoods) 330
7. Tony Quinn (Team VIP Petfoods) 288
8. Klark Quinn (Team VIP Petfoods) 285
9. Rodney Jane (Rodney Jane Racing / Bob Jane T-Marts) 279
10. Dean Grant (Becks Racing) 267
11. Peter Bradbury (Team MPS Security) 264
12. Jonathon Webb (Tekno Autosports) 207
13. Stephen Borness (Celerity Racing / Logiadd) 177
14. Peter Hill (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun) 141
15. Kevin Bell (International Motorsport NZ / G-Tech NZ) 108
16. Ross Rutherford (International Motorsport NZ / Woodstock Bourbon) 84
17. Roger Oakeshott (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun) 75
18. Ash Samadi (Globe Racing) 60
19. Troy Hunt (MOG Sport / Talent 2) 57
20. David Thexton (Thexton Racing / thexton.com.au) 45
21. Marc Cini (Adamco) 42
22. Claude Giorgi (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun) 39
23. Paul Freestone (Freestone Racing / Freestones Transport) 27
24. Tony Pugliese (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun) 21
MICHELIN PORSCHE DRIVER TO EUROPE
(For Drivers under 30 who haven’t driven in a European Porsche series)
1. Fabian Coulthard (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun) 780
2. James Cressey (Team VIP Petfoods) 630
3. Klark Quinn (Team VIP Petfoods) 546
4. Jonathon Webb (Tekno Autosports) 360
5. Troy Hunt (MOG Sport / Talent 2) 102
MICHELIN ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
(For Drivers in their first Porsche racing series)
1. Fabian Coulthard (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun) 780
2. James Cressey (Team VIP Petfoods) 696
3. Ash Samadi (Globe Racing) 396
4. David Thexton (Thexton Motor Racing) 330
5. Claude Giorgi (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun) 144
FUCHS HARD CHARGER
(For the Driver who passes the most cars in Carrera Cup races)
1. Tony Quinn (Team VIP Petfoods) 34
2. Peter Bradbury (Team MPS Security) 29
3. Stephen Borness (Celerity Racing / Logiadd) 28
3. James Cressey (Team VIP Petfoods) 28
5. Dean Grant (Becks Racing) 20
CHALL! ENGE
(For Drivers 35 years or over in a 2003 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car)
1. Dean Grant (Becks Racing) 744
2. Tony Quinn (Team VIP Petfoods) 696
3. Stephen Borness (Celerity Racing / Logiadd) 603
4. Roger Oakeshott (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun) 402
5. Peter Hill (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun) 390
HIGHEST PLACED NEW ZEALAND BASED DRIVER
1. Paul Pedersen (International Motorsport NZ / Lakesawn Lumber) 345
2. Kevin Bell (International Motorsport NZ / G-Tech NZ) 108
2. Ross Rutherford (International Motorsport NZ / Woodstock Bourbon) 84
Release Date: 15/07/2004
Carrera Cup
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