Porsche Carrera Cup GB – the fastest single-marque GT racing championship in the UK – travelled to Snetterton in Norfolk to begin the second half of the season in challenging hot weather conditions. Championship leader Kiern Jewiss (Team Parker Racing) drove to victory in the weekend's longer race, while reverse grid pole-sitter Matthew Graham (Redline Racing) won the afternoon's sprint.

Saturday's qualifying session was a closely contested affair. Gus Burton (Rosland Gold Racing by Century Motorsport) was initially ahead but it was Pro-Am category driver Charles Rainford (CCK Motorsport) who looked ready to perform an upset – he set the quickest overall time with just three minutes of the session remaining. However, as the flag fell, Jewiss posted the fastest time of the weekend, securing the second pole position of his Porsche racing career. Rainford ended the session an impressive fourth overall while Josh Stanton (JTR) topped Am.

Round nine took place on Sunday morning over a 40-minute distance. Jewiss was slow away at the start allowing Burton to assume the race lead. A safety car period was required after a dramatic roll for Nigel Rice (Redline Racing). Following the restart, Jewiss overtook Burton but soon received a time penalty. This was later rescinded, handing Jewiss his second win of the season. Burton was second, Theo Edgerton (JTR) third, while Rainford took the top spot in Pro-Am and Stanton won again in Am.

The weekend's second race took place on Sunday lunchtime over a 20-minute distance. From reverse grid pole position, Graham maintained his lead at the start and stayed ahead of rivals Edgerton and Josh Malin (Comline Richardson Racing) to the flag. Rainford took victory in Pro-Am but a post-race time penalty promoted Nathan Harrison (Redline Racing) to category victory. A close fight between Stanton and Justin Sherwood (Team Parker Racing) raged throughout the race, ending with a return to the top step of the Am category podium for the reigning category champion.

Qualifying
Saturday afternoon's 30-minute qualifying session took place in dry and very hot conditions with a track temperature approaching 50 degrees Celsius. Burton was the early pacesetter, setting a benchmark time of 1:50.968, while Edgerton, Rainford, Ellis and Porsche GB 2022 / 2023 Junior Adam Smalley (Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Redline) all chased his lead. With 17 minutes remaining on the clock, Jewiss made his presence felt by setting a time 0.195 adrift of Burton.

At the midpoint of the session all 21 drivers took on fresh slick Michelin racing tyres, Burton's time still standing as the overall fastest with a determined Rainford ahead in Pro-Am. In Am, newcomer Loggie threatened an upset, narrowly ahead of the established names in the close category battle. With eight minutes remaining on the clock, the drivers took to the track to set their final lap times.

Rainford sprung a surprise to go fastest overall, with a time of 1:50.742. He was soon usurped by Burton, but the Pro-Am category championship leader had an answer – his 1:50.285 was quick enough to put him back at the top of the timing screens. Graham, Edgerton. Ellis and Smalley all improved, but it was Jewiss who emerged ahead, his blisteringly fast time of 1:49.962 good enough to secure the second pole position of his Porsche racing career.

Jewiss would be joined on the front row of the grid for the weekend's first race by Burton, with Edgerton on row two. Rainford topped the Pro-Am drivers qualifying an impressive fourth overall, while Stanton was the top Am category runner. The 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup GB weekend format meant that Jewiss earned two championship points with his pole position, as did the top qualifiers in their respective categories: Rainford (Pro-Am) and Stanton (Am).

Race one
The first of the weekend's two races took place on Sunday morning in dry and hot conditions, run to a longer-than-usual 40-minute duration – that made tyre management and driver fatigue in the extreme heat important factors. When the lights went out, Jewiss was slow away allowing Burton to grab the lead before the first corner. As the pack arrived at Riches, Jewiss, Edgerton, Martin and Malin were all squabbling for second while Jewiss emerged ahead to slot behind leader Burton. Later into the opening lap, Edgerton overtook Malin under braking at Agostini.

In Pro-Am, Rainford slipped down to fifth but retained his category advantage over Harrison and Angus Whiteside (Toro Verde GT). Stanton was ahead of Sherwood and Loggie in Am. On the second lap of the race, Martin passed Smalley for sixth at Agostini, and both drivers then found a way by Rainford who was now relegated to seventh. As Will Aspin (Team Parker Racing) made his retirement to the pit lane, Micah Stanley (Redline Racing) dropped to the back of the pack. At the front of the race, Jewiss began to close on leader Burton – on lap six the gap was just half a second.

An intense scrap between Rice and Loggie for the final Am podium spot came to a head on lap seven. Loggie shot down the inside of Rice at Bomb Hole and – as the pair made contact at the apex – Rice was pitched into a dramatic roll, ending his race on the spot. Rice emerged from his car uninjured as Loggie continued. Meanwhile the Safety Car was scrambled, neutralising the race with 27 minutes remaining on the clock.

The race returned to green flag conditions on lap 11 with only 18 minutes remaining. Just before the restart, Martin ran wide allowing Smalley to snatch fifth place. The pair later switched back while Ellis suffered an off at Bomb Hole relegating him down the order. On lap 13, Jewiss closed up to Burton which forced the race leader to drive defensively, before he took a wide line through Agostini that allowed him to cut back to the inside at Hamilton. There was light side-to-side contact between the pair but Jewiss got ahead to assume the lead of the race.

With clear air ahead of him, Jewiss began to pull away from Burton, but following a warning for track limits he received a five-second time penalty to be applied to his final race time. Jewiss was now leading on the road but Burton was ahead on corrected time, Edgerton was second, Martin third and Malin fourth. Now sitting fifth in the order, Jewiss began to push harder to mitigate the impact of his time penalty and soon he had done enough to rank ahead of Malin. On the final lap of the race, Martin ran wide at Coram allowing Malin through for the final podium place.

Jewiss took the chequered flag first on the road but on corrected time the winner was declared as Burton. Edgerton finished second and Malin third, while a frustrated Jewiss ended his race in fourth. Rainford retained his advantage over Harrison and Whiteside in Pro-Am, while Stanton took his ninth Am win in as many races, joined on the category podium by Sherwood and Loggie.

For recording the fastest lap in each of their respective categories, Martin (Pro), Ellis (Pro-Am) and Stanton (Am) each received one additional championship point. As part of the 2022 podium procedure, a driver selected at random the number five ball, which reversed the grid positions of the top five overall race finishers from the opening race.

Following the race, time penalties for Jewiss and Ryan Ratcliffe (Team Parker Racing) for track limits were rescinded – that made Jewiss the winner with Burton now second and Edgerton third. For overtaking under the Safety Car, Smalley was handed a two-place grid penalty for round 10. The grid order for the weekend's second race therefore was Graham and Malin on the front row, Edgerton and Burton on row two, Jewiss and Martin on row three.

Race two
The second race of the weekend took place on Sunday afternoon in dry and hot conditions over a shorter 20-minute distance. Graham and Malin got away well from the front row, Malin challenging Graham as they tackled Riches for the first time. In turn, Edgerton attacked Malin through the first sector of the lap. In Pro-Am, Rainford maintained his advantage to stay ahead of category rivals Charles Bateman (Team Parker Racing) and Harrison, and in Am, Sherwood was ahead of Stanton and Loggie.

Graham soon pulled out a lead of almost a full second over the chasing Edgerton and, just behind, a trio of cars battled for fourth – Jewiss leading Burton from Martin. A developing fight in Am quickly gained momentum as Stanton pressured Sherwood for the category lead. Stanton looked up the inside of his rival into Riches on more than one occasion, but he could not find a route by – Sherwood was determined to bring Stanton's unbroken record of Am category victories to an end.

On lap seven, Harrison overtook Bateman for second place in Pro-Am. One lap later, Whiteside replicated the move to knock Bateman off the provisional category podium. Meanwhile, at the front of the race, Graham and Edgerton traded fastest overall lap times and, in the closing stages, Malin began to close on both. However, the order would remain the same to the flag. Graham's win was his third of the season and came just two weeks after his dramatic incident at Knockhill. Rainford stood on the top step of the Pro-Am category podium with reigning category champion, Sherwood, taking his first Am win of the season.

Following the race, Rainford and Jake Giddings (Team Parker Racing) were deemed to have made false starts – both drivers were handed 10-second time penalties to be applied to their final race times. Whiteside was given a penalty of one position for gaining an unfair advantage during an incident with Bateman – this reversed their finishing positions, promoting Bateman to the final Pro-Am category podium position. For recording the fastest lap in each of their respective categories, Graham (Pro), Rainford (Pro-Am) and Stanton (Am) each received one additional championship point.

Following the Snetterton weekend, the championship travels to Thruxton – the UK's fastest circuit – on the weekend of 27 and 28 August. Jewiss has extended his championship advantage over Martin to 13 points with three weekends remaining. Rainford enjoys a comfortable advantage in Pro-Am while, despite his string of category victories being broken in Norfolk, Stanton is still closing in on Am glory.

Championship positions*

Overall:
Kiern Jewiss - Team Parker Racing - 81
Will Martin - Comline Richardson Racing - 68
Adam Smalley - Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Redline - 61

Pro-Am:
Charles Rainford - CCK Motorsport - 90
Nathan Harrison - Redline Racing - 74
Ryan Ratcliffe - Team Parler - 48

Am:
Josh Stanton - JTR - 113
Justin Sherwood - Team Parker Racing - 61
Mark Radcliffe - Valluga - 39

*results remain provisional