The Porsche Sprint Challenge GB came to Donington Park for the second time in 2023, this time running on the iconic Grand Prix layout, the longer variant of the circuit encompassing the challenging Melbourne loop. Running alongside the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) and its sister Porsche GB single marque championship, Carrera Cup GB, the weekend drew huge crowds as well as being televised live on ITV4.

In the weekend’s first race, it was a lights-to-flag victory for William Jenkins (Century Motorsport), the maiden win of his Porsche racing career. Joe Warhurst (Team Parker Racing) was hot on his heels, while Max Coates (Team Omologato by Graves Motorsport) took to the third step of the Pro category podium. In Am, the top three comprised Marc Warren (Raceway Motorsport), Edward Stanton (Toro Verde GT) and Danny Dwyer (Xentek Motorsport).

The second race delivered plenty of action, with Stanton spinning on the first lap, and race leader Warhurst outbraking himself to lose the lead of the race. It meant the final Pro category order was Steve Roberts (Redline Racing), Jenkins, and local racer Matt Armstrong (Team Parker Racing). Warren was followed home by Callum Davis (CCK Motorsport) and Matthew Kyle-Henney (SW Engineering) in Am, Warren also taking the overall win.

The final race proved even more dramatic, with Dwyer, Stanton, Rupert Laslett (Raceway Motorsport), Jenkins and Armstrong all having excursions off the circuit in the early stages, while contact between Warhust and Toby Trice (Redline Racing) left the latter stopped on the apex of the Melbourne Hairpin. Later, Robert Cronin (Parker Classic Works) and Reece Somerfield (Breakell Racing) made contact, putting Somerfield into the gravel. The finishing order was Roberts, Hammerton and Coates in the Pro category, with Warren – once again the overall winner – Davis and Graeme Mundy (Toro Verde GT) completing the Am podium.

Qualifying
Qualifying took place on Saturday afternoon in mild temperatures and under cloudy skies, but with the threat of rain – ominous dark clouds were visible on the horizon as the grid of 19 cars made their way out on track. With 10 minutes of the session complete the field was up to full pace – Jenkins set the fastest time, a 1.33.964. Warhurst and Roberts made up the top three Pro drivers, while in the Am category the order went Warren, Dwyer, Kyle-Henney.

A few minutes later, the inevitable happened and the heavens opened, driving the whole field – shod on slick Michelin tyres – into the pit lane. But, with one further lap recorded before the downpour, Armstrong had taken third spot from Roberts in the Pro category and, in Am, Stanton had moved up to second place, pushing Dwyer into third. While the majority of drivers elected to stay in the pits, knowing they wouldn’t improve their times, a few cars returned to the circuit to test in the wet conditions. But the order, predictably, remained unchanged when the flag fell at the end of the half-hour session.

A driver's fastest- and second-fastest laps are used to form the grid for races one and two, with the grid for race three determined by the finishing positions of race two. Jenkins secured pole position for Round 10, with Warren topping Am despite a three-place overall grid penalty carried over from the previous weekend at Croft. Warhust would start from pole for the weekend’s second race, with Warren again lining up ahead of his Am category rivals.

Race one
The weekend’s first race took place on Saturday afternoon in warm and bright conditions. When the lights went out, the field made a clean start, giving each other racing room but not a fraction more as they negotiated Redgate and the infamous Craner Curves. At the end of the first lap, the order remained Jenkins, Warhurst and Armstrong in the Pro category. Warren led Am, followed in the category fight by Stanton and Dwyer. Further down the order, Davis made a particularly impressive start, climbing from sixteenth to thirteenth place by the end of the first lap.

On lap three, Armstrong and Roberts made contact at McLeans in their fight for second position. It left Armstrong beached in the gravel while Roberts headed back to the pits to retire from the race. Further back, battles raged, and on lap five Kyle-Henney passed Neil Tofts (Redline Racing), Mundy passed Laslett, and John White (Parker Classic Works) – running wide through the gravel at McLeans – letting newcomer George Jaxon (Fusion Fuels by JWB Motorsport) through. The following lap, Mundy and Laslett would pass Tofts and, the lap after, the recovering White re-took the place from Jaxon.

Jenkins was holding on to his lead, but Warhurst was hot on his tail, every lap closing in under braking at the Melbourne Hairpin but unable to find a way past. The pair pulled a gap from Coates and Warren, who were in turn battling for third place overall, despite being in different categories. In the midfield, Somerfield, Cronin and Davis diced for position, the two additional hairpins of the Melbourne loop providing prime opportunity for overtaking. With four minutes left to go, Somerfield slid wide at Goddards, forcing him to take a defensive line to fend off Cronin at Redgate.

The following lap, Davis dived up the inside of Cronin and Somerfield at the Melbourne Hairpin but couldn‘t make the move stick. At the Old Hairpin, Somerfield went wide, allowing Cronin past. Davis seized the opportunity and attempted to go around the outside of the recovering Somerfield, however, in the process he went wide himself and had to fend off Kyle-Henney. During the scrap, Cronin received a five-second penalty for a breach of track limits, putting him five places down the order on corrected time.

At the flag, Jenkins took the win – his first victory in Porsche Sprint Challenge GB – followed by Warhurst and Coates. Warren, who was an impressive fourth overall, was first of the Am drivers, followed in category by Stanton and Dwyer.

For recording the fastest lap in each of their respective categories, Jenkins (Pro) and Warren (Am) each received one additional championship point. Following post-race checks, Somerfield was disqualified for a technical infringement, meaning he’d start the day’s second race from the back of the grid and with a 10-second penalty, and was also deducted six championship points. White was disqualified for driving standards and handed a four-point deduction. Roberts received a deduction of two championship points and two category points for an incident with Armstrong.

Race two
The second race of the weekend took place on Sunday afternoon in overcast conditions. The track was damp with a dry line appearing, and the surface moisture would continue to evaporate over the course of the race. All drivers went out on grooved wet weather Michelin tyres, however, after reassessing track conditions during the green flag lap, Tofts took to the pit lane to change to slick tyres. It would mean he‘d miss the start of the race.

All cars got away cleanly from the grid and, at the Old Hairpin, Jenkins passed Armstrong for fourth place. At the same corner but further back in the field, Stanton – avoiding the weaving Dwyer – lost the rear of his car in the greasy conditions, sending him spinning into the grass infield. Top three Warhurst, Warren and Roberts immediately pulled a lead from the rest of the pack. The following lap, Coates passed Hammerton for seventh.

On lap three, leader Warhurst outbraked himself at the Melbourne Hairpin, dropping to ninth position and promoting Am category driver Warren to the lead of the race. The next lap, Coates made a move on Trice at the Fogarty Esses. Trice came back at Coates at the Melbourne Hairpin, but Coates finally made it back at Goddards, giving him fifth position. Warhurst re-took a place from Kyle-Henney, Davis passed Dwyer, and Cronin made two positions, overtaking both Laslett and Mundy.

Soon, it was Cronin’s chance to pass Dwyer while Somerfield took fourteenth position from Laslett. Warhust made up one more place in his recovery effort, passing Hammerton but conceded it on the next lap. Meanwhile, Davis continued his charge from his starting position of fourteenth place, to overtake Kyle-Henney for ninth.

Vying for third position, Armstrong would manage to get alongside Jenkins on the way out of the Melbourne Hairpin, but this put him on the outside line at Goddards, Jenkins maintained his lead. The following lap, the scrap would repeat itself almost move for move, with the same result, allowing Coates to close in on the pair.

The final finishing order was Roberts, Jenkins and Armstrong in the Pro category, and Warren – who took the overall win – followed by Davis and Kyle-Henney in Am.

For recording the fastest lap in each of their respective categories, Roberts (Pro) and Tofts (Am) each received one additional championship point. The finishing positions from the weekend's second race formed the grid for the final race held later in the day.

However, following the race, Mundy’s received a 1.5 second penalty for an incident with Dwyer at Goddards, putting him behind his rival in the finishing order and meaning Dwyer would start ahead of Mundy on the grid for the final race. For the incident, Mundy also received a deduction of three championship points.

Race three
The weekend’s last race took place in warm and bright conditions, the track having fully dried out. At Redgate, Dwyer spun, putting him down six spots to last place. Tussles throughout the pack saw Hammerton and Warhurst gain two places to fifth and sixth respectively, while Stanton made up an astonishing six places. At the Melbourne Hairpin, Jenkins passed Roberts for second position.

On the second lap, Stanton and Laslett independently ran wide and into the gravel at McLeans. Both returned to the circuit, but Stanton’s car would leave a trail of coolant as he returned to the pits to retire from the race. Contact between Warhust and Trice left the latter parked sideways at the apex of the Melbourne Hairpin, forcing Davis to stop to avoid a collision.

At Coppice, Jenkins ran wide through the gravel. Armstrong spun at the same corner, but was unable to drive away. Somerfield made a move on Cronin at the Melbourne Hairpin, just before the Safety Car was scrambled to allow for the recovery of Armstrong’s stranded car.

On lap five, racing resumed, and Hammerton was looking for way past Roberts on the way in to Redgate. Roberts pulled away from Hammerton as the lap progressed, leaving the latter being hassled by fourth place driver, Coates. They were side-by-side out of Coppice but Hammerton had the inside line for the Fogarty Esses, and so held position, which in turn allowed Somerfield to close. Meanwhile, Warhurst passed Davis for seventh.

On the next lap, Coates again closed in on Hammerton on the way into the chicane. Behind, Cronin went for a move on Somerfield, but the cars made contact, tipping Somerfield into a spin and leaving him caught in the gravel. This neutralised the race with a second Safety Car period

On lap 10, racing restarted with less than three minutes remaining on the clock. At the Melbourne Hairpin, Warhurst passed Davis for fifth place and, further back, Kyle-Henney and Dwyer passed White. As the pack entered Redgate for the final lap, Coates was alongside Hammerton, eyeing up a podium position, but it was Hammerton with the inside line who came through ahead. Coates kept looking for a way past but, ultimately, he could not find an opening. Crossing the finish line, the order was Roberts, Hammerton and Coates in Pro, and Warren – once again with the overall win – Davis and Mundy in Am.

For recording the fastest lap in each of their respective categories, Roberts (Pro) and Warren (Am) each received one additional championship point. Following the race, Stanton, Laslett, Trice and Cronin each received deductions of two championship points and two category points for driving standards.

The championship travels to Silverstone over the weekend of 23-24 September, racing in support of the BTCC alongside Porsche Carrera Cup GB. Following the Donington Park weekend, Roberts has a strong, 16-point lead, with Warhurst and Coates tied for second place in the Pro category championship. Warren’s Am category lead is further increased with Davis now 29 points adrift.

Championship positions*

Pro:
Steve Roberts – Redline Racing – 85
Max Coates – Team Omolgato by Graves Motorsport – 69
Matthew Armstrong – Team Parker Racing – 69

Am:
Marc Warren – Raceway Motorsport – 113
Callum Davis – CCK Motorsport – 84
Matthew Kyle-Henney – SW Engineering – 69