The second half of the 2024 RAFA Racing Club Porsche Esports Carrera Cup GB season got underway with a special ‘wild card’ weekend at Mount Panorama (Bathurst), Australia. Two action-packed races saw Sebastian Job (East Grinstead) and Peter Berryman (Corby) take victories, however, tensions were running high between all 25 sim racers resulting in several significant incidents.

The addition of a “fly away” weekend follows the format established in previous Esports Carrera Cup GB seasons, a throwback to Porsche Carrera Cup GB’s visits to overseas venues including Circuit de la Sarthe, Spa and Monza. The New South Wales circuit was added to the 2024 calendar following an online poll put to followers of the Porsche Instagram account www.instagram.com/porscheraces_gb.

Luke Bennett (Bromsgrove) took pole position in a close qualifying session, however, a jump start before the lights went out for Round 9 put him out of contention. Job charged through from fourth on the grid to take his fifth win of the season, meanwhile championship rival Luke McKeown (Brighton) put in an equally impressive performance to finish second. Luke Pennington (Bideford) suffered early contact allowing Scott Moakes (Meppershall) to emerge ahead in Am.

While Berryman drove to victory in the weekend’s second race there was major drama behind with several drivers – including Job – involved in a multi-car incident on the circuit’s tricky mountain section. Job recovered to finish fifth, however, his main championship rival, McKeown, chalked-up another podium result. The Am category battle was close once again, Moakes taking a second victory with Pennington finishing behind following a heated dice.

Qualifying
The long nature of the 3.8-mile Mount Panorama circuit made the short 10-minute qualifying session to set the grid for Round 9 especially challenging With the slipstream effect proving important on the long straights at Bathurst, several drivers timed their final qualifying runs to perfection by using the tow from their rivals to gain an advantage. Berryman, William Chadwick (Wigan), Josh Thompson (Isle of Man) and Bennett were all in contention for the top spot, the latter’s 2:03.204 ended up being good enough for pole position. Pennington remained the fastest Am and would start the first race in ninth.

Following the session, for an incident between Jacob Tofts and Daniel Martin, five seconds was added to the accumulated penalty time (APT) of Martin. And, for an incident between Gareth Higgins and Leo Gariboli, five seconds was added to the APT of Higgins.

Race one
Pole-sitter Bennett jumped the start, allowing him to lead into the first corner, but with his looming drive-through penalty the effective race leader was Thompson. As the order settled along Mountain Straight, Thompson was followed by Job, Chadwick and Berryman, but James Parker (Bristol) was involved in an issue that saw him make contact with the barriers. At Quarry Bend, Am leader Pennington found the wall following contact with Alexander Davidson (Menstrie) – the latter would later go off at Forrest’s Elbow. Pennington’s issue left Dylan Platt (Bangor) ahead of Moakes and Daniel Martin (Weymouth) in Am.

As Berryman fell backwards, Chadwick came under attack from McKeown. The latter grabbed third on the second lap leaving Chadwick exposed to Carroll as he gunned for fourth. Attentions quickly turned to the race lead when Job passed Thompson in the run down Conrod Straight, and just behind there was contact between Chadwick and Carroll at The Chase sending the latter off the track. Chadwick continued with Carroll rejoining in P11. On the following lap Chadwick was slowed by a new incident with Matt Emery (Nutfield) at Quarry Bend, which enabled a recovering Carroll to get back ahead.

When Jack Sedgwick (Stockport) came into contact with Leo Gariboli (Hemel Hempstead), Carroll was able to gain seventh spot, just one place away from reverse grid pole position for the weekend’s second encounter. With 14 minutes of racing remaining, a charging Carroll attacked Eric Grove (Birmingham) for sixth, overtaking on Mountain Straight. Back at the front of the race, McKeown began to close on Thompson for second making it a three-car fight for victory. With 10 minutes left to go, McKeown drove to the outside of Thompson as they raced down to Conrod Straight, this gave him the inside line for The Chase where he secured second.

In the final few minutes of the race there was further drama with an incident between Jamie Moone (Kidderminster) and Jacob Tofts (Hatfield Heath) at Quarry Bend. Tofts would continue in eighth place before being passed on the penultimate lap by Emery, and subsequently coming under pressure from Bennett over the mountain section of the lap. However, Tofts would finish ahead of his rival in the final order. At the flag Job took his fifth win of the season, title challenger McKeown was second with Thompson in third. Moakes enjoyed Am glory, joined on the category podium by Martin and Pennington. Carroll hung onto sixth to benefit from reverse grid pole position for the weekend’s second race.

For on-track incidents, Chadwick had five seconds added to his APT and 10 seconds to his race time.

Race two
The grid for the second race was determined by reversing the top six finishing positions from race one. Carroll led from pole into the first corner with Gariboli and Berryman slotting in behind. Gareth Higgins (Exeter) and Adam Holloway (Droitwich Spa) left the circuit at Hell Corner, then McKeown and Job ran side-by-side up Mountain Straight – the former emerging head. As Emery suffered an off, Chadwick passed Tofts for P10 while Pennington snatched the Am category lead. That left the new order in Am as Pennington from Moakes and Martin.

Berryman wasted little time in taking second place, but that left Gariboli exposed to an attack from Thompson. As the pack tackled the challenging mountain section, the Thompson and Gariboli battle resulted in contact triggering an incident involving several cars, including Job and Chadwick, Thompson and Emery would make their retirements as a result of the drama. Job battled on in sixth with damage to the rear of his car. Next, with 19 minutes of the race remaining, Berryman assumed the lead of the race with a decisive move by Carroll at the end of Conrod Straight.

With 12 minutes to go, McKeown found a way by Gariboli for third, and soon after there was a change of position in Am as Crofton Woodhatch (Bath) grabbed third in the category from Martin. Having slipped down to sixth when he was passed by Bennet at Murray’s Corner, Grove made an error at Forrest’s Elbow leading to contact with the barriers – he continued with damage. McKeown continued his charge, overtaking Carroll for second, meanwhile, Gariboli came under attack from Bennett for fourth. The two fought through the latter part of the lap with Bennet getting ahead before Gariboli retaliated. However, an opportunistic Job overtook both drivers to snatch fourth place for himself – that left Bennet fifth, Gariboli sixth.

In the final two laps there was a change in Am as Moakes got ahead of Pennington. Their tough fight would run to the flag but the order remained the same. In the final few corners, Bennett got back ahead of Job for fourth, however, attentions turned to Berryman who took the flag first, joined on the overall podium by McKeown and Carroll. Moakes, Pennington and Woodhatch formed the Am category podium.

For on-track incidents, Parker had 15 seconds added to his race time, five seconds was added to the race time of Martin, and five seconds was added to the race time of Sedgwick.

With six races remaining, the championship moves onto the challenging Knockhill circuit in Fife on 24 March. In previous seasons, the Scottish venue has been the scene of close racing and unexpected results. With championship battles raging in both categories, it could prove a pivotal weekend. Keep up to date with RAFA Racing Club Porsche Esports Carrera Cup GB news via the dedicated Instagram and Twitter feeds: @PorscheRaces_GB

Championship positions:

Pro

1st - Sebastian Job - 88
2nd - Luke McKeown - 76
3rd - Peter Berryman - 52

Am

1st - Luke Pennington - 97
2nd - Scott Moakes - 73
3rd - Daniel Martin - 47