The final weekend of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB season took place at Brands Hatch, the fastest single-marque GT racing championship in the UK taking to the longer Grand Prix circuit for two close-fought races. James Kellett (Rosland Gold by Century Motorsport) enjoyed victory in the weekend’s first encounter which ended prematurely under Safety Car conditions. Porsche Carrera Cup GB 2022 / 2023 Junior Adam Smalley (Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Team Parker) took the win in the weekend’s second race, signing off as Porsche Junior in perfect fashion with his fourth victory of the season.

The weekend’s first race on Sunday took place in warm conditions, Kellett quick off the line to lead into the first corner from Josh Malin (Rosland Gold by Century Motorsport), while pole-sitter Robert de Haan (Richardson Racing) slipped to third. At the Druids hairpin de Haan retook second spot with Oliver White (Redline Racing) racing ahead in Pro-Am. An incident between Gus Burton (JTR) and Jake Giddings (Parker Classic Works) at Surtees on lap six resulted in the latter finding the barriers, causing the Safety Car to be scrambled and the race to end under neutralised conditions.

Smalley took advantage of his reverse grid pole position in the second race, the outgoing Junior leading Malin and de Haan off the line as he looked to end his tenure on a high. Dutchman de Haan would move up to first on the road but not before a time penalty which eventually relegated him to fourth at the flag – finishing behind Smalley, Malin and Kellett. White was again ahead in Pro-Am but, with his results in Kent, Max Bird (Team Redline Racing) had done enough to be crowned provisional Pro-Am category champion. Meanwhile Harry Foster (Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Team Parker) drove a confident race to snatch the Rookie title from de Haan.

Practice
The first of Friday’s two 45-minute practice sessions took place in dry and sunny weather conditions, all 23 cars taking to the challenging 2.4-mile Grand Prix circuit as the session got underway. Kellett was the early pacesetter but returnee de Haan soon went quickest, the newly-crowned Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux champion’s time of 1:26.730 only beaten in the closing stages of the session by Matthew Graham (Redline Racing) who set a 1:26.724 – just 0.006 seconds quicker. White was consistently the driver to beat in Pro-Am, finishing the morning ahead of Ross Wylie (Team Redline Racing) and Giddings.

The afternoon session took place in fine and sunny conditions. In the early part de Haan jumped to the top of the timing screens before Kellett and then Burton moved ahead. Giddings, Angus Whiteside (Century Motorsport) and Josh Stanton (JTR) each took turns in setting the pace in Pro-Am, but de Haan would produce an impressive time of 1:26.066 – standing as the day’s fastest lap overall. When Will Martin (Toro Verde GT) left the circuit at Druids a red flag brought the session to an early finish with de Haan leading Smalley from Kellett. Ryan Ratcliffe (Team Parker Racing) was the fastest Pro-Am.

Qualifying
Warm and dry conditions greeted the drivers for Saturday afternoon's 30-minute qualifying session. Smalley was quick off the mark, setting a benchmark lap time of 1:26.172 with Burton and Kellett in close company. Giddings initially headed his nearest Pro-Am category rivals of Bird and Will Aspin (Team Parker Racing), but by the midpoint of the session it was Wylie who was ahead – his time being good enough for eighth overall.

In the final five minutes of qualifying several drivers made improvements. Kellett was the first driver to lap in under 1:26. However, his benchmark 1:25.980 was soon beaten by a determined de Haan who rocketed into provisional pole position with a time of 1:25.899 in the final minute of qualifying – just two tenths of a second covering the top eight at the flag. The teenager would be joined on the front row of the grid for the weekend’s first race by Kellett with Malin third – the latter’s new livery replicating that of the Porsche 917/20 known as ‘Pink Pig’. White got ahead in Pro-Am on his final lap of the circuit, ending the session in front of Wylie and Bird.

The 2023 Porsche Carrera Cup GB weekend format meant that de Haan earned two Pro category points for his pole position, as did Wylie in Pro-Am – White not being eligible for points.

Race one
Unseasonably warm weather on Sunday saw the weekend’s first race take place in dry and hot summer-like conditions. When the lights went out de Haan was slow off the line allowing Kellett to snatch the lead of the race. From the second row Malin got an even better start to take second in the run through Paddock Hill Bend. However, as the cars navigated Druids Malin ran wide which gave de Haan the opportunity to retake second spot. At Graham Hill Bend Burton bumped into Rainford who inadvertently struck Martin, causing the returnee to leave circuit and leading to his retirement at the end of the Cooper Straight. In the Pro-Am battle, White initially stayed ahead of category rival Wylie with Aspin sitting third.

Rookie title hopeful Foster slid off the circuit on lap two, like Graham and several others he struggled for grip on fluid deposited by Martin’s damaged car on the previous lap, both Foster and Graham making their retirements as a result. This allowed Smalley to capitalise – now up to fourth, with Pro-Am leader White moving into an impressive fifth overall. On lap four de Haan began to close on leader Kellett, the youngster looking to the inside at Surtees but he could not find a gap. Kellett came under similar pressure at the same corner on the following two laps, but he successfully defended. On lap six Burton dived to the inside of Giddings at Surtees as he challenged for P12, contact ensued with the latter finding the barriers at the exit of Surtees which called the Safety Car into action.

The cars circulated under Safety Car conditions for several laps as damage to the circuit barriers was assessed. When the race reached the 75 per cent point the chequered flag was shown resulting in full championship points being awarded. As a result, Kellett enjoyed his fifth win of the season and was joined on the overall podium by de Haan and Malin. White, Wylie and Aspin formed the Pro-Am category podium.

For recording the fastest lap in each of their respective categories, Malin (Pro) and Wylie (Pro-Am) each received one additional championship point. As part of the 2023 podium procedure, winner Kellett selected at random the number four ball, which reversed the grid positions of the top four overall finishers from the opening race. The grid for the second race would be Smalley and Malin on the front row, de Haan and Kellett on row two.

Following the race, Burton was docked two championship points and two category points for making contact with Rainford which had resulted in the latter hitting Martin, in turn causing his retirement. Burton was deducted a further two championship points and two category points for his incident with Giddings which ended that driver’s race and led to the deployment of the Safety Car.

Race two
The final race of the season was conducted in dry and warm conditions with a low setting sun in the sky. Smalley got away cleanly from reverse grid pole position, leading Malin and de Haan through both Paddock Hill Bend and Druids. As the drivers jostled for position, White maintained his category lead in Pro-Am. However, Frazer McFadden (Toro Verde GT) left the circuit at Graham Hill Bend before rejoining the race. Further into the lap Graham and Wylie engaged in a close fight on the long run to Hawthorn Bend. With the first lap completed Henry Dawes (Century Motorsport) overtook Jason Lockwood (EXCELR8 Motorsport) around the outside at Druids for tenth in Pro-Am, Dawes gaining another spot when Giddings ran wide on lap four.

Burton began a sustained attack on Aspin for eighth overall, his first major attempt to pass at Surtees failing but he soon found an effective route through. On lap nine de Haan overtook Malin for second with a confident move at Surtees, Malin immediately attempting to retaliate but de Haan managed to successfully defend his place, edging closer to Rookie category glory. However, the pendulum soon swung in favour of de Haan’s Rookie rival Foster as he got by Jackson at Paddock Hill Bend for P14, then repeated the move a lap later to pass Wylie for P13.

When Martin received a five second penalty for track limits, Foster gained another spot on corrected time – now P12, enough to see him put the lead of the Rookie category out of de Haan’s reach. The Dutchman then received his own five second time penalty for track limits, meaning Foster’s position was now all but secured. Smalley continued to lead de Haan who was second on the road, fourth on corrected time, Malin now second on the timing screens with Kellett occupying the final podium place. Continuing his charge, Foster passed Martin – P11 on the road but further down the order on corrected time – before setting after his next target of Graham.

On the final lap of the race de Haan was tucked under Smalley’s rear bumper. Knowing that de Haan had a looming penalty, Smalley offered little resistance as he was overtaken for the lead of the race on the road – de Haan still fourth on corrected time. At the flag Smalley recorded his fourth win of the season, joined on the Pro category podium by Malin and Kellett with de Haan coming home in fourth. White, Aspin and Wylie formed the Pro-Am podium, but with his result Bird had done enough to be crowned provisional Pro-Am champion. At the final count Rosland Gold Racing by Century Motorsport topped the championship table for Teams.

As a result of his determined race, reigning Sprint Challenge GB champion Foster provisionally clinched the Rookie title. For recording the fastest lap in each of their respective categories, Smalley (Pro) and Aspin (Pro-Am) each received one additional championship point.

Following the final weekend of the season, Porsche Carrera Cup GB will enjoy its annual Porsche Night of Motorsport where champions in each category will be officially crowned. In addition, the next Porsche Carrera Cup GB Junior for 2024 / 2025 will be named following an intensive Shootout at Silverstone next month. Porsche will then look ahead to the 2024 season which gets underway at Donington Park in April with a full calendar of 16 races taking place across eight weekends.

Championship positions*

Overall:
Adam Smalley - Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Team Parker - 141
James Kellett - Rosland Gold by Century Motorsport - 102
Josh Malin - Rosland Gold by Century Motorsport - 75

Pro-Am:
Max Bird - Team Redline Racing - 116
Ross Wylie - Team Redline Racing - 109
Ryan Ratcliffe - Team Parker Racing - 76

Am:
Justin Sherwood - Parker Classic Works - 143
David Fairbrother - Toro Verde GT - 52
David Stirling - Redline Racing - 31