Porsche Sprint Challenge GB visited Silverstone for the first time in 2023, running on the short National layout where margins are tight and the racing especially close. Running alongside the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) and fellow Porsche Cars GB one-make championship, Carrera Cup GB, the weekend drew huge crowds as well as being televised live on ITV4.

In the weekend’s first race held on Saturday afternoon, it was a lights-to-flag victory for Joe Warhurst (Team Parker Racing), his first win in the championship. Matthew Armstrong (Redline Racing) followed him home with Ethan Hammerton (Team Omologato by Graves Motorsport) third. Championship leader Steve Roberts (Redline Racing) could manage no better than seventh in the Pro category after a penalty for exceeding track limits. In Am, the top three comprised Callum Davis (CCK Motorsport) from a charging Marc Warren (Raceway Motorsport) with Reece Somerfield (Breakell Racing) third.

The second race delivered plenty of action, damp conditions and wet tyres mixing up the running order. Warhurst continued to be the driver on form, but Max Coates (Team Omologato by Graves Motorsport) charged through to take second spot from Armstrong in third. Warren fought through to take the advantage in Am from Davis, with Danny Dwyer (Xentek Motorsport) in third. However, the race was interrupted by a red flag period due to a heavy impact for Toby Trice (Redline Racing) on the way into Copse. Fortunately Trice was unscathed but his car would take no further part in the weekend. Another challenging race for championship leader Roberts meant he now trailed Warhurst by just one point on the leaderboard.

The final race proved just as dramatic. Warhurst looked to have a serious challenger in Coates, but wheel-to-wheel racing from the front runners left Warhurst clear to run to an historic third win in a weekend, despite a mid-race Safety Car period. Ethan Hammerton (Team Omologato by Greaves Motorsport) had a strong showing to take second while Armstrong kept his championship chances alive with another podium. Warren kept ahead of Davis in the Am category, with Matt Kyle-Henney (SW Engineering) holding onto the final podium place and third in the category standings.

Qualifying
Qualifying took place on Saturday morning under sunny skies, with an ambient temperature of 13 degrees and a track temperature of 21 degrees. 18 cars took to the short National circuit, where margins are always small, to settle the starting order for both categories. Championship leader Roberts (took an early lead, chased by team mate Trice. As tyres came up to temperature times tumbled, Coates heading to the top of the time sheets with Warren showing his now customary pace to head the Am category runners and then the overall timesheet.

With 20 minutes of the 30-minute session remaining, Warren and Coates both headied into the pitlane as Warhurst jumped to the top of the table by just 0.008 seconds. Davis took the opportunity to move ahead in the Am category.

As the runners reappeared for the second half of the session, Warhurst kept his place as fastest but William Jenkins (Century Motorsport) moved up to hold second behind him. Warren was also back onto the pace to take over the Am category lead from Davis. With just four minutes remaining, Armstrong took the fastest time of all, 0.046 seconds ahead of Warhurst and Jenkins. Warren and Davis traded fastest times to lead the Am category, but as the flag fell it was Davis claiming the fastest time and a strong third overall. Warhurst took the fastest time overall to head Armstrong on the front row by just 0.012 seconds.

Following the session, Jenkins was disqualified from qualifying and penalised four championship points. Jenkins was also handed a 10-second penalty at the start of round 13.

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. Warhurst secured pole position for round 13, with Davis topping Am. Warhust would also start from pole for the weekend’s second race, with Davis 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. Warhurst started the 20-minute sprint in solid style from pole position, leading from Armstrong who was passed off the line by Davis, the Am leader shooting into second spot. Behind, Trice made a good start from the third row to fight with Warren, but Warren soon flew up the order in his pursuit of Am category leader Davis.

Kyle-Henney held third in the Am category, while on only the second lap Armstrong moved back ahead of Davis as the Pro category driver looked to get on terms with leader Warhurst. This left the Am order as Davis leading from Warren, while Kyle-Henney slipped behind Somerfield and Rupert Laslet (Raceway Motorsport) in the closely-fought battle for the final Am category podium position. Despite starting from the back of the grid with a 10 second penalty, Jenkins was on the move, setting the fastest lap of the race as he began his recovery drive.

Out front, Warhurst was settling into his lead with a gap of around two seconds ahead of Armstrong, both contenders setting almost identical lap times. At the half-way point, championship leader Roberts was holding a solid fourth in the Pro category, while Donington winner Jenkins had moved up to 14th overall. Davis held a narrow lead of just half a second over Warren in the Am category, both running an impressive third and fourth overall.

As the race drew to a close, Coates closed up on Roberts as the group of Roberts, Coates, Cronin and Trice ran nose-to-tail. As the pressure mounted on the championship leader, he incurred a five second penalty for track limits with three minutes to go which pushed him to the back of the group on corrected time. Edward Stanton (Toto Verde GT) also incurred a five second penalty for track limits late into the race.

As the flag fell, Warhurst took a comfortable win, his first of the season after losing his win on the road at Croft. Armstrong claimed second and Hammerton rounded out the Pro category podium. Davis took the Am category win, followed home by Warren and Somerfield.

For recording the fastest lap in each of their respective categories, Jenkins (Pro) and Davis (Am) each received one additional championship point.

Race two
The second race of the weekend took place on Sunday morning in damp, drizzly conditions. Air temperature of 15 degrees with a track temperature of just 14 degrees underlined the decision of all 18 cars to start on wet tyres. Two formation laps allowed drivers to acclimatise to the different tyres and conditions from qualifying. Once again Jenkins was relegated to the back of the grid following his qualifying infringement.

On the front row, Warhurst and Armstrong were set to continue their duel from round 13. However, it was Armstrong who took advantage of a strong start to lead the first lap, but Warhurst was soon back into the lead. Coates was slow away but recovered well into third while Roberts slipped back, struggling to find grip to run sixth in the Pro category and ninth overall – another blow to his championship hopes.

Davis held a strong lead in the Am category but all eyes turned to Warhurst, Armstrong and Coates, the leading trio separated by under one second with Coates in third posting the fastest lap after five minutes of racing. Coates soon went up into second, but a heavy impact for Trice on the entry to Copse brought out the Safety Car quickly followed by the red flag as barrier repairs were made and the car recovered.

As the cars lined up awaiting the restart, Davis held the lead of the Am category from Warren and Dwyer. The restarted race would run to just five minutes, Warhurst making a strong start from the front row to maintain his lead. Armstrong also made a strong start from the same side of the grid, but it was not enough to dislodge Coates from second. Davis and Warren battled side-by-side for lap after lap along with Pro category driver Hammerton as they vied for the Am category lead, the advantage eventually going to Warren in a reverse of their round 13 finishing order. Dwyer would round out the Am category podium as the flag fell.

Coates was charging hard to challenge Warhurst, closing up and trying a run around the outside of Luffield on the final lap. Despite his best efforts, Warhurst took his second win of the weekend with Coates second and Armstrong third. Jenkins recovered to ninth overall and sixth in the Pro category, one place ahead of Roberts who now ceded his championship lead to Warhurst by just one point.

For recording the fastest lap in each of their respective categories, Coates (Pro) and Warren (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.

Race three
The weekend’s last race took place in windy but brighter and dry conditions, with an air temperature of 19 degrees and a track temperature of 21 degrees. Starting as they finished the previous round, Warhurst led the grid away for the final 20-minute race of the weekend. Alongside him was Coates following his strong run in round 14, and the two maintained those positions away from the lights.

From the second row Armstrong and Hammerton spent the first lap wheel-to-wheel following a strong start from Hammerton, while Warren led Davis from Somerfield in the Am category. Warhurst and the chasing Coates began to pull clear of the chasing pack, while Jenkins continued to show his pace with fastest lap of the race, albeit down in 10th overall following his earlier start from the back of the grid.

On lap four, Coates challenged Warhurst for the lead, taking the position at Woodcote before running wide at Copse. Warhurst went back into the lead while Armstrong and Hammerton closed up, Armstrong making a move for second into Brooklands. Coates corrected a slide as he defended, but the delay allowed Hammerton to jump both drivers and go into second, with Armstrong third and Coates demoted to fourth. As Coates recovered, Warren took the opportunity to go past for fourth overall whilst still holding the lead in the Am category. As Coates began to fight back, George Jaxon (Fusion Fuels by JWB Motorsport) slowed to a halt, his stricken car call out the Safety Car with 12 minutes still to run. Warhurst led the pack around from Hammerton and Armstrong in the Pro category, while Warren led Davis and Somerfield in the Am category.

The race restarted with five minutes remaining, Coates defending from Am runner Davis while Somerfield suffered a puncture which allowed Kyle-Henney to take the final Am category place. Roberts, who had been leading the championship coming into Silverstone, managed to salvage one place by passing Robert Cronin (Parker Classic Works) with just one minute to go. However, nothing could take away from Warhurst becoming the first ever Porsche Sprint Challenge GB triple winner, taking the flag from Hammerton and Armstrong. Warren claimed the top spot in the Am category, from Davis and Kyle-Henney.

For recording the fastest lap in each of their respective categories, Jenkins (Pro) and Warren (Am) each received one additional championship point.

The championship travels to Brands Hatch for the season finale on 7-8 October, the final three races running in support of the BTCC alongside Porsche Carrera Cup GB. Following the penultimate weekend, Warhurst has reversed the 16-point lead held by Roberts coming into the weekend and heads to Brands Hatch with a seven point advantage over Roberts. Coates slips to third with Armstrong close behind, making it all to play for in the final three races. Warren’s Am category lead is only slightly increased with Davis now 31 points adrift.

Championship positions*

Pro:
Joe Warhurst – Team Parker Racing – 100
Steve Roberts – Redline Racing – 93
Max Coates – Team Omologato by Graves Motorsport – 88

Am:
Marc Warren – Raceway Motorsport – 143
Callum Davis – CCK Motorsport – 112
Matthew Kyle-Henney – SW Engineering – 83

*results remain provisional