Porsche Carrera Cup GB – the fastest single-marque GT racing championship in the UK – arrived at Brands Hatch for its final weekend of the season. Kiern Jewiss (Team Parker Racing) took pole position on Saturday and victory in round 15 to be crowned provisional 2022 champion. Title hopeful Will Martin (Comline Richardson Racing) was involved in a dramatic incident which ended the penultimate race of the season prematurely, while Charles Rainford (CCK Motorsport) secured a popular maiden victory in the final.
The weekend included a visit from Porsche Brand Ambassador Emma Raducanu, Brands Hatch her local circuit. The tennis star watched Sunday's first race and was treated to a tour of the Porsche paddock. Newly-crowned champion Kiern Jewiss then guided her around the controls of his 911 GT3 Cup. Later, Rainford swapped notes with the British number one about the similarities between their two sporting disciplines.
In qualifying, a close battle between Gus Burton (Rosland Gold Racing by Century Motorsport) and Jewiss for pole was resolved when the latter snatched the top spot late into the session. For Jewiss, the fourth pole position of his Porsche racing career further extended his championship advantage over title rival Martin. Martin would start the weekend's first race from the third row of the grid. Provisional category champions Rainford – Pro-Am – and Josh Stanton (JTR) – Am – headed their respective categories.
Burton led into the first corner but Jewiss was soon back in front at the start of the weekend's first race. An incident later into the opening lap saw four cars eliminated, scrambling the Safety Car. Shortly after the restart, Martin was involved in a dramatic incident which led to a red flag and the race coming to an early end. Jewiss was declared the winner, crowning him provisional 2022 champion. Rainford took his fifth consecutive Pro-Am win while Mark Radcliffe (Valluga) secured his first Am category win of 2022.
Rainford started the final race of the season from reverse grid pole position, keeping Jewiss at bay and surviving two Safety Car periods to become the first Pro-Am category driver since 2019 to take overall victory. Jewiss and Porsche Carrera Cup GB Junior Adam Smalley (Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Redline) finished their seasons in style on the Pro category podium while Radcliffe secured his second Am win. Following an eventful race, Burton provisionally secured Rookie championship honours while Comline Richardson Racing were crowned provisional Teams champions.
Practice
The weekend's first practice session took place on Friday lunchtime in dry conditions. Jewiss set the pace early on with championship rival Martin lapping just a tenth of a second slower, Theo Edgerton (JTR) slightly adrift in third. Ratcliffe was initially ahead in Pro-Am with Will Aspin (Team Parker Racing) and Nathan Harrison (Redline Racing) giving chase. However, Rainford soon emerged ahead with a time good enough to top the category and sit third overall. Stanton was once again the Am driver to beat as Radcliffe and Nigel Rice (Redline Racing) followed his lead.
In the second half of the session Burton produced a time of 1:27.001 – enough to see his name appear at the top of the timing screen. Meanwhile, Edgerton lapped in exactly the same time as Rainford's earlier effort, just 0.021 seconds now covering the top three drivers. With 13 minutes of the session remaining, Jewiss was the first driver to lap in under 1:27, but his time of 1:26.887 would later be beaten by a flying Smalley – his 1:26.676 would stand as the fastest of the session.
As the flag fell, Smalley was trailed by Jewiss and Edgerton, Rainford remained the fastest Pro-Am with Harrison and Hugo Ellis (JTR) coming next in the category order. Stanton was the quickest Am with Rice and Radcliffe behind. Rice completed the highest number of laps of any driver at 24.
The second practice session took place in dry weather conditions late on Friday afternoon. Edgerton was the early leader and the first driver to lap in under 1:27, the Thruxton winner's time of 1:26.762 standing as the time to beat for the first part of the session. As Martin and Jewiss attempted to match Edgerton, Ellis and Rainford traded quick times in Pro-Am, the latter emerging as the fastest while Stanton was the pacesetting Am.
Halfway through the session Burton made his presence felt by lapping quickest, but his 1:26.608 was soon beaten by Rainford – the Brands Hatch specialist produced a 1:26.493 to go fastest overall. With 20 minutes left on the clock, Martin went ahead but it wasn't long before Jewiss topped the timing screen with a 1:26.279. With five minutes of second practice remaining all but the car of Ross Wylie (Toro Verde GT) took to the track for a final run.
In the closing stages of the session the temperature began to fall. Smalley improved before Jewiss did the same, but it was Edgerton who would end the afternoon ahead – his lap time of 1:26.051 was Friday's fastest. In Pro-Am, Rainford remained ahead of category rivals Aspin and Ellis. Stanton was the fastest Am followed by Radcliffe and Rice. Oliver White (Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Redline) and Rice completed the highest number of laps in the afternoon – 25.
Qualifying
Saturday afternoon's 30-minute qualifying session took place in dry and warm conditions with live coverage streamed online via the ITV website. Burton was the first driver to set a representative time, his 1:26.254 serving as the early benchmark. With 10 minutes of the session complete, Smalley jumped to the top of the timesheet, but Burton immediately responded to take back the top spot – the first to lap the circuit in under 1:26 with a time of 1:25.905. In Pro-Am, Harrison was initially ahead with Stanton the quickest Am.
At the midpoint of the session, Rainford set a lap time good enough to top Pro-Am and sit fifth overall as Ryan Ratcliffe (Team Parker Racing) and Aspin ignited a close category battle further down order. Edgerton lapped to within 0.015 seconds of Burton's time to go second with championship contender Martin in third. Jewiss soon rocketed to the top of the timing screens with a 1:25.770, but his time was deleted for exceeding track limits, leaving Burton back on provisional pole.
In the final minutes of the session, Smalley improved to go second while Jewiss and Burton both produced fast laps. Burton set a 1:25.680 but that was immediately beaten by Jewiss – his 1:25.361 would secure the fourth pole position of his Porsche racing career. Jewiss would be joined on the front row of the grid for round 15 by Burton. Meanwhile, championship rival Martin qualified sixth. Rainford remained ahead in Pro-Am with Stanton topping Am.
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). For his incident at Silverstone with Smalley, Edgerton was given a three-place grid penalty for round 15 and deducted six championship points. The penalty relegated Edgerton to seventh for the weekend's first race and promoted championship hopeful Martin to fifth – one place closer to title rival, Jewiss.
Race one
The first of the weekend's two races took place on Sunday morning in dry and sunny conditions. Following qualifying, Jewiss needed to score one point over rival Martin to take championship glory. At the start of the race Burton got away well to lead into Paddock Hill Bend. Jewiss tucked in behind but achieved an overlap on the inside of Burton in the run up to Druids. Jewiss went late on the brakes to get ahead of Burton as the pair navigated the hairpin, Jewiss then leading Burton and Smalley on the approach to Graham Hill Bend.
At the exit of Graham Hill Bend, Angus Whiteside (Toro Verde GT) made a move on Aspin which resulted in the pair sliding across the circuit. Unsighted, Ratcliffe, Ellis and Charles Bateman (Team Parker Racing) were caught up in the incident – all four cars (Aspin, Ellis, Ratcliffe and Bateman) made their retirements from the race while only Whiteside continued. Later into the opening lap, Smalley mounted a challenge on Burton on the approach to Westfield, but ultimately remained behind. In unison, Edgerton looked up the inside of Martin but ran wide, forcing both drivers to leave the circuit on the exit before rejoining the race. The Safety Car was then scrambled to allow for the recovery of the four stricken cars.
With the race neutralised the order remained the same – Jewiss from Burton and Smalley. In Pro-Am, Rainford had recovered from a slow start to lead the category fight from Harrison and Whiteside. In Am, Radcliffe led Rice from Stanton. Following a lengthy period of running under the Safety Car, the race was restarted with 10 laps or 15 minutes remaining – whichever came first. A clean restart saw all of the drivers initially holding station.
As the drivers began the next racing lap, Edgerton got a run on Martin at Paddock Hill but there was contact between them sending Martin into the barriers on the inside of the corner. The dramatic incident brought out the red flag and there would be no restart as a result of barrier damage. Jewiss secured the ninth win of his Porsche racing career, enough to see him crowned provisional 2022 champion. Jewiss was joined on the overall podium by Burton and Smalley, while Rainford, Harrison and Whiteside formed the Pro-Am category podium. In Am, it was a win for Radcliffe with Rice and Stanton completing the category podium.
For recording the fastest lap in each of their respective categories, Jewiss (Pro), Rainford (Pro-Am) and Radcliffe (Am) each received one additional championship point. As part of the 2022 podium procedure, winner Jewiss selected at random the number four ball, which reversed the grid positions of the top four overall finishers from the opening race. That made the grid order for the weekend's second race Rainford and Smalley on the front row, Burton and Jewiss on row two.
Following the race, for his two incidents with Martin, Edgerton was disqualified from the results and handed a penalty of 12 championship points and 12 category points. For his incident with Aspin, Whiteside was given a penalty of two championship points. Due to damage to his car, Ratcliffe would take no further part in the weekend.
Race two
The weekend's second race took place in dry and sunny conditions on Sunday afternoon. Rainford made a clean start to lead Smalley into the first corner, while on the run towards Druids, Jewiss and Burton made contact as they squeezed one another for room in the fight for third. Jewiss stayed ahead as Burton slipped down the order. Jewiss immediately set after Smalley and on the start of lap two he passed with a confident move on the inside at Paddock Hill.
As the race settled down, Rainford remained ahead with Jewiss second and Smalley third. In Pro-Am, Harrison and Whiteside sat second and third in the category, while in Am, Stanton led Rice from Radcliffe. Burton soon began to make a recovery, moving alongside Jack Bartholomew (Comline Richardson Racing) as they raced down Pilgrim's Drop. Burton got ahead and, shortly afterwards, set after the next car – Martin. At the front of the race, Rainford extended his lead over Jewiss to 0.924 seconds.
A close battle between Stanton and Bateman soon developed for thirteenth, the pair swapping places twice before an opportunistic Aspin – just behind – capitalised to pass Stanton for fourteenth. On the seventh lap of the race, Martin passed Micah Stanley (Redline Racing) for fifth at Clark. Burton then closed on Stanley down the Brabham Straight and drew alongside into Paddock Hill, but contact between them put Stanley into the gravel where his race ended. His stricken car called the Safety Car into action to allow for its recovery.
At the restart five laps remained. Rainford quickly pushed to rebuild his lead over Jewiss, pulling 0.470 seconds away from the day's earlier winner. On lap 10, White got ahead of Edgerton before attentions turned to a battle between Burton and Bartholomew. The pair ended up making contact, Burton continuing while Bartholomew retired to the pit lane. Continuing his charge, White passed Edgerton for fifth on lap 11. One lap later Stanton and Aspin made contact, Stanton ending his race in the gravel at Westfield. The Safety Car was called into action once more and the race would not restart.
Rainford took the flag to secure his maiden overall victory, the last time a Pro-Am driver took an overall win was Karl Leonard at Croft in 2019. The race winner was joined on the overall podium by Jewiss and Smalley. Rainford took to the podium again, this time standing on the top step for Pro-Am, joined by Whiteside and Harrison. Finally, Radcliffe took his second Am win of the season with Rice coming home second in category.
For recording the fastest lap in each of their respective categories, Jewiss (Pro), Rainford (Pro-Am) and Stanton (Am) each received one additional championship point. Following the race, Burton was handed a penalty of four championship points and four category points for his incident with Bartholomew.
With his points tally, Burton provisionally secured Rookie title honours. Comline Richardson Racing were named provisional Teams champions for 2022. Following the Brands Hatch finale attentions are already turning to 2023 when the championship enters its 21st season. In addition, Porsche Carrera Cup GB Junior Adam Smalley (Redline Racing) will enter the final year of his programme, looking to build on his successful debut season which saw him finish second in the overall standings.
Championship positions*
Overall:
Kiern Jewiss - Team Parker Racing - 141
Adam Smalley - Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Redline - 103
Will Martin - Comline Richardson Racing - 97
Pro-Am:
Charles Rainford - CCK Motorsport - 156
Nathan Harrison - Redline Racing - 111
Angus Whiteside - Toro Verde GT - 67
Am:
Josh Stanton - JTR - 170
Nigel Rice - Redline Racing - 71
Justin Sherwood - Team Parker Racing - 61
*results remain provisional
