The eighth round of the 2016 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia to be held on the Gold Coast is the 98th held since the category debuted in 2003. The Gold Coast will host the 289th, 290th and 291st races in PCCA history.
The streets of Surfers Paradise have hosted PCCA every year the category has been in operation – this year is the 12th time the championship has raced on the Gold Coast and the seventh time it has hosted
the championship’s final round.
There have been nine different winners of the last nine PCCA rounds held on the Gold Coast. Craig Baird is the only two-time PCCA round winner at the venue, claiming a round win in 2004 on the old longer ‘Indy’ circuit layout and in 2011 on the current, shorter layout.
Championship leader Matt Campbell is aiming to break Jim Richards’ record of most consecutive poles in PCCA history. Richards scored six in a row in 2003 in the inaugural year of the series and Campbell now also has six in a row following his Bathurst pole. If Campbell can also take pole on the Gold Coast he will tie Jim Richards’ record for most poles in a PCCA season – seven.
TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge points leader Tony Bates will bring up his 100th PCCA race start in Race 1 on the Gold Coast. He becomes the 15th driver in championship history to start 100 races.
Bates and Shane Smollen have dominated the Challenge category on the Gold Coast over the last three years, winning all nine races held in that time between them.
Smollen’s Challenge pole at Bathurst now puts him into a tie for the record of most pole positions in the class in the history of PCCA. He now has 16 poles, tied with Rodney Jane and James Koundouris.
The Gold Coast is the site of the closest finish in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia racing – though it probably didn’t feel like it at the time! David Russell crossed the line 5.0456s in front of Steve Richards to win the first race in 2014, however a five-second penalty for a start infringement meant the official margin was only 0.0456s in the final results!
Alex Davison and Matt Campbell have alternated the round wins for the last six PCCA rounds in a row. By the way the season has gone so far, it’s Davison’s turn on the Gold Coast, where he won the round in 2006. Between them the two have won 16 of the last 17 PCCA races held.
The Gold Coast is the venue of the largest pole position margin in PCCA history – Jim Richards was 1.1937s faster than Peter Fitzgerald in qualifying for the inaugural round in 2003.
David Wall now has 6 PCCA podium results but remains winless. Only David Russell has more PCCA podium finishes without a round win – 10.
Michael Almond will make his 25th PCCA round start when he competes on the Gold Coast. He becomes just the 29th driver in the category’s history to achieve this.
GOLD COAST LAP RECORDS
Race Lap Record: David Russell, 1m12.8643s, 2014
Qualifying Lap Record: David Russell, 1m12.4167s, 2014
GOLD COAST ROUND WINNERS
2003 Jim Richards
2004 Craig Baird
2005 Fabian Coulthard
2006 Alex Davison
2007 Marcus Marshall
2008 James Moffat
2011 Craig Baird
2012 Jonny Reid
2013 Nick Percat
2014 Nick Foster
2015 Matt Campbell
2 – Craig Baird
1 – Jim Richards, Fabian Coulthard, Alex Davison, Marcus Marshall, James Moffat, Craig Baird, Jonny Reid, Nick Percat, Nick Foster, Matt Campbell
GOLD COAST POLE POSITIONS
2003 Jim Richards 1m57.6609s
2004 Alex Davison 1m56.6408s
2005 Fabian Coulthard 1m55.3670s
2006 Alex Davison 1m53.7053s
2007 Marcus Marshall 1m52.4563s
2008 Craig Baird 1m52.5347s
2011 Craig Baird 1m14.1579s
2012 Craig Baird 1m13.6152s
2013 Nick Percat 1m13.2369s
2014 David Russell 1m12.4167s
2015 David Russell 1m12.6448s
* – Moved to Gold Coast 600 shorter layout in 2011
3 – Craig Baird
2 – Alex Davison, David Russell
1 – Jim Richards, Fabian Coulthard, Marcus Marshall, Nick Percat
GOLD COAST RACE WINS
2003 Jim Richards Jim Richards Jim Richards
2004 Alex Davison Jim Richards Craig Baird
2005 Fabian Coulthard Fabian Coulthard Fabian Coulthard
2006 Alex Davison Alex Davison No Race
2007 Marcus Marshall Marcus Marshall Alex Davison
2008 Craig Baird Craig Baird James Moffat
2011 Craig Baird Craig Baird Craig Baird
2012 Craig Baird Craig Baird Jonny Reid
2013 Nick Percat Nick Percat Steve Richards
2014 David Russell Nick Foster Nick Foster
2015 Matt Campbell Matt Campbell Matt Campbell
8 – Craig Baird
4 – Jim Richards, Alex Davison
3 – Fabian Coulthard, Matt Campbell
2 – Marcus Marshall, Nick Percat, Nick Foster
1 – James Moffat, Jonny Reid, Steve Richards, David Russell
GOLD COAST PODIUMS
2003 Jim Richards Marcus Marshall Peter Fitzgerald
2004 Craig Baird Fabian Coulthard Jim Richards
2005 Fabian Coulthard Klark Quinn Ian Dyk
2006 Alex Davison David Reynolds Jim Richards
2007 Marcus Marshall Alex Davison David Reynolds
2008 James Moffat David Wall Craig Baird
2011 Craig Baird Daniel Gaunt Steve Richards
2012 Jonny Reid Steve Richards Craig Baird
2013 Nick Percat Steve Richards Shae Davies
2014 Nick Foster David Russell Shae Davies
2015 Matt Campbell David Russell Nick Foster
4 – Craig Baird
3 – Jim Richards, Steve Richards
2 – Marcus Marshall, Fabian Coulthard, Alex Davison, David Reynolds, Shae Davies, David Russell, Nick Foster
1 – Peter Fitzgerald, Klark Quinn, Ian Dyk, James Moffat, David Wall, Daniel Gaunt, Jonny Reid, Nick Percat, Matt Campbell
GOLD COAST TAG HEUER CARRERA CHALLENGE ROUND WINNERS
2004 Tony Quinn
2005 Dean Grant
2006 Rodney Jane
2007 Rodney Jane
2008 Theo Koundouris
2011 Paul Kelly
2012 Max Twigg
2013 Shane Smollen
2014 Tony Bates
2015 Tony Bates
2 – Rodney Jane, Tony Bates
1 – Tony Quinn, Dean Grant, Theo Koundouris, Paul Kelly, Max Twigg, Shane Smollen
GOLD COAST TAG HEUER CARRERA CHALLENGE RACE WINNERS
2004 Tony Quinn Tony Quinn Tony Quinn
2005 James Koundouris Dean Grant Tony Quinn
2006 Rodney Jane Rodney Jane No Race
2007 Rodney Jane Rodney Forbes James Koundouris
2008 Max Twigg James Koundouris James Koundouris
2011 James Koundouris Paul Kelly Max Twigg
2012 Max Twigg Max Twigg Max Twigg
2013 Shane Smollen Shane Smollen Shane Smollen
2014 Tony Bates Tony Bates Shane Smollen
2015 Shane Smollen Tony Bates Tony Bates
5 – James Koundouris, Max Twigg, Shane Smollen
4 – Tony Quinn, Tony Bates
3 – Rodney Jane
1 – Dean Grant, Rodney Forbes, Paul Kelly
GOLD COAST TAG HEUER CARRERA CHALLENGE POLE POSITIONS
2004 Rodney Jane
2005 Tony Quinn
2006 Rodney Jane
2007 Rodney Jane
2008 James Koundouris
2011 James Koundouris
2012 James Koundouris
2013 Shane Smollen
2014 Tony Bates
2015 Stephen Grove
3 – Rodney Jane, James Koundouris
1 – Tony Quinn, Shane Smollen, Tony Bates, Stephen Grove