Porsche Carrera Cup Australia will take its biggest field of the season into this weekend’s Sandown Raceway round as the series prepares to launch its 2017 Endurance Cup.
The one-make series will feature 19 cars on track at its 10th visit to Sandown, boosted by the addition of three debutants – young guns Jordan Love and Brenton Grove and experienced Porsche racer John Morriss. Love, Grove and Morriss – who will become the 195th, 196th and 197th drivers to race in Carrera Cup – all raced at last weekend’s GT3 Cup Challenge series finale at Phillip Island, where the trio finished the season first, second and third respectively in the outright standings.
Grove’s transition from GT3 Cup Challenge to Carrera Cup will make this weekend the first time he and his father, Stephen, will compete against one another on track. Having competed in the same entry across several racing events, the duo will become the first father-son combination to compete in the same Carrera Cup race in separate entries.
The TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge will also feature a season-high six entries at Sandown, with Sepang entrants Stephen Grove, Marc Cini, Dean Cook, Tim Miles and Graham Williams joined by returning driver Sam Shahin, while Challenge ranked Morriss will debut in the series in a one-off Guest entry.
While David Wall and Andre Heimgartner sit first and second in the outright standings, third-placed Alex Davison will have cause for celebration at Sandown. The 2004 Carrera Cup champion will make his 50th Porsche Carrera Cup Australia round start, becoming just the fourth driver after Marc Cini, Craig Baird and Rodney Jane to reach the milestone. During his impressive time in the series, Davison has won 16 of his 49 rounds (32.7%), had pole for 15 of them (30.6%), finished on the podium in 35 of them (71.4%) and won 45 of his 141 races (31.9%).
Porsche Carrera Cup Australia will kick off its sixth round of the season with two Friday practice sessions, followed by a busy Saturday schedule, which features qualifying and two 14-lap sprint races. The series will then hold its first of three Endurance Cup races of the season with a 25-lap race on Sunday morning before Supercars’ own 500km endurance event.
Race Schedule
Friday September 15, 2017
9:00am Practice 1 (25 minutes)
12:25pm Practice 2 (25 minutes)
Saturday September 16, 2017
9:45am Qualifying (25 minutes)
12:55pm Race 1 (14 laps)
2:45pm Race 2 (14 laps)
Sunday September 17, 2017
11:55am Race 3 (25 laps)
Entry List: Round 6, Sandown Raceway
1. #4 Stephen Grove (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) Grove Group
2. #5 Cameron McConville (Outright) Repair Management Australia
3. #7 Jaxon Evans (Outright) Hungry Jacks
4. #9 Marc Cini (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) Hallmarc
5. #13 Sam Shahin (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) HTFU
6. #22 Dean Cook (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) Zonzo Racing
7. #23 Brenton Grove (Outright) Porsche Centre Melbourne
8. #26 Michael Almond (Outright) Copyworld
9. #33 Simon Ellingham (Outright) Peak Marketing
10. #34 John Morriss (Guest) Motorsport Leasing/Race Ramps
11. #38 David Wall (Outright) PAYCE/Wilson Security
12. #70 Tim Miles (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) Miles Advisory Partners
13. #77 Nick McBride (Outright) Bob Jane T-Marts
14. #79 Jordan Love (Outright) Sonic Motor Racing/Quintis
15. #88 Dylan O’Keeffe (Outright) APB Group/President Limo Australia
16. #131 Graham Williams (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) WRA
17. #136 James Abela (Outright) Horsley Park Gun Shop/Strathbrook Industrial Services
18. #777 Andre Heimgartner (Outright) Bob Jane T-Marts/Money Now
19. #888 Alex Davison (Outright) President Limo Australia
