GT3 Cup Challenge Round 6 @The Bend

Published on the 20th of August 2019 by McElrea Racing

Coming into the weekend Harri had a 92 point lead in the championship, so we were very keen to help him seal the deal and claim his first Porsche championship!

It would have special meaning to us also, as we are extremely grateful to have won every other Porsche championship in Australia, drivers championships, teams championships, Pro-Am championships in both Carrera Cup and GT3 Cup Challenge, even the young driver shootout in Europe twice, but the GT3 Cup Challenge outright championship has eluded us over the last 11 years! Needless to say, we were very ready to get stuck into it.

Ryan was on a mission to win some more races and Brett Boulton still had a mathematical chance of winning the Pro-Am championship. Unfortunately Michael Hovey couldn't join his team mates for the final round due to excessive overseas holidaying!

Harri Jones

Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge 'Pro Class' – 4th, 4th, 5th

Harri qualified 4th. In race 1 he got a good start and got a good run on the leaders on the long run to the first corner. He was unable to make any progress due to the jostling among the leaders and settled into a solid race pace and defending a pacey Pancione on the final laps.

In race 2 he got another good start and again found no gaps to get through to the front, or make a few places in the first complex of corners. This race was a lot less exciting which is exactly what he wanted as he needed to finish 4th or better to create an assailable ‘Outright’ championship lead with one race remaining.

In race 3 Harri got away well and set after the leading trio, but had to dispose of Shahin first which he did in forceful fashion. He then had to defend his 4th place from a very motivated Pancione which he wisely conceded a few laps from the end, knowing full well he would wrap up the ‘Pro’ as well as the ‘Outright’ championship just by finishing the race.

Ryan Suhle

Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge 'Pro Class' – 3rd, 2nd, 3rd

Ryan qualified on pole with a stunning lap over 2-10ths of a second ahead of the whole field. In race 1 he had an average start which dropped him to 3rd on the run into turn 1. He gradually lost touch with the leaders and had a quiet run to 3rd.

In race 2 he started from grid 3 and got a better start, holding 3rd through the first corners. He drove a very assertive race chasing down Love for 2nd. Although he was never more than a second behind, he was unable to get close enough to make a clean pass, but took over 2nd when Vidau fell off the road, which he held to the finish.

In race 3 Ryan dropped a spot to Vidau on the run to turn 1. He applied huge pressure and had a great race with his season-long foe Max, but was unable to get by.

Brett Boulton

Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge 'Pro-Am Class' – 1st, 2nd, 2nd

Brett did a great job to qualify 1st in Pro-Am. In race 1 he had a good start and a fairly lonely race in the Pro-Am lead. He raced among the pro drivers and ended up an impressive 6th outright and 20 seconds up the road from the 2nd placed Pro-Am competitor.

In race 2 he was a victim of the shuffle in the complex of first corners which cost him 2 places. He was able to fight back to pass McGregor but was unable to catch circuit owner Shahin, but was quite satisfied with 2nd place.

In race 3 Brett did all he could to get by Shahin, but found himself in some great battles and again racing hard with some of the newer Pro class drivers and he managed to take another well-deserved 2nd place to win the round.

Summary

Well, what a way to finish our 2019 GT3 Cup Challenge championship! Ryan on pole and 3rd for the round. Brett on Pro-Am pole and wins the round. Harri drove a very intelligent weekend to protect his championship lead and came away with the big prize.

As we mentioned earlier, the GT3CC outright championship is the only Porsche title that was missing from our trophy cabinet, so we head into the summer break, as a very proud and grateful team.

As this was our last round for 2019, we would sincerely like to thank all our drivers, families, sponsors, supporters, followers and friends on social media and anyone who likes what we do. We have a very exciting 2020 already being planned, so stay tuned !!