Sydney Motorsport Park GT3 Cup Challenge Round 6

Published on the 29th of November 2015 by McElrea Racing

The team had a good vibe heading into the final round of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge with all of our drivers already in strong Championship positions.

Before the weekend started James Abela was 3rd in A Class Pro, Tim Miles was in 3rd in A Class Elite, Jaxon Evens was in 2nd in B Class (only 11 points behind first) while Jim Campbell was just behind him in third.

This was the shortest weekend of the season with practice on Friday and qualifying and all 3 races on Saturday with no racing on Sunday (presumably to allow for hangovers after the Championship presentation dinner on Saturday night).

The weather was pretty awful. It was so bad that practice on Friday was delayed because of rain and hail which cut the official practice down to less than 10 minutes.

Conditions weren't much better on Saturday with intermittent showers so tyre choice was a real gamble.

Official practice was delayed due to the heavy rain and hail with most drivers only getting a few minutes of track time!

James Abela

A Class Pro 5th, 5th, 5th

An incident at turn four in the opening race forced James wide into the wetter side of the track causing him to have a spin which put him towards the back of the field by the time he rejoined the circuit. He made up for it with a by driving like a demon to drive through the field passing a number of other cars to finish in 5th.

James did a good job to hold on to fifth in race two while managing his wets in the drying track.

James drove a solid race in the final race to finish in 5th once again collecting enough points to hold on to third in the Championship.

A fantastic rookie season for James placing third in the A Class Championship as well as winning the Jim Richards Endurance Championship.

James Abela drove well in the tough conditions to hold onto third place in the Championship.

Tim Miles

A Class Elite 5th, 19th, DNF

Tim drove well in race 1 adapting to the wet conditions to finish 5th in his class.

In race 2 he made the call to come in for a pitstop to change to slick tyres. This didn't end up offering much advantage as the track didn't really dry out enough and the extra time required for the pitstop put him back to 19th.

Race 3 didn't go any better with Tim retiring after some minor damage from contact with his team-mate (James Abela).

Fortunately, consistent results throughout the season meant that Tim was able to hold-on to 3rd place in the A Class Elite Championship.

A challenging weekend for Tim Miles but consistency throughout the season meant he still collected 3rd in the 'A Class Elite' Championship!

Jaxon Evans

B Class 1st, 6th, DNF

In order to win the Championship Jaxon needed to win all 3 races.

After qualifying on pole in the treacherous conditions we were starting to feel like it could be a real possibility!

Jaxon had a blinder in race 1 and won B Class in the slippery conditions.

In race 2 things didn't go so well with Jaxon struggling for grip on the partially dry track while on wets.

Race 3 ended early with Jaxon unable to finish the final race due to a mechanical failure.

It was a year of some very close racing between Jaxon and his rival Aaron Seton and whilst it's a little disappointing we think Jaxon was lucky to have such a fierce competitor to bring out his best.

Jaxon will continue his journey in our Driver Development program next year in a new car which will move him into the A Class Pro category.

Jaxon adapted to the wet conditions well qualifying on pole and winning the opening race.

Jim Campbell

B Class 6th, 7th, 3rd

Jim had a great wet qualifying session to start from 4th in B Class.

Jim did a great job in the first race to finish 6th while gaining some valuable wet weather racing experience in the greasy conditions.

He finished 7th in race 2 managing his wet tyres well on the drying track conditions.

Jim drove a brilliant final race of the season to finish a inspired 3rd in B Class.

It was a fantastic end to an incredibly impressive rookie season for Jim Campbell.

Jim Campbell continues to improve and catch his more experienced competitors and finished 3rd in the 'B Class' Championship!

Summary

We finished the season with fantastic results all-round!

James Abela 3rd - A Class Pro (Rookie season!)
Tim Miles - 3rd A Class Elite (non-Rookie season.)
Jaxon Evans - 2nd in B class (Rookie season!)
Jim Campbell - 3rd in B Class (Rookie season!)

We would like to say a special thanks all of our drivers, partners and supporters for a fantastic 2015 GT3 Cup Challenge Season. Obviously next year will be bigger and better than ever and we hope you will all join-us once again.

We will leave you with some shots of the guys letting their hair down at the annual Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge presentation dinner.