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Defending Champion Dan Cammish (Redline Racing) lit up the time sheets in the second practice session to post the fastest time of a rain-affected first day as the Porsche Carrera Cup GB lined up alongside the World Endurance Championship.

Tyres were the early focus as rain and cold temperatures made the first practice session on Silverstone’s legendary 3.66 mile Grand Prix challenging. Teams opted to run the session on the Michelin wet tyre, new for 2016 and still a largely unknown quantity due to limited wet running in pre-season testing.

Despite this, there was no lack of commitment from any of the competitors through the demanding Maggots and Becketts complex on the first lap. Dino Zamparelli (GT Marques) tiptoed around in the slippery conditions to finish just 0.028s ahead of Dan Cammish, a remarkably slender margin for an 18 corner lap. Rounding out the top three was Porsche 2016/17 Scholar Charlie Eastwood (Redline Racing), impressing on his wet-weather debut with a time just 0.344s adrift of Zamparelli.

Leading the Pro-Am1 charge was Euan McKay (IN2 Racing) with an impressive time that saw him in the mix with the Pro category drivers, while Tautvydas Barstys (Juta Racing) ended the session with a clear advantage in Pro-Am2.

Strong winds and a 90-minute practice session for the WEC teams, which saw the Porsche 919 Hybrids first and second, dried the track sufficiently for all but six of the 26 drivers to opt for slicks. Choosing to start on wets were the cars of IN2 Racing, Brookspeed, Asset Advantage Racing and The Car Loan Centre, the four teams opting to sacrifice some track time for an opportunity to practise tyre changes ahead of what may prove to be changeable conditions in race one.

On an almost dry track, Zamparelli set the early pace, forming part of a well-spaced train that included Cammish, Tom Sharp (IDL Racing) and Charlie Eastwood. The quartet traded purple sectors (fastest times overall), but Cammish managed to find the most grip from his tyres to post an unbeatable 2:06.954.

Cammish commented: “The track was dry, but the time wasn’t quite there due to the temperature. We had a good session, swapping to newer tyres half way through which gave us a little more time. Considering the length of the circuit, it’s very close.”

Also settling into the conditions very quickly was Charlie Eastwood, improving to second with a consistent set of laps and finishing 0.213s shy of the flying Cammish. Posting an impressive lap time to jump into the top three was Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing).

Pro-Am1 was again headed by a McKay, this time Dan leading the IN2 Racing squad with a time that would have been worthy of the Pro category. Brother Euan was not far behind, just pushing Sean Hudspeth (Parr Motorsport) into third place after a lap that had seen the Singaporean driver inside the top six overall at one stage. Tautvydas Barstys maintained a firm grip on Pro-Am2, in session two ahead of newcomer Salih Yoluk (IN2 Racing), impressing on his Carrera Cup GB debut with a solid second place in the category.

Following the track action, the Porsche Carrera Cup GB race centre welcomed Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport, and Porsche drivers Neel Jani and Marc Lieb, pilots of the Porsche 919 Hybrid in the LMP1 category of the WEC. Listening to Dr. Walliser and the two drivers discuss the Porsche Motorsport pyramid, of which the Carrera Cup is a key component, and the LMP1 programme presented a rare opportunity for the Carrera Cup GB drivers, further underlining the importance of the weekend’s racing.

With weather conditions set to be changeable heading into Saturday, tyre strategy will play a key role in what will be a difficult qualifying session and race to predict. Qualifying is at 10.10 GMT, with race one following at 12.55 GMT. Coverage of round three of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB will be shown by Motors TV at 18.45.

Follow the Championship at @CarreraCupGB and @PorscheGB on Twitter, and visit www.porsche.co.uk/CarreraCupGB for more information and the full race entry list.

Ends

Text

English (Porsche Cars Great Britain)

Archived

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2016/04/15

    • Motorsports
    • Season 2016
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain
    • Press Releases

Porsche Carrera Cup GB: Silverstone free practice comes to a close with Cammish fastest overall

Cammish leads the way as Porsche Carrera Cup GB steps onto the world stage
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