Australian Carrera Cup Championship

Australian Carrera Cup Championship

Category	GT Racing One-make racing
Country or region	Australia
Inaugural season	2003 Resumed: 2011
Folded	2008
Drivers	22
Constructors	Porsche
Tyre suppliers	Michelin
Last Drivers' champion	Craig Baird
Official website	Cup Car Australia
Current season

The Australian Carrera Cup Championship is a sports car racing championship open to drivers of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. First held in 2003, it is administered by Porsche Cars Australia and sanctioned by CAMS as an Australian Championship.^[1] During its history, Carrera Cup has been the primary support category for the V8 Supercars Championship.

History

The regulations for the championship are based on those used for Porsche Carrera Cup racing series in Europe and the rest of the world, with modifications to the cars strictly controlled to ensure parity between competing vehicles. From 2003 to 2005 the specified model was the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 996) with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 997) used from 2006.

In the lead up to the 2009 season the series organisers were forced to cancel the series, citing a lack of competitors.^[2] Those competitors left with 997 GT3 Cup Cars found themselves without a series to race in as the cars were neither able to compete in the Australian GT Championship, to which they were eligible but were prevented by CAMS with the intention of preventing the collapse that ultimately occurred or the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia as models newer than 996s were not eligible for points. As the situation evolved permission was gained for the Porsches to enter the GT series in strictly limited numbers and likewise 997s were allowed to compete in the GT3 Challenge but to compete to their own pointscore rather than take points away from the 996 and 993s that made up the bulk of the series competitors.

Porsche Cars Australia announced the series would return for the 2011 season featuring the 2011 specification version of the Type 997 GT3 Cup.^[3]

Champions

Season	Champion	Car
2003	Jim Richards	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 996
2004	Alex Davison	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 996
2005	Fabian Coulthard	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 996
2006	Craig Baird	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 997
2007	David Reynolds	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 997
2008	Craig Baird	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 997

References

1. ^ 2011 Sporting and Technical Regulations Retrieved from www.camsmanual.com.au on 29 October 2011
2. ^ TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES TAKE THEIR TOLL Retrieved from www.cupcar.com.au on 6 February 2009
3. ^ Carrera Cup confirms return to Australia Retrieved on 8 September 2010

External links

• Cup Car Australia - Archived at web.archive.org