Team Porsche New Zealand enjoyed contrasting fortunes across two championships and two countries over the weekend, with Marco Giltrap surging to the top of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia standings at Sepang, while Tom Bewley took a maiden pole position in Porsche Equity One Carrera Cup Australia at Queensland Raceway only for misfortune to deny him the result his pace deserved.
Driving the Team Porsche New Zealand Porsche 992.2 Cup car, Giltrap delivered a near-perfect weekend at Sepang International Circuit, topping every practice and qualifying session across Rounds 9, 10 and 11 before converting that pace into two race wins.
He claimed his maiden category win in Race 1 from pole, backed it up with third in Race 2 on a session where tyre wear came into play, then closed out the weekend with victory in the 45-minute enduro. The result marks his first overall round win in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and moves him to the top of the championship on 182.5 points, 3.5 points clear with two rounds still to run.
“It was an amazing weekend from start to finish,” commented Giltrap. “We were fastest in all three practice sessions and both qualifying sessions, and backed that up with a win in Race One. Race Two was a solid P3, and we closed out the round with another win in the 45-minute enduro. A big thank you to Porsche New Zealand and Earl Bamber Motorsport for giving me the tools to do the job.
“We’re now heading into Singapore top of the championship, and it’s going to go right down to the wire. We’ve put in a lot of preparation, and I’m confident we can bring it home.”
In Australia, Bewley carried strong pace into the Queensland Raceway weekend following a successful test, topping qualifying to claim his first pole in the category in just his third qualifying session of his rookie season.
Race 1 ended almost before it began when a clutch issue off the line turned pole into a DNF. He fought back in Race 2, climbing from seventh to fifth in the early stages before contact from another car spun him around with a lap remaining. Unable to restart, he was classified 13th in Pro Class.
“It was a really strong weekend for pace,” said Tom Bewley. “We made good gains with the set-up in practice, and to back that up with my first ever pole position in just my third qualifying session in the car was pretty incredible. Race one didn’t go to plan, I made a small mistake off the start and fried the clutch, which cost me the result from pole.
“Race two was better, I started seventh and worked my way up to fifth, but with a lap to go I got turned around and couldn’t restart. It’s a tough way to end the weekend after showing that kind of pace all through practice and qualifying. Huge thanks to Team Porsche New Zealand, the Tony Quinn Foundation, and NAPA Auto Parts New Zealand and Australia for backing me through a weekend like this.
Bewley returns to action at The Bend from 11 to 13 September, while Giltrap heads into the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season finale at Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore from 9 to 11 October holding the championship lead.
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