One hundred and fiftieth round for top one-make category

Since its debut in 2003, some of the biggest names in Australian and New Zealand Motorsport have tasted success behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car.

After a mid-season break, the championships resumes with Round 5 where Harri Jones and Adrian Flack lead their respective Equity One Pro and SP Tools Pro-Am classes. A field of 26 will tackle Sandown this weekend and includes the debuts of Caleb Sumich and Super2/Supercars driver, Zak Best.

The first Carrera Cup round was held at Phillip Island in 2003 and was won by Jim Richards, who went on to dominate the inaugural season. The 50th round was there as well in 2008. It was won by Craig Baird who also went on to win the championship. The series’ 100th round also came in Victoria, on the Australian Grand Prix program at Albert Park in 2017, which was won by Cameron McConville.

So far Marc Cini has the most starts of any Carrera Cup driver. He has contested 131 rounds and is the only one to have started more than 100 rounds. David Wall has the second most with 82, then Rodney Jane (72), Nick McBride (71) and Baird (66).

Ten have started more than 50 while 53 have started at least 20 rounds. Active drivers that feature prominently in the starts list are David Russell (62), Dean Cook (55), Dylan O’Keeffe and Dale Wood (45 each).

The championship has been to 18 different venues, including the two overseas, Sepang in Malaysia and Taupo, New Zealand. Sandown will host its 14th this weekend, equalling the number at Albert Park while Adelaide (15), the Surfers Paradise street circuit (18 rounds) and Bathurst (19) have had more.

There has been 45 with round victories, 30 of them with more than one. Only three have won 10 or more rounds, while five-time champion Baird tops the list with 21, in front of Alex Davison (17) and Jim Richards with 10.

Among the teams, McElrea Racing has the most Carrera Cup round wins with 27, just one victory ahead of long-time rivals Sonic Motor Racing on 26. Porsche Centre Melbourne Motorsport and Greg Murphy Racing have each won 14 rounds, while Jim Richards’ own team has 13.

The 150th Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship round commences this Friday with a pair of practice sessions, with qualifying and three races to follow across the weekend at the Penrite Sandown 500.

Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship Round 5 Entry List at Sandown