Ben Barker took a resounding victory in the opening round of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch this morning (Sunday 30 March) as the race heralded the arrival of the latest Type-911 911 GT3 Cup.

Guest racer Barker jumped ahead of Michael Meadows off the line and was able to stay ahead as Meadows took maximum championship points with second place. In an impressive third, on his debut Porsche race, was Carrera Cup Scholarship racer Josh Webster. Meanwhile, after some close battling in the pack, Karl Leonard and Steven Liquorish won Pro-Am1 and Pro-Am2 respectively for Team Parker Racing.

Barker (Parr Motorsport) drove a faultless race to win from the front as Meadows tracked him and Webster slotted into third, recognising that he did not quite have the pace to go with his two more experienced rivals.

Into an excellent fourth went Jake Hill (In2 Racing) on his championship debut, but he had Victor Jimenez (Redline Racing) and In2 team mate Paul Rees on his tail at the finish. Jimenez had to race hard after falling to last when he got bogged down at the start and was rewarded with a strong fifth place. Pro-Am1 winner Leonard ran fourth on the road, but a penalty for exceeding track limits dropped him to sixth.

In Pro-Am2, Will Goff (In2 Racing) set the early pace, but two spins at Graham Hill Bend dropped him to the tail of the pack. Instead Liquorish moved ahead and had to withstand constant pressure from Peter Kyle-Henney (Parr Motorsport) over the second half of the race as they both turned in excellent debut races in the championship.

Ben Barker (Parr Motorsport) first overall:
“I got a mega start. I’ve got a bit of experience with the Type-991 and the start was just what I wanted. I knew I was quick enough and that I had to get in front of Michael from the start. It was a nice race to drive.”

Michael Meadows (Samsung UHD TV Racing) second overall:
“That got the cobwebs blown away. That’s the longest run I’ve ever done in the car and it was good to be able to see what Ben was doing. He did it all in the first five or six laps and then the gap stayed constant.”

Josh Webster (Redline Racing) third overall:
“No dramas! Ben and Michael had the pace on me. The race felt very long and a tenth of a second a laps makes a big difference over 34 laps.”

Karl Leonard (Team Parker Racing) first in Pro-Am1:
“I was disappointed to get the time penalty, but I still won Pro-Am1, which was the main thing. I made a few little mistakes.”

Justin Sherwood (Team Parker Racing) second in Pro-Am1:
“That was a bit lonely but it was okay. Will Goff was running behind me but then he spun. I was hoping to tag along with Victor Jimenez, but I didn’t quite have the grip.”

Steven Liquorish (Team Parker Racing) first in Pro-Am2:
“I’m chuffed to bits, particularly because qualifying wasn’t brilliant. I dropped a bit of time at the start when Victor bogged down. Then I saw Peter coming strongly, so I had to keep pushing.”

Peter Kyle-Henney (Parr Motorsport) second in Pro-Am2:
“Wow: that was hard work. I was pushing Steven for all I was worth. Late in the race I saw Ben Barker in my mirrors and had to keep out of the way, which cost me a little bit.”

Results round 1:
Pro category: 1 Ben Barker; 2 Michael Meadows; 3 Josh Webster.
Pro-Am1 category: 1 Karl Leonard; 2 Justin Sherwood; 3 Kieran Gallagher
Pro-Am2 category: 1 Steven Liquorish; 2 Peter Kyle-Henney; 3 Kelvin Fletcher.

Source: Porsche