Tom Sharp got his 2016 Porsche Carrera Cup GB season off to a positive start with a podium finish in the opening rounds of the season at Brands Hatch this past weekend (02/03 April) to slot into the championship top three.

Returning to the scene of his Porsche debut twelve months ago, Sharp was eager to kick off his second season in the Carrera Cup GB in positive fashion and was buoyed by strong pace in Friday practice, which saw him finish the day fourth overall with a best time of 46.961s.

Sharp would go on to increase his pace in qualifying to put himself fourth and third on the grid for Sunday’s two races, but he headed into those feeling there was more pace to come after being unable to maximise the clear air he got during a busy qualifying session.

The Surrey-based racer got the start to the opening race he wanted though, immediately adapting well to the damp, slippery conditions to slide past Jonas Gelzinis into Clearways on the first lap to take third position.

Holding the place into an early safety car period, Sharp would go on to keep the competition at arm’s length throughout the remainder of the race with a composed drive to his fifth podium finish so far in the championship.

Sharp headed into the second race of the weekend, hoping to add another top three finish to his tally and was right in the mix, trading third position with Stephen Jelley in the early stages.

Sitting in the middle of a thrilling three car battle for the final podium position, Sharp lost out on lap nine when Jelley slowed through Surtees, forcing the IDL Racing man out wide in avoidance at the expense of a position to Tom Oliphant.

Despite pressuring the pair in front throughout the remaining laps, the opportunity didn’t present itself to get the position back and Sharp settled for fifth place at the finish – continuing a run of fourteen consecutive top six finishes in the Carrera Cup stretching back over ten months.

Tom Sharp: “It was really good to start the season off on the podium, especially when you don’t really expect it. We weren’t too happy with our pace over the course of Saturday, but we turned a corner for the first race and I was really happy with my drive.

“The second race was a bit messy on the whole and while I didn’t get the best start, Jelley got a corker and that ended up costing us another podium finish as we were right in the middle of a fight throughout the rest of the race.

“There was some great racing all weekend though and I’m sure it looked brilliant on television and trackside for the fans. We move on to Silverstone now knowing that the pace is good, and hopefully fifth will be the lowest finish we post this year.”

The Porsche Carrera Cup GB is back in action in a fortnight’s time (16/17 April) at the ‘Home of British Motorsport’ Silverstone, as Sharp and the rest of the grid tackle the Grand Prix circuit in support of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Source. Simon Paice Media/Photo. James Lipman/Porsche