Ireland’s Mondello Park next for Porsche Carrera Cup GB

After a fantastic start to the new Porsche Carrera Cup GB season at Brands Hatch, the challenging Mondello Park circuit in Ireland is the next stop for the teams and drivers over the weekend of 22/23 April.

A fabulous line up for the Carrera Cup GB will make a fantastic spectacle in Ireland for rounds three and four, with 19 of the stunning new 997-model 911GT3 Cup cars expected to compete in a pair of races at the Irish track.

The new ‘Type 997’ version of the 911 GT3 Cup racer has drawn universal praise from the drivers, with more power, a sequential gearbox and enhanced aerodynamics, and the Carrera Cup lap record at Mondello is set to tumble by as much as two seconds a lap if conditions are good.

Also new for 2006 is the Pro-Am category, aimed at giving non-professional racers their own points and prize money rewards to chase. The move has proved very popular indeed, and a host of quick racers will be contesting this category within the overall race results.

2004 champion Richard Westbrook (Ipswich), racing for Cleveland’s Red Line Racing, grabbed the early championship lead with a fine double win at Brands Hatch. However, the opening races proved that Co Donegal's Damien Faulkner (driving for Leicestershire squad Team Parker Racing with SAS) and Witney’s Tim Harvey (in a car prepared by Motorbase Performance of Tonbridge) are right on Westbrook's pace - and this trio dominated the overall podium at Brands. Faulkner sees Mondello as very much 'his' track, so he will be determined to win again on home ground; he's already won five of the seven Carrera Cup races run at Mondello Park in the past.

Westbrook will miss the Mondello races while competing in the Porsche Supercup race supporting the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Italy, so his place will be taken by former F3 winner Danny Watts from Buckingham. Having raced in Carrera Cup Asia last year and tested the new ‘Type 997’ car through the winter, Watts is a first-class substitute for Westbrook.

Aiming to rival the big three will be Nottingham driver Jason Templeman (Team Parker Racing), Newmarket’s Michael Caine (Motorbase Performance), Mark Cole of Newbury (racing for Team RPM of Worcester), Londoner Richard Williams (who had an amazing Carrera Cup debut at Brands Hatch for IN2RACING, from Stratford upon Avon) and Mark Sumpter (Paragon) who takes over the car raced by Andy Purdie at Brands, as Purdie concentrates on university exams.

The Pro-Am category provided impressive racing at Brands as Nigel Rice from Beverley, East Yorkshire, and Jason Young (Oakham, Leicestershire) took the early victories for Red Line Racing. However, a gaggle of other drivers are all aiming for their slice of the pro-am points and prize money, including Manchester’s Mike Richards (IN2RACING), Phil Quaife of Tunbridge Wells (Motorbase Performance) and David Ashburn (Trackspeed), from London. Mike Richards will be new to the Mondello Park circuit, but showed at Brands that he is rapidly coming to terms with the 170mph Porsche!

So, the stage is set for some great racing as the 2006 Carrera Cup GB moves to Ireland. Faulkner is the local hero, but Harvey, Templeman, Caine, Watts and Cole will be among those aiming to give him a tough time!