News| PORSCHE GT3 CUP CHALLENGE RAISES OVER $7000 FOR CHARITY |
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| Written by aaa |
| Monday, 18 August 2008 00:00 |
 A gathering of Series teams, drivers and officials on the Friday night of last weekends’ round featured an auction of a hotlap with Jim Richards at the 2008 Sprint Bathurst event to be held this December at the fabled Mount.The auction held plenty of interest amongst Series competitors given the track will host the opening round of the 2009 GT3 Cup Challenge during the WPS Bathurst 12 hour event next February. Richards and Sprint Bathurst event organisers, Trackcorp, had donated the hotlap to the series on the condition that all proceeds from the auction go towards the charity. WTF Racing competitor Jon Trende won the prize and some handy, unofficial, pre-Bathurst pointers and tuition from Richards after an astonishing $2500 bid that sealed the hotly contested auction. The price shot up from an early starting point of $500 with plenty of competition from Trende’s team-mate Sven Burchartz – who had looked a lock with a bid of $2000 before his mate - and series co-director - trumped him at the last minute. A further $3750 was raised over the course of the weekend when other competitors enquired about obtaining these rides by donating to charity with two drivers adding to the proceeds. A secondary action – held at the last moment on Friday night – featured a Porsche kit bag that had originally been presented to Richards to thank him for his participation in the event. Richards quickly donated the bag to the cause with Porsche Cars Australia vowing to fill it with Porsche merchandise to add to the prize – along with a personalised Autograph from Richards himself. New GT3 Cup Challenge competitor Peter Fountas won the item with a generous $750 bid taking the total amount raised to over $7000. Richards said that as a Porsche enthusiast and competitor he was behind the concept of the GT3 Cup Challenge and anticipated strong growth for the Series. “This is a great Series and to have growth from 13 cars in Round 1 to more than 20 in this round is a sign that it’s heading in the right direction,” Richards said whilst holding sway with the crowd – many of whom who list the multiple Bathurst and Targa Tasmania winner as their racing idol. ”I think you will be turning up at races next year and having oversubscribed grids. When I started racing I didn’t care about winning, I didn’t care about getting on the podium. I just wanted to compete and that’s the kind of fantastic environment that this Series has." In other events on the night, the Series presented its second ‘taking the mickey’ award by presenting 996 GT3 Cup car driver Mark Krashos with a pair of GT3 Cup Challenge branded gumboots after his adventures on slick tyres in the Mallala rain in the Series’ inaugural round. Krashos was the only competitor to start a wet second race on slick tyres and as such had to wear the boots for the duration of the race meeting – as well as put up with the nickname ‘Wellington’ Krashos coined by event commentators. The ‘taking the Mickey’ awards are a regular part of the Series with Sven Burchartz earning the ‘Princess’ tag at round one – wearing a sticker (emphatically stating "Yield to the princess") on the back of his car and a ‘princess’ T-shirt throughout the weekend. About the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge presented by Porsche Insurance: The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia is modeled on the internationally endorsed Porsche series of the same name and will replace the previously named Porsche Drivers Challenge of Australia. The Series – founded in early 2008 - will run under the CAMS umbrella with the Shannons Nationals Racing Series. The category will be professionally administered, however, the primary objective is to provide a cost effective place to ‘race your mates’ with simple rules & regulations, value for money and a real focus on fair and enjoyable Porsche motor sport. The series is supported by Porsche Cars Australia and is sponsored by Porsche Insurance (Presenting Sponsor), Revolution Racegear and Michelin Tyres. |
| Last Updated on Friday, 05 June 2009 04:16 |