A productive test day at Willowbank’s Queensland Raceway last week has given GWR Australia Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge drivers Cameron Crick and Rob Woods renewed enthusiasm heading into this weekend’s fourth round of the series.
Both drivers completed an abundance of laps during the test, while Crick also finished on the podium in the ECB SuperUtes round on the weekend. He said the seat time has been most valuable.
“Apart from the actual race meetings, I haven’t had a lot of time in the Porsche, so it was important to have a full day on track and experiment with some setups and driving techniques,” Crick said.
“We were on old tyres, but it was still a good opportunity for me to learn the characteristics of the car in a more relaxed, low-pressure environment than what you would have at a race event.
“The thing I was happiest with was the car’s braking stability; Queensland Raceway has a few big brake applications, especially at Turns 3, 4 and 6, so it’s important to have a car that stops well. The brake package felt good and gave me a lot of confidence heading into those zones.
“The other critical thing in these Porsches is rear-end stability; typically, they have a lot of grip but when the back end lets go, it can swing you around like a pendulum. Through the high-speed corners at Turns 1 and 2, the rear end felt planted to the road, which is positive considering the condition of our tyres.
“Now I have a bit more familiarity with the car, hopefully I can continue my learning curve from the first three rounds and push for some top-three results this weekend.”
Woods also expressed his satisfaction with the day’s achievements.
“Overall, it was a good day’s work – it was two years since I had been to QR, and the GWR boys dialled a really solid base-line setup into the Platinum Motorsport Porsche,” he said.
“I got to grips with the track pretty quickly, and my times kept improving throughout the day.
“The competition in the Pro-Am Class has been at a high standard this year, but the drivers are also fair and fun to race against. In the last round at Phillip Island I was able to run consistently in the top four or five, which gives me something to build on this weekend.”
The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge round will once again consist of a pair of 20-minute sprint races, and a longer 45-minute race on Saturday afternoon as part of the Jim Richards Endurance Trophy.
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge – Round 4 Schedule
Friday, 2 August
11:25am – Practice 1 (30 min)
3:50pm – Practice 2 (30 min)
Saturday, 3 August
9:25am – Qualifying (20 min)
12:55pm – Race 1 (20 min)
4:05pm – Race 2 (45 min)
Sunday, 4 August
9:40am – Race 3 (20 min)
