Craig Baird has secured the 2011 Porsche City Index Carrera Cup Australia championship win in Sydney this weekend, while Jonny Reid and Max Twigg claimed the Professional Class and Elite Class round wins, respectively.
Baird claimed the series title in the second race of the weekend by finishing sixth, gaining an unassailable lead over Daniel Gaunt. Baird then failed to finish the final wet race on Sunday but still walked away from the round with his third Porsche City Index Carrera Cup Australia title (2006, 2008, 2011).
“I’m really relieved that this championship is over. I probably let the boys down a bit mid-season but it’s great to have recovered and take the series win,” said Baird.
“Title number three is always nice. The series has been fantastic and I probably haven’t enjoyed my racing this much for a long time.”
Race 1 winner Ben Barker continued his early dominance in the second race of the round, holding off a late charge from Reid, while Michael Patrizi, Steven Richards, rookie Nick Foster, Baird and Twigg rounded out the top seven.
Barker again took control of the final race of the season and was en-route to his maiden round win. But, with two laps to go, Barker grazed the wall at the fast turn five on the wet circuit, which saw the end to his race.
This left Reid and Patrizi to fight for the race win, with Patrizi winning the 12-lap sprint and Reid taking the round win. Richards finished the season-ending race third while Foster claimed fourth on his debut weekend, followed by Twigg and Michael Loccisano in sixth, a personal best for the Elite Class driver.
Reid’s second place not only promoted him to the round victory, but also into second place in the championship after Daniel Gaunt failed to finish due to contact with the barrier early in the race.
“I’m absolutely over the moon with the round win. It was challenging out there for all of us. We hit a few speed bumps over the last round in the Gold Coast and lost a chunk of points, so it was great to get this round win,” said Reid.
“It’s great to get runner-up in the series too. To come back from the Gold Coast woes to finishing runner up in the championship after this weekend was a massive surprise.”
Max Twigg finished the event with three Elite Class wins from three races, extending his series lead after securing the class title at the penultimate round of the season in the Gold Coast.
“I’m thrilled with this weekend. All in all, it’s been a great year; my speed and consistency have improved throughout the season, so you can’t ask for much more,” said Twigg.
The next event for the Porsche City Index Carrera Cup Australia is the Clipsal 500 Adelaide on March 01-04, 2012.
For more information on the Porsche City Index Carrera Cup Australia, visit www.carreracup.com.au.
Porsche City Index Carrera Cup Australia – 2011 final standings Outright - Top 5
1. Craig Baird 980
2. Jonny Reid 918
3. Daniel Gaunt 899 4. Steven Richards 882 5. Ben Barker 755
Elite Class - Top 5 - with round deducted
1. Max Twigg 1016 2. Paul Kelly 765 3. James Koundouris 753 4. Theo Koundouris 692 5. Damien Flack 582
 [copyright-free photo by Phil Willams - www.freewebs.comphilwillmedia]nsp_119.JPG)
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