Action Motorsport

TWO SERIES WINNERS of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia presented by Mission Foods have combined to show the level of competition within the series is as strong as anything in Australia. 2009 winner Matt Kingsley and 2010 champ Roger Lago combined with Fujitsu V8 Supercar race winner and former Carrera Cup ace David Russell to contest the Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour Enduro at the weekend, finishing an outstanding fifth outright.

Driving Lago’s #23 MY08 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car, the trio punched well above their weight to score the top five finish – behind only two 2010-specification works Audi’s, a latest model Porsche GT3 R and a Porsche GT3 Cup S. Lago / Kingsley and Russell completed 282 laps of the famous Mount Panorama circuit, a total of 1750km, trouble free. They also won their class by 25 laps. The final results show that the pair of GT3 Cup Challenge Australia series winners placed in the top five with two former Australian GT Champions, an FIA GT3 European Champion – and V8 hero Craig Lowndes – showing the depth of talent in the domestic all-Porsche series. “It was a fantastic weekend and a fantastic race,” car owner and driver Roger Lago said. “You can’t fault the effort that the team put in and the driving we saw from Matt and David. They didn’t put a foot wrong all day despite some really challenging conditions earlier on in the race. “Before this weekend we knew that we would be competitive in our class, but to come here and finish fifth outright against the cars and drivers assembled in this field is a huge effort and a fantastic feeling.” The team – comprised of Lago’s own crew plus members from Kingsley’s Action Tyres & More crew and Porsche Centre Gold Coast Motorsport – was a truly unified effort representing a large part of the GT3 Cup Challenge family. “We knew we would be pretty competitive but I don’t think anyone expected us to finish fifth outright,” Matt Kingsley said. “It was a challenging race and the conditions were tough – you couldn’t put a foot wrong or you would come off or get in the way of another car – but everyone did a fantastic job to get us to the finish in fifth place outright and first in class. “Roger drove fantastically well all day despite really tough conditions. All three drivers were quite evenly matched and I think we formed a great team. Brought into the team for the one-off drive thanks to an existing relationship with Lago, David Russell said he was thrilled to score a class victory on the Mountain. "A brilliant result for the team, we focussed solely on our own race and kept it clean through the changing weather conditions and lapped traffic,” he said. “For me personally it is very satisfying coming off my Fujitsu Series V8 Supercar wins here last year and adding to my tally of class victories in all three Bathurst endurance race formats - the 3hour, 12 hour and 24 Hour during my career. “I'd like to thank Roger Lago for the invitation to drive with his team this year and I look forward to racing with him again in the future." Lago and Kingsley are both looking forward to the first round of the 2011 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia presented by Mission Foods Series, to be held at Wakefield Park this April.