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Australian Carrera Cup Championship
The Australian Carrera Cup Championship was a sports car racing championship open to drivers of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. First held in 2003, it was administered by Cup Car Australia and is sanctioned by CAMS as an Australian Championship <ref>Australian Titles Retrieved from www.camsmanual.com.au on 7 January 2009</ref>. Since its inception Carrera Cup has been the primary support category for the V8 Supercars.
The regulations for the championship are based on those used for Carrera Cup racing in Europe and the rest of the world with modifications to the cars strictly controlled to ensure parity between competing vehicles. From 2003 to 2005 the specified model was the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 996) with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 997) used from 2006. A new model would have been scheduled for the 2010 season.
In the lead up to the 2009 season the series organisers were forced to cancel the series, citing a lack of competitors.<ref>TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES TAKE THEIR TOLL Retrieved from www.cupcar.com.au on 6 February 2009</ref> Those competitors left with 997 GT3 Cup Cars found themselves without a series to race in as the cars were neither able to compete in the Australian GT Championship, to which they were eligible but were prevented by CAMS with the intention of preventing the collapse that ultimately occurred or the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia as models newer than 996s were not eligible for points. As the situation evolved permission was gained for the Porsches to enter the GT series in strictly limited numbers and likewise 997s were allowed to compete in the GT3 Challenge but to compete to their own pointscore rather than take points away from the 996 and 993s that made up the bulk of the series competitors.
Champions
| Year | Champion | Car |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Jim Richards | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 996 |
| 2004 | Alex Davison | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 996 |
| 2005 | Fabian Coulthard | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 996 |
| 2006 | Craig Baird | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 997 |
| 2007 | David Reynolds | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 997 |
| 2008 | Craig Baird | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 997 |
External links
