Porsche Carrera Cup GB awards presented

As well as a share in over £60,000 end-of-season prize money, James Sutton, Jonas Gelzinis and Simon Leonard picked up the keys for new road-going Porsche 911s during the annual awards dinner for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at the Runnymede-on-Thames Hotel in Egham on Saturday evening (29 October).Overall champion Sutton, Pro-Am1 winner Gelzinis and Leonard of SAS/Redline, winner of the teams' championship, all now have the use of the 911 for a year. The big prize money winners were headed by Sutton, who picked up a cheque for £15,000 in addition to around £10,000 won across the 19-race season. Michael Meadows and Stephen Jelley collected cheques for £10,000 and £6000 respectively for finishing second and third overall in the championship. Meadows also claimed the special award for the 'most improved driver of the season' along with a further cheque for £1000.Sutton paid tribute to the strength of his opposition in the most competitive season in the history of the Carrera Cup GB. “There were more drivers than ever to beat and that made it very special for me,” said Sutton. Meadows, meanwhile, was a worthy runner-up. “I worked very hard on my consistency and it’s been a great year for me. I spent a lot less time in Ray’s office,” he added, referring to series clerk of the course, Ray Sumner.Jelley said he had loved every minute of the season, apart from the final race weekend at Silverstone when he lost his chance of the title. “It’s been a fantastic year and the guys at Team Parker Racing have worked so hard for me,” he said.Gelzinis stepped up to collect the Pro-Am1 title, while Rory Butcher and Ahmad Al Harthy took second and third places in Pro-Am1 and a share of the £13,000 end of season pro-am1 prize fund. “It was a fantastic year for me,” said Gelzinis, who will step up to the Pro category for 2012. “Next year I will push like hell,” he promised.In Pro-Am2, George Brewster, Keith Webster and Richard Denny shared £9000 in prize money. “This is special, particularly after missing it by two points last year,” said Brewster. Celtic Speed is only a small team but they did a great job this season.”In the teams' championship, SAS/Redline won the top award, as Parker with Juta finished second and Team Parker Racing took third. The three top teams in the championship also won £7000, £4000 and £3000 respectively. Stuart Parker, boss of the teams that finished second and third, dedicated their success to Dan Wheldon, the Indycar driver who lost his life in an accident earlier in October. “I raced karts with Dan and then we graduated into Formula Vauxhall Junior together,” said Parker. “I spent many happy times with Dan and he was such a great guy. I dedicate our success this year to him.”Finally, the BARC Marshals’ Fund benefited by over £1500 from the raffle organised during the evening.

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