Over 50 people, including many prospective competitors, attended the weekend's (Saturday 24 October) launch of the new Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone.

The new series will be open to any 911GT3 Cup car from 2008 and earlier and will be administered by the Porsche Club GB with official backing from Porsche Cars GB. The new series will replace the existing Porsche Open and will sit comfortably beneath the Carrera Cup GB, which will, as usual, be open to the current model 911GT3 Cup car.

The format of the new series will be 12 races run over six weekends, with races of 25-30 minutes. There will be no date clashes with the Carrera Cup, so that teams with the current 997-model 911GT3 Cup car can field cars in both series. Additionally, drivers from the GT3 Cup Challenge can step up for selected Carrera Cup weekends if they are driving 997-model cars. The dates for the GT3 Cup Challenge will be the same as the Porsche Club Championship, which continues un-changed.

All cars in the GT3 Cup Challenge will run on the same Michelin slick tyres as the Carrera Cup GB and the series will enjoy competitor hospitality, tyre support and parts support.

Geoff Turral from Porsche Cars GB introduced the new series before Steve Kevlin of the Porsche Club GB provided more details, including outline technical regulations. "Porsche approaches motor sport with a structure that is sustainable and we are in it for the long term," said Turral. "The GT3 Cup Challenge is the next tier down from the Carrera Cup GB and it links Porsche Club motor sport with the Carrera Cup."

Kevlin was very encouraged by the response to the launch. "It was good to see a mix of current, past and potentially new competitors here today," he said. "It was great to see the level of interest from the teams and the feedback so far has been very, very positive."

Among the teams represented at the launch was front-running Carrera Cup squad, Team Parker Racing. "I think it is a fantastic concept," said team boss Stuart Parker. "We're definitely going to support it and we have both 996 and 997-model cars available for customers."

The GT3 Cup Challenge is an established concept across the world, with race series in Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Brazil and the USA. The British series will be the seventh GT3 Cup Challenge to be established.