Dino Zamparelli will return to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB for 2018, and has switched from JTR to Redline Racing; the 2017 championship winning team.
The 25-year-old Bristol racer will return for a fourth season, having finished runner-up twice in a row with two separate teams in both 2016 and 2017 respectively. On both occasions, Zamparelli would push the eventual champion close, and none more so than in 2017 when both Zamparelli and Eastwood ended up tied on points, with Eastwood being elected as Champion on countback of wins.
2018 marks a new chapter for Zamparelli, as he searches for that all elusive Porsche Carrera Cup crown: “I’m really excited to announce that I’ll be racing with Redline Racing. I’ve always admired them and how they’ve gone about their business. It’s no coincidence that they’ve won 10 out of the 15 championship titles, and I’ll be looking to make it 11 for them this year!”
He added: “A lot of people will probably be surprised that I’ve switched after a really strong 2017 - and it was a close decision on whether to repeat with JTR or not. Ultimately we made the decision with all my sponsors and partners as we wanted a new challenge and the prospect of working with Redline was too enticing. 2018 marks a new chapter and working with a team that has 10 titles is something that inspires me and everyone around me.”
The Championship will begin at Brands Hatch in the first week of April. There will be eight rounds, spread over sixteen races, with the finale taking place at Brands Hatch in the final weekend of September.
The Porsche Carrera Cup GB calendar has a slight change from 2017, with Le Mans being swapped for a one-off weekend with the ELMS Championship at Monza in May. In addition to this, there is an all-new race weekend format for 2018.
In a change to qualifying, the second race of the weekend will be decided by the result of the first race plus the addition of a number selected at random deciding whether the first four, five, or six drivers on the grid will have their positions reversed on the grid. All other competitors will start from the position they finished in the first race, with both races featuring a standing start.
Of this new challenge, Zamparelli said: “Porsche have announced this new reverse grid for the races and we’ve got Monza on the calendar, which is an epic track. I love the idea of still having to work for pole position and race one win, and then having to fight back through in race 2. It should make it more of a spectacle for the sponsors, fans and the TV.”
“I’m extremely happy to announce that DMS are returning as my title sponsor once again, and we are working with all existing and new sponsors to return with an awesome liveried car again for 2018. I can’t wait to get 2018 underway already!"
The first race weekend of the Porsche Carrera Cup Cup Championship will take place the 7th/8th April 2018.
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For sponsorship & partnership enquiries: Dino@DinoZamparelli.com