George Gamble wins Pro Championship title at Brands Hatch in the final round of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship
Epperstone’s George Gamble’s return to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship this season reaped rewards at Brands Hatch as he won the Pro Championship title on Sunday, writes Paul Horton.
It was a perfect end to the season for the Rosland Gold Racing by Century Motorsport driver, claiming the title by a relatively comfortable seven points.
Gamble said: “It was nice to be able to do it in such a style. I’m over the moon.”
The weekend didn’t go without drama for the championship decider in which fortunes between the four key contenders constantly changed. There were some mixed feelings and thoughts in the garages in the paddock, of who was going to take charge of the weekend and the title.
The day before Gamble was third fastest in practice, with some hot laps around the 2.43-mile Kent GP circuit.
It was a fairly mixed start to the weekend, with Saturday’s qualification seeing Gamble take a grid position of P6, expecting a better place to start the first race in.
He knew the competition was going to be tough all weekend. Will Martin had looked destined to build a decisive points lead as he led the opener with Gamble languishing in sixth.
But things turned on their head when Martin, who aggressively battled Charles Rainford on the first lap, suddenly spun into the Paddock Hill Bend gravel and effectively ended his hopes.
The safety car was deployed, after Hugo Ellis began challenging when Rainford dipped a wheel off the track through Clark Curve. But the pair also had Martin’s team-mate Harry Foster on their tails, it was advantage Rainford after a bit of pushing and shoving.
After the manoeuvring for the top four, Gamble got his splitter taken off by a fellow driver cutting back across, meaning the downforce was lost for the rest of the race. It was a sixth-place finish for Gamble, disappointed and even more pressure for the final encounter of 2024 with the championship still wide open.
Hope of a six-ball being pulled out the hat so the front six drivers would reverse position for race two was in vain for Gamble, as the five-ball was pulled out. That meant Gamble started the race in sixth spot.
With light misty rain arriving 30 minutes before the start, it was a wet tyre choice for Gamble and the other 21 cars.
The driving from Gamble was fantastic as he dived past Rainford at Paddock Hill Bend. Further around lap three, Ellis ran slightly wide at Stirling and Gamble was through. With Gamble also setting the fastest lap, getting an extra point for that as well, he now had the points he needed to prevail.
He continued his charge. On lap eight of 17, he demoted Dan Lloyd at Sheene and, two laps later, Gamble blasted past James Wallis at Clark Curve to ensure he sealed the title with a win.
