2012 Australian Carrera Cup Championship


The 2012 Porsche City Index Australian Carrera Cup Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The title, which was the eighth Australian Carrera Cup Championship, was won by Craig Baird.

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers contested the 2012 championship.
TeamNo.DriverClassRounds
Alliance Group Racing1 Craig BairdProAll
Grove Group4 Stephen GroveElite5, 7–8
Hunter Sports Group5 Jonny ReidPro2–8
Hunter Sports Group5 Nathan TinklerElite1
Hunter Sports Group18 Nathan TinklerElite4
Hunter Sports Group96 Ant PedersenPro6
McElrea Racing7 Alex DavisonProAll
McElrea Racing24 Tony BatesElite1–4, 6–8
McElrea Racing24 Tim LeaheyGuest5
McElrea Racing29 James DavisonPro2
Twigg Motorsport8 Max TwiggElite1–2, 4–8
Hallmarc Racing9 Marc CiniEliteAll
Hallmarc Racing10 Michael LoccissanoElite2–8
Team BRM11 Nick FosterProAll
Team BRM20 Tom TweediePro1–5
Team BRM20 Troy WilsonPro6
Team BRM20 Morgan MutchPro7
Team BRM20 Michael AlmondPro8
Laser Racing12 Steven RichardsProAll
INCA Motorsports17 Ray AngusElite2, 5–8
INCA Motorsports50 Matt KingsleyPro1, 4
INCA Motorsports50 Matt KingsleyGuest5
Team Kiwi Racing21 Andre HeimgartnerProAll
Porsche Cars Australia22 Mark SkaifePro2
Porsche Cars Australia40 Max TwiggElite3
Porsche Cars Australia40 Jeff BobikPro4
Porsche Cars Australia60 Heinz-Harald FrentzenGuest2
Porsche Cars Australia60 Jeroen BleekemolenGuest6
Porsche Cars Australia88 Shae DaviesPro7–8
Porsche Cars Australia96 Alexandre ImperatoriGuest8
Rusty French Racing27 Daniel GauntProAll
Supabarn Motorsport47 James KoundourisElite1–4, 6–8
Hamilton Autohaus56 Shane SmollenElite1–7
Racing Incident66 Peter HillElite2
Racing Incident66 Theo KoundourisElite8
Brighton Speedshop90 Paul KellyElite1–4

Race calendar

The 2012 Championship was contested over an eight round series with each round decided over a number of races with a minimum total race time of one hour at each round.
RoundCircuitCity / StateDateWinnerTimesheets
1 Adelaide Street CircuitAdelaide, South Australia1—4 MarchAlex Davison
2 Albert Park Grand Prix CircuitMelbourne, Victoria15—18 MarchCraig Baird
3 Barbagallo RacewayPerth, Western Australia4—6 MayJonny Reid
4 Phillip Island Grand Prix CircuitPhillip Island, Victoria18—20 MayCraig Baird
5 Townsville Street CircuitTownsville, Queensland6—8 JulyJonny Reid
6 Mount Panorama CircuitBathurst, New South Wales4—7 OctoberCraig Baird
7 Surfers Paradise Street CircuitSurfers Paradise, Queensland19—21 OctoberJonny Reid
8 Homebush Street CircuitSydney, New South Wales30 November—2 DecemberJonny Reid

Season summary

Round 1 in Adelaide was won by returning 2004 Champion Alex Davison from defending champion Craig Baird with Daniel Gaunt third. The elite class was won by James Koundouris.
Round 2 was held as a support race to the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit. A classy field assembled including former Grand Prix winner Heinz-Harald Frentzen, former V8 Supercar Champion and Bathurst 1000 winner Mark Skaife, 2011 runner-up Jonny Reid and returning from racing sports cars in the USA, James Davison. But the regulars showed the way with Craig Baird winning all three races, followed by Reid, with round 1 winner Alex Davison third. The elite class was won by Max Twigg.

Championship standings

;Points system
Points were awarded to the first 25 finishers in each race as per the following table.
Position1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14th15th16th17th18th19th20th21st22nd23rd24th25th
Points60544842363229262320181614121110987654321

In addition to competing for the outright championship, each driver was classified as either Professional or Elite and contested the relevant class title. Points were awarded for class places in each race on the same basis as for the outright championship.

Drivers' Championship

Professional Class

Craig Baird won the Professional Class pointscore from Jonny Reid and Alex Davison.

Elite Class

Max Twigg won the Elite Class from James Koundouris and Tony Bates.