Porsche Carrera Cup GB has revealed the four finalists who will go head-to-head for the 2016/2017 scholarship programme at an assessment day at Silverstone on 28 October. The four supremely talented and ambitious young drivers were selected from a record-breaking pool of applicants and fended off competition from some of the finest racing talent in the UK to get to the final evaluation stage.
Sam Brabham (Banbury), Ashley Crossey (Bristol), Charlie Eastwood (Belfast) and Hannah Pym (Staines-upon-Thames) are the four lucky drivers who will be assessed via on and off track criteria for the superb opportunity to compete in the UK’s fastest one-make series and be aligned with the most successful sportscar marque worldwide.
Sam Brabham
Inducted into the MSA Academy and selected as a BRDC Rising Star, 21-year-old Sam Brabham rose to prominence with an outstanding debut single-seater season in the 2013 Formula Ford Championship, achieving six podium finishes. He then built on that success by converting his first career pole positions into victories in the same formula at Thruxton in 2014 as well as maintaining an impressive international racing campaign in the MRF Championship.
Ashley Crossey
Currently racing in F3 Cup, 22-year-old Ashley Crossey boasts an impressive record in Formula Ford and Formula Renault BARC as well as the superb achievement of becoming Formula Ford Carnival Champion in 2013. In particular the first half of his 2014 Formula Ford campaign demonstrated his immense pace and pure driving ability.
Charlie Eastwood
Charlie Eastwood proved his immense potential back in 2012 by winning the Rotax World Championship. He added the European karting title to his trophy cabinet the following year before moving to BRDC Formula 4 in 2014. Some highly promising results this year in Formula Renault NEC and Eurocup are further proof of the 20-year-old’s outstanding ability.
Hannah Pym
With an enviable record in British Cadet and CIK FIA U18 World Championship karting, 19-year-old Hannah Pym enjoyed great success in the DKM German Championship in both 2013 and 2014. An extensive testing schedule this season in a 460 hp ‘Type 991’ 911 GT3 Cup Car has shown her natural speed and ability.
The Carrera Cup GB Scholarship winner will receive £80,000 per year towards their 2016 and 2017 Porsche Carrera Cup GB budgets, bespoke training plans with the Porsche Human Performance Centre at Silverstone, world-class media training and priceless exposure to the international Porsche Motorsport family.
Porsche UK Motorsport Manager James MacNaughton commented: “We were delighted with the strength of applications for the 2016/2017 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme and are looking forward to putting the four finalists through their paces at the assessment day at Silverstone later this month. They are four immensely talented young drivers and it is fantastic that they are all so passionate about furthering their career with Porsche.”
Following the assessment day on 28 October, the 2016/2017 Carrera Cup GB Scholar will be announced at the end-of-season awards on 7 November.