Season 2005 – The dream came true
Before 2005, organizing an international single-brand Porsche championship based in Brazil, such as it is done in Europe, was just a dream. But it started materializing in the second half of 2004.
Before 2005, organizing an international single-brand Porsche championship based in Brazil, such as it is done in Europe, was just a dream. But it started materializing in the second half of 2004. At first, discreetly: asking potential drivers, the first initial bureaucracy, ordering the cars.
In a second phase, a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup was exhibited during the São Paulo Auto Show. In november, during the Racing Festival promoted by Porsche Club Brazil, the first 12 cars arrived for the first season of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge 2005.
Cars were transported directly from the Santos docks to Interlagos. Over the still brand new white paintjob, stickers with the information “GT3 Cup Challenge – 01” where applied. The roar of the 390 hp engine excited all guests.
Other tests took place on the track. The greatest one happened during the “Thousand Miles 2005” in january. The car received a modern telemetry system in order for the team, lead by Dener Pires, could evaluate its performance during the almost 12 hours of racing. The wheel was manned by Raul Boesel, Max Wilson, Marcel Visconde and André Lara. Results where not the most important but the 911 GT3 Cup finished seventh overall among over 50 competitors. Information gathered gave Dener the precise knowledge of the car’s potential: mileage ran on that race, with each driver going as fast as possible, was the same as nearly two full seasons of short races.
Three months later, in april 16th, the very first start for the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge took place in Interlagos. Both double-round races had the experienced Totó Porto as winner. All 12 cars had fixed drivers but a lot of people were showing interest in participating. By that point, three more cars were ordered for the second race of the year.
15 races were held throughout eight events in that year. Balance among drivers and the quality of the cars and their preparation became evident. On track, Roberto Posses and Luís Zattar had an amazing battle for the championship title that ended favouring Posses in the next-to-last race of the year. Totó Porto finished the year as the record holder for the most wins and would certainly be in the fight for the title if he hadn’t missed a few points earlier. He finished third overall
Initially, the intention of the organizers was to race only in São Paulo. But the opportunity to hold a race in Curitiba was seized and drivers enjoyed the idea of racing in other tracks. In that same year, the series would also be the support event for the Brazilian Formula 1 GP in october. In less than a year, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge had enough reputation to be a part of major international events. A great start and a preview of the evolution the series would have in the following years.
