Team Porsche New Zealand celebrated a championship title on a weekend of contrasting fortunes. In Singapore, Marco Giltrap was crowned 2026 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Pro champion after taking pole, a new lap record, and both races.
Meanwhile, in Australia, Tom Bewley showed impressive speed on his debut at Mount Panorama in the Porsche Equity One Carrera Cup Australia, before a spin and a starting-light malfunction ended his weekend at Bathurst early.
A perfect weekend in Singapore
Giltrap finished fourth in practice before delivering a standout qualifying performance, taking pole position for both races and setting a new Porsche Carrera Cup Asia lap record at the Singapore street circuit.
In Race 1, Giltrap led from lights to flag, controlling the race on the demanding street layout to take a comfortable victory.
Race 2 proved a far tougher test. Starting from pole, Giltrap came under immediate pressure from his championship rival and had to manage two Safety Car restarts. He held on through the closing stages to win the race, the round and the 2026 Pro championship.
The title caps a standout season for Giltrap and Team Porsche New Zealand.
“I’m so happy to be crowned Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champion. I can’t thank the team enough, who have been behind me from day one. So much effort has gone into this season, and to be able to take the honours at the end of the year feels very special,” said Marco Giltrap.
Speed but no reward at Mount Panorama
Bewley saw the Bathurst circuit for the first time on Wednesday and quickly found his rhythm in Thursday’s single practice session, finishing seventh and showing the fastest theoretical lap. A red flag prevented him from putting it all together.
Qualifying again highlighted his speed. Bewley set purple sectors in the first and second sectors, but traffic and a small mistake at the final corner kept a complete lap out of reach. He qualified 10th for Race 1 and eighth for Race 2.
Race 1 ended early when Bewley spun at the final corner and sustained damage that forced him to retire. In Race 2, a starting-lights malfunction left Bewley caught up in the incident at the start, and the damage was too severe for the car to continue.
“It was a disappointing weekend, especially after such a strong start. In practice we showed really strong pace with the fastest theoretical lap, and in qualifying I knew we had the speed, but I got held up in traffic and made a small mistake at the final corner on my fast lap. It just wasn’t my weekend, but Bathurst is such an awesome track and I can’t wait to come back,” said Tom Bewley.
“It was so awesome to see Marco wrap up the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia championship this weekend. Even though things didn’t go our way at Bathurst, the whole EBM and TPNZ team here was cheering him on, and it’s amazing to see TPNZ win that championship.”
The team now turns its attention to the next round of the Porsche Equity One Carrera Cup Australia at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500, October 23-25.
Header Image: Supplied
