The 2012 Porsche City Index Australian Carrera Cup Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars.[1] It was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) as a National Championship,[1] and was recognised by them as the eighth Australian Carrera Cup Championship.[2] Porsche Cars Australia Pty Ltd was appointed as the Category Manager by CAMS for the Championship.[1]
The championship was won by Craig Baird.[3]
The following teams and drivers contested the championship.
| Team | No. | Driver | Class | Rounds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance Group Racing | 1 |  Craig Baird | Pro | All | |
| Grove Group | 4 |  Stephen Grove | Elite | 5, 7–8 | |
| Hunter Sports Group | 5 | Jonny Reid | Pro | 2–8 | |
| Nathan Tinkler | Elite | 1 | |||
| 18 | 4 | ||||
| 96 | Ant Pedersen | Pro | 6 | ||
| McElrea Racing | 7 | Alex Davison | Pro | All | |
| 24 | Tony Bates | Elite | 1–4, 6–8 | ||
| Tim Leahey | Guest | 5 | |||
| 29 | James Davison | Pro | 2 | ||
| Twigg Motorsport | 8 | Max Twigg | Elite | 1–2, 4–8 | |
| Hallmarc Racing | 9 | Marc Cini | Elite | All | |
| 10 | Michael Loccissano | Elite | 2–8 | ||
| Team BRM | 11 | Nick Foster | Pro | All | |
| 20 | Tom Tweedie | Pro | 1–5 | ||
| Troy Wilson | 6 | ||||
| Morgan Mutch | 7 | ||||
| Michael Almond[4] | 8 | ||||
| Laser Racing | 12 | Steven Richards | Pro | All | |
| INCA Motorsports | 17 | Ray Angus | Elite | 2, 5–8 | |
| 50 | Matt Kingsley | Pro | 1, 4 | ||
| Guest | 5 | ||||
| Team Kiwi Racing | 21 | Andre Heimgartner | Pro | All | |
| Porsche Cars Australia | 22 | Mark Skaife | Pro | 2 | |
| 40 | Max Twigg | Elite | 3 | ||
| Jeff Bobik | Pro | 4 | |||
| 60 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Guest | 2 | ||
| Jeroen Bleekemolen | 6 | ||||
| 88 | Shae Davies | Pro | 7–8 | ||
| 96 |  Alexandre Imperatori | Guest | 8 | ||
| Rusty French Racing | 27 | Daniel Gaunt | Pro | All | |
| Supabarn Motorsport | 47 | James Koundouris | Elite | 1–4, 6–8 | |
| Hamilton Autohaus | 56 | Shane Smollen | Elite | 1–7 | |
| Racing Incident | 66 | Peter Hill | Elite | 2 | |
| Theo Koundouris | 8 | ||||
| Brighton Speedshop | 90 | Paul Kelly | Elite | 1–4 |
Note: Only Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars were eligible to compete in the championship.[1]
The 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.[1]
| Round | Circuit | Location / state | Date | Format | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adelaide Street Circuit | Adelaide, South Australia | 1—4 March | Three races | Alex Davison |
| 2 | Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit | Melbourne, Victoria | 15—18 March | Three races | Craig Baird |
| 3 | Barbagallo Raceway | Perth, Western Australia | 4—6 May | Three races | Jonny Reid |
| 4 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | Phillip Island, Victoria | 18—20 May | Three races | Craig Baird |
| 5 | Townsville Street Circuit | Townsville, Queensland | 6—8 July | Three races | Jonny Reid |
| 6 | Mount Panorama Circuit | Bathurst, New South Wales | 4—7 October | Three races | Craig Baird |
| 7 | Surfers Paradise Street Circuit | Surfers Paradise, Queensland | 19—21 October | Three races | Jonny Reid |
| 8 | Homebush Street Circuit | Sydney, New South Wales | 30 November—2 December | Three races | Jonny Reid |
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.[5]
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.[6]
Points were awarded to the first 25 finishers in each race as per the following table.[1]
In addition to competing for the outright championship, each driver was classified as either Professional or Elite and contested the relevant class title.[1] Points were awarded for class places in each race on the same basis as for the outright championship.[1]
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Craig Baird won the Professional Class pointscore from Jonny Reid and Alex Davison.[3]
Max Twigg won the Elite Class from James Koundouris and Tony Bates.[3]
