Dino Zamparelli heads into the final weekend of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch this weekend (September 29/30) looking to avenge the heartache he suffered at the Kent circuit one year ago.

The Redline Racing driver scored the exact same amount of points as eventual champion Charlie Eastwood at the 2017 season finale but lost the title due to scoring one less win than the Northern Irishman over the course of the campaign.

Fast forward 12 months and Zamparelli descends on Brands Hatch sitting at the summit of the standings, holding an eight-point LEAD over his nearest challenger Tio Ellinas once dropped scores and penalties have been applied.

Having been tipped by many to be amongst the championship protagonists come the end of the season, the Nationwide-backed driver has been at the fore of the series since the opening round. Four victories, one of which was scored around the iconic Monza, have proven to be the cornerstone of Zamparelli’s challenge up to now.

Triumphing at Silverstone last time out, last year’s runner-up will need to be at the top of his game around the Grand Prix circuit this weekend to hold off the charging Ellinas however.

Spearheading the Slidesports Engineering squad, Ellinas has been the epitome of consistency in 2018 and is good value for where he sits in the championship standings. Despite his only race win coming in round three at Donington Park, the Cypriot has been a regular fixture on the rostrum – scoring a further ten podiums in total.

Needing to make up more than eight points on Zamparelli across both 17-lap encounters, Ellinas will be one to watch from the get-go.

Whilst many will be focused on the top two in the title battle, Tom Wrigley can’t be discounted from proceedings either. Sitting third in the points, the JTR driver is only 19 points off the summit once all dropped scores and penalties are taken into consideration.

Riding a crest of momentum having won last time out at Silverstone, the former Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup could yet add another TOCA title to his impressive racing CV if the top two encounter trouble.

Such has been the high level of competition in the Carrera Cup GB this season that the top three won’t be the only drivers challenging for victory at Brands Hatch. Scholarship winner Daniel Harper has been a tour-de-force at times in his maiden season whilst Lewis Plato and George Gamble have also taken on starring roles throughout the year too.

In the Pro-Am category, Seb Perez and Dan Vaughan are set to take their battle for title honours down to the wire with Peter Mangion and Peter Kyle-Henney doing the same in the Am class.

The Porsche Carrera Cup GB’s final qualifying session of the season takes place on Saturday at 13:35 before rounds 15 & 16 take place on Sunday at 10:40 and 16:20 respectively.