Apex Racing Academy’s new Porsche Cup Championship (ARA Porsche Cup) has been a smash hit with racers and fans alike. Nick Madsen arrives at the Interlagos season finale as championship favourite. Two clean races and the title will be his. However, ask Felipe Massa, season finales at Interlagos never follow the script.

In qualifying, Madsen took a vital step to the title by qualifying on the front row alongside pole sitter, Kevin Nielsen. Madsen’s closest championship rival, Roberto Ferrari, languished in seventh. Flying Dutchman, Brian Kroon, qualified tenth overall and top of the AM class.

Twenty-nine Porsche 911 GT3 Cup machines idled with a typical agricultural rattle, straining to be let loose from a standing start. Daring Dane, Kevin Nielsen, launched well and emerged from the problematic Senna S in the lead. Championship leader, Madsen, wasn’t so fortunate. An unforced error on the exit of Curva do Sol sent Madsen’s Porsche off the circuit and into the barrier. A disastrous start for this season’s standout driver.

Thankfully for Madsen, damage to his Porsche was minimal. Despite dropping as low as fourteenth, Madsen recovered to seventh by lap three and eventually climbed to fourth by the flag. A fantastic display of damage limitation.

Meanwhile, Kevin Nielsen cleared off at the front. Consistently quick lap times gave the polesitter an unassailable lead. After only twenty minutes on track, Nielsen had stretched a ten second advantage at the chequered flag. Matias Birk held off the rapid Max Wolf for second place. Wolf’s compatriot, Brian Kroon, converted the AM class pole to the win, in sixth overall.

Following a short break, the ARA Porsche Cup field assembled for the final thirty-minute feature race. In typical Apex Racing League fashion, a partly inverted grid placed the championship contenders on the fringes of the top ten.

For Madsen, the task was simple. Finish the race and seal the inaugural Apex Racing Academy Porsche Cup Championship title.

Despite an early technical scare, Luke Maxwell pinched the lead from second on the grid. Immediately behind, chaos ensued. Contact between Perry and Copeland sparked a pile up at Bico de Pato. Madsen was at the centre of the commotion and tumbled out of the top ten. Another recovery drive lay ahead of the Great Dane.

Maxwell enjoyed his reign at the front for the opening five minutes of the race. However, with Oscar Wilkins and race one winner Kevin Nielsen arriving on the scene, Maxwell had his hands full. On arrival, Wilkins and Nielsen wasted no time and scythed through at Descida do Lago.

A small consolation for Maxwell came in the form of a grandstand view of the battle between Wilkins and Nielsen for the lead. This battle came to a head when Wilkins biffed Nielsen at the Senna S, sending the Dane tumbling down the order. Nielsen valiantly recovered to third, immediately behind Wilkins.

Matias Birk inherited the role of protecting Scandinavian honour and set off after Wilkins. On lap ten, Birk deployed the perfect ruse into turn one. Selling the dummy on the outside, Birk dived for the inside and sealed a cunning move on Wilkins. A certain candidate for overtake of the season. Throughout the rest of the race, Birk resisted every counterattack from Wilkins to win a thrilling season finale.

Nick Madsen bounced back from the early incident to finish seventh and clinched the Apex Racing Academy Porsche Cup Championship. In the AM contest, Kev Copeland finished second in class. Thus, sealing the AM class crown.

Immediately after the race, the champions joined the Apex Racing TV commentary team to reveal their emotions following their respective triumphs:

Kev Copeland couldn’t contain his delight on the AM class championship: “YES! YES! YES! There were some concerns, but I just concentrated on getting a clean start and knuckling in for an incident free race one.”

Pro class champion, Nick Madsen, expressed his relief on claiming the title under immense pressure: “Finally! It has not been easy. I was unlucky in race one and two, but I tried to recover as best I could. I made it though, so it’s really nice.”

Congratulations to Nick Madsen and Kev Copeland on their Apex Racing Academy Porsche Cup Championships from all at Apex Racing. We hope to see you back next season!

Images by @Groove_Media (Link to 4k images)