Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain 09 Race 3 & 4 Thruxton

Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain '09 - Race 3 Thruxton

Harvey takes Carrera Cup victory at Thruxton (Sat 26th April)

Tim Harvey claimed his first victory of the season at Thruxton today (Sunday 26 April 2009) in round three of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. Harvey stayed clear of Michael Caine for a hard-earned victory as Tim Bridgman took third, while Robert Lawson scored an impressive pro-am1 victory and Paul Mace headed pro-am2.

"The start was the key," said Harvey (Red Line Racing) after beating poleman Bridgman (Team Parker Racing) into the first corner. "I got a mega start and then pushed very hard in the few laps," said Harvey as he quickly went clear of Bridgman and Caine (Motorbase Performance).

Rather than chase after Harvey as expected, Bridgman was struggling to fend off Caine and a neat move from Caine at the Complex on lap six put him through to second. While Caine set off in pursuit of Harvey, who was now more than three seconds clear, Bridgman soon came under attack from James Sutton (Red Line Racing).

Over the next 10 laps, Caine mounted a dogged pursuit of Harvey and lap-by-lap was able to rein the leader in. By lap 17, the gap was down to just 0.7s, but that was as close as it got. "I could see Michael was pushing hard and I was just trying to manage the gap," said Harvey. However, with three laps to run, Caine knew he had a problem. "There was a big vibration in the car with three laps left and I wasn't sure what it was," said Caine. "I stopped pushing; it was my decision."

With the first two places settled, Bridgman was working hard to fend off Sutton and hang on to third place. "I'm not sure what was wrong," said Bridgman of a troubled race. "It was really hard work with oversteer. I thought the car would come in later in the race, but it got worse," he said after narrowly fending off Sutton to the flag.

Running a great fifth for much of the race was Carrera Cup Scholarship racer Lewis Hopkins (Red Line Racing), although as he lost rear grip Lawson (JHR) was able to move ahead. Then on the final lap, Hopkins lost a top six finish when a rear puncture brought a very good drive to a finish. "That's frustrating. It felt really comfortable out there," said Hopkins.

Lawson claimed fifth overall and pro-am1 victory to cap an excellent race. "I lost a place at the start and it was unfortunate for me the way the backmarkers fell," said Lawson. "But I'm very pleased with where we've got to." Closing on Lawson at the flag for sixth overall and second in pro-am1 was Tony Gilham (Red Line Racing) after a real charge up the order over the second half of the race. "The team set the car up for me so that it was strong over the whole race," said Gilham, who was able to capitalise well as the race developed.

Close behind Gilham, after chasing Lawson for much of the race, was Jake Rosenzweig (Team Parker Racing), while Glynn Geddie (Team Parker Racing) took eighth and the final place on the pro-am1 podium. Wrapping up the top 10 were Ben McLoughlin (Porsche Motorsport) and Tom Bradshaw (Team Parker Racing).

Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain '09 - Race 4 Thruxton

Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain '09 - Race 4 Thruxton

Caine wins Carrera Cup round four at Thruxton (Sun 26 April)

Michael Caine made it three winners from four races in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton today (Sunday 26 April 2009) in a tremendous round four of the championship.

While Tim Harvey and Tim Bridgman battled mightily for second, Caine made good his escape for a fine victory. Meanwhile, Tony Gilham drove an excellent race to claim pro-am1 spoils.

Caine (Motorbase Performance) got a great start to beat Bridgman (Team Parker Racing) into Allard, with Harvey (Red Line Racing) third. Initially, Caine was under intense pressure from Bridgman and knew that he had to defend his lead over the opening laps. "I knew my car wasn't as good as Tim's in the early laps, so I just held on. But then my car was very good mid-race."

Sure enough, by lap 10 of 21 Caine was extending his lead as Bridgman came under increasing pressure from Harvey. As the race entered the closing stages, and with Caine now well clear, the battle between Bridgman and Harvey made a fantastic spectacle as they raced wheel to wheel.

It finally came to a head when Harvey got the inside line on the approach to the high-speed Church Corner. Bridgman tried to hold on around the outside but slid wide and bounced across the grass, losing the car's front splitter in the process.

Caine stroked home to a clear victory, but Harvey was now under attack from his team mate James Sutton and the defending champion just held on for second place. "All credit to the guys at Motorbase," said Caine of his victory. Harvey, meanwhile, was thrilled at his battle with Bridgman. "It was great fun! We were falling over each other like a pair of junior kart racers," said Harvey. "It was great racing."

Behind Sutton, Jake Rosenzweig (Team Parker Racing) completed a good weekend by moving ahead of Bridgman, who brought his ailing car home fifth after struggling with increasing oversteer as the race developed.

Sixth overall and a superb pro-am1 victory went to Gilham (Red Line Racing), but he again had to work very hard for the result. "I had to be patient at the start, but then the car came in and I was getting quicker and quicker," said Gilham. He moved into the pro-am1 lead with a great opportunist move at the chicane as Tom Bradshaw (Team Parker Racing) and Robert Lawson (JHR) battled.

They slowed each other in the middle of the chicane and Gilham swept past both of them on the run past the pits. Once ahead in pro-am1, Gilham was secure in sixth overall as Bradshaw took seventh and Lawson, after a quick spin, dropped a place at the last corner to Ben McLoughlin (Porsche Motorsport). Lawson still took second in pro-am1.

Tenth overall and third in pro-am1 to mark his 25th birthday was Ollie Jackson (Motorbase Performance), but he had to race hard to see off a determined challenge from Derek Pierce (JHR). While Lawson's pro-am1 victory in race one earned him the 'driver of the weekend' award, JHR bagged the 'team of the weekend' award for their efforts on a first visit to Thruxton with the Carrera Cup cars.