Caine takes Carrera Cup victory

Michael Caine scored a superb victory at Oulton Park yesterday (Saturday 26 July) in round 13 of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. In pro-am1 Nigel Rice took a fine victory while Michael Leonard came through to win the pro-am2 category.With a faultless performance from pole position, which included taking fastest lap, this was an important victory for Caine as it put him four points clear of Tim Harvey in the title race. Caine (Team Parker Racing) took the lead off the start and was able to edge clear of Harvey (Red Line Racing) on the opening lap. Caine then drove a perfect race to fend off his title rival and erase memories of losing victory at Oulton Park a year ago with a last lap error. "It's great to be on the top step of the podium at Oulton Park after last year," said Caine. "We really had to come here and do it. The guys at Team Parker Racing have done a fantastic job."Harvey, who suffered a broken clutch in the rush off the line, was always chasing his rival but accepted that second was the best that was available to him. "The clutch was dragging off the line and it made me a bit more cautious through the race, but Michael drove a good race."The battle for third place raged race long between Tim Bridgman (Team Parker Racing) and Sam Hancock (Jota Sport). Bridgman was left struggling when he lost the front splitter after a trip over the grass at Knickerbrook. "I had a mushy brake pedal and went straight on," explained Bridgman. With the car understeering badly, he had to defend very hard to keep Hancock at bay. "I had to drive the most defensive race of my life," said Bridgman after completing the podium. Charles Bateman (Team Parker Racing) chased them home in fifth, having been well in touch for much of the race.Paul O'Neill drove a strong race in the PCGB entry to take sixth, having battled ahead of Phil Quaife (Jota Sport) while Jake Rosenzweig (Team Parker Racing) was catching them both at the finish.Rice (Red Line Racing) always had control of the pro-am1 category, and raced with some of the pro category racers in the process, but only one place behind at the flag was Tony Gilham (ReDesign Racing) who took second in pro-am1. "I got tagged on the opening lap and lost three places," said Gilham who beat Alex Mortimer (Team RPM) to the line by just 0.001s as Mortimer battled through from the back of the grid.In pro-am2, Glynn Geddie (Parr Motorsport/Apex) was out before the start with a broken driveshaft and Ed Pead (PCGB) ended his strong run in the gravel, so it was victory for Leonard (Ken Bolger Motorsport) from Graeme Mundy (RSS Performance).


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