one fastest lap for Jota Sport
Jota Sport bagged a pair of double podiums at Silverstone this weekend as they maintained their recent run of good form in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB championship. The team took their third and fourth successive pole positions through Phil Quaife who followed that up with a second and third, while a pair of podiums from Sam Hancock saw him jump one place to third in the drivers’ championship.
Race 1
Quaife made a good start from pole and headed debutant Nick Tandy into Copse for the first time before building a cushion of over two seconds by lap four. On the fifth tour however his chances of a maiden victory in the series were thwarted when a broken power-steering pump allied to running on just five of six cylinders began costing him time. With his advantage eroding, Tandy and then Tim Harvey caught and passed him, while he also succumbed to team-mate Hancock, finishing just off the podium in fourth. His consolation was to score points for third after guest driver Nick Tandy won.
Sam’s race was similarly eventful. Starting fifth, he inherited fourth when Bridgman ran into trouble. Any chance of victory disappeared however when he slid wide on fluid at Becketts under breaking and was fortunate to rejoin without losing too much time. He fought back and passed the prone Quaife in the dying stages to take third.
Race 2
Phil started the second race from pole with the track still soaking from the afternoon’s showers. Excessive wheel spin at the start though saw him demoted to third behind Caine and the fast starting Hancock who by lap three was leading, up four places from his grid slot and revelling in the tricky conditions. The recovering Quaife was by now hounding Caine and he too disposed of the Team Parker driver to make it a Jota Sport 1-2 a lap later.
Hancock established a six second advantage but a mistake at the final corner on lap 10 saw him spin through 360 degrees and rejoin behind Phil in second. Tim Harvey was by now third and denied Hancock the chance to re-take the lead as they approached traffic. When a back marker baulked him, Harvey dived past and set off after Quaife. For the next four laps they tussled before Harvey found a way through at Brooklands to take the win, with Quaife second and Hancock third who picked up an additional point for fastest lap.
Team manager Sam Hignett said: “It’s a good result but we’re always a bit disappointed about what could have been. I wish we could have given Phil his first win and get the team’s first 1-2 but now we’re looking forward to Brands Hatch.”
Quaife said: “I’m a bit frustrated not to have won from pole position but the guys did a fantastic job changing the engine and pump after race 1 where we were a long way down on power. We’ve shown that the pace is there and with Brands Hatch up next, I’m sure we can build on what’s been a decent weekend.”
Hancock said: “To start fifth for both races and finish second and third is not too bad. We’ve salvaged what could have turned into a difficult weekend and third overall in the championship is a decent reward.”
