Bridgman takes double Carrera Cup pole at Brands
Tim Bridgman was the star of qualifying at Brands Hatch today (Saturday 20 September 2008) when he took pole position for both of the final two rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB.
Title leader Tim Harvey will start second on the grid for both races, while his championship rival Michael Caine will start from fourth and third on the pair of grids as the season-long title contest heads towards a conclusion.
In the pro-am1 category Nigel Rice took the advantage with eighth and seventh fastest overall times while Michael Leonard headed pro-am2 for both races after a stirring performance.
Bridgman (Team Parker Racing) went straight out at the start of the session and bagged two laps very close to the 47s mark to make certain of a double pole. Both laps were a quarter of a second clear of the rest of the field and Bridgman was then able to preserve his second set of tyres for the races. "The laps weren't perfect, but I'm just happy to get two poles," said Bridgman.
Second on both grids will be Harvey (Red Line Racing), which importantly puts him ahead of title rival Caine (Team Parker Racing) for both races. "The track was definitely quicker at the start of the session and I knew the window was very short," said Harvey. "I'm just taking the weekend one step at a time," he added.
Caine and Sam Hancock (Jota Sport) will share third and fourth slots on the two grids, while Phil Quaife (Jota Sport) and Jake Rosenzweig (Team Parker Racing) will each have a fifth and a sixth place start on the two grids.
Heading the pro-am1 times for both races is Rice (Red Line Racing) and with his title rival Tony Gilham (ReDesign Racing) several places further back on both grids, Rice knows that he has a chance of grabbing the category title. "My second set of tyres were just coming in when the red flag came out towards the end of the session," said Rice. "But it's looking good so far."
In pro-am2, Leonard (RSS Performance) claimed a double category pole despite a high-speed spin at Surtees. "I was on a faster lap when I spun; I've never driven at Brands Hatch before," said the Irishman after an impressive performance. But with a gaggle of very closely matched cars right behind him, including Ollie Jackson (PCGB), Paul Hogarth (IN2RACING) and Glynn Geddie (Parr Motorsport/Apex), the scene is set for some great battles in pro-am2.
