Tom Bradshaw and Lewis Hopkins, the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholarship drivers for 2009, tackled the Thruxton circuit for the first time on Friday (20 February) as part of their build up to the coming season.Bradshaw and Hopkins were selected from over 50 applicants to each receive £50,000 towards racing in the Carrera Cup GB this season and both showed fine form as they got to grips with the dauntingly fast Hampshire track. With only very limited opportunities to test at Thruxton, the young drivers spent Friday (20 February) learning one of the fastest tracks on the Carrera Cup GB schedule. Before Friday, neither of them had even driven around Thruxton. Both drivers set representative lap times, despite a very busy track with a lot of slower traffic."It's brilliant," said Hopkins, who will be racing with Red Line Racing this season. "It was my first proper run in the car with Red Line and I wasn't expecting to be going this well so quickly. I'm certainly ahead of where I thought I would be. It was really important to do this test," said Hopkins."I'm now starting to like Thruxton," said Bradshaw after two of the day's four test sessions. He will race with Team Parker Racing this season and was pleased with his pace. "Today has really given me a chance to learn the car and I'm loving it. The pace is there and I'm learning to use the tyres," he said.Bradshaw and Hopkins will race at Thruxton over the weekend of 25/26 April when the Hampshire track hosts rounds three and four of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB.