SERIES LEAD AT DONINGTON
Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup series leader Carl Breeze maintained his place at the head of the driver standings at Donington Park in Leicestershire , Saturday, 16th May, by taking a hard fought fourth place finish during round seven of the 2009 season.
The Total Control Racing ace, who has won four of the six rounds to be contested prior to this weekend’s action, qualified fifth on the grid for today’s race after missing out on pole position by just over a 10th of a second in an incredibly close session.
At the start of the race, Breeze was jumped by team-mate Fulvio Mussi and ended up stuck behind the former ELF Renault Clio Cup and British GT competitor for a couple of laps. As soon as he got by, Breeze pulled away but the top three were long gone so fourth was the best he could hope for.
Next up for TCR was Danish racer Joachim Ritter, eighth place marking his best result and most impressive performance in the G50 Cup. Impressively, Ritter’s best race lap of 1m13.811 seconds was faster than the quickest lap done by Breeze.
Mussi was forced out of the race on the eighth lap at Hollywood following contact between a handful of cars as they headed through the right-hander. The resulting damage to his car means the youngster from Colchester will be unable to take part in rounds eight and nine – a serious blow to his championship.
Commenting on the day’s action, team boss Lee Brookes said: “Carl didn’t get the best start, he was blocked in unfortunately on the run to Redgate and then Fulvio held him up a bit which allowed the top three to get away. By the time he got into fourth place, there was nothing he could do.
“Fulvio was very unfortunate to be caught up in the accident on lap eight, he was squeezed out as a few of them went towards Craner Curves and the damage to the chassis means he won’t be able to take part in either of Sunday’s races which is a great shame. Joachim had better fortune though, eighth place is definitely his best ever finish in the Ginetta, we’re very pleased with his progress.”
Clio Cup top four keeps MacDowall second in standingsAn unfortunate mistake for TCR’s Alex MacDowall during today’s fifth round of the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup cost the Carlisle teenager the chance to claim his fourth podium of the season, but a battling fourth place finish was enough to maintain second place in the driver standings.
Although now tied on 117 points with Andrew Herron, MacDowall has the edge in terms of better results so far with team-mates Mike Robinson and Sam Tordoff eighth and 11th in the championship respectively as all three TCR cars finished in the top 10 today.
Running in second position and placing race leader, and championship pace-setter, Philip Glew under huge pressure throughout the first part of the race, MacDowall’s mistake came on lap 11 at McLeans when he ran wide and slipped to third before then dropping to fourth before the finish.
Robinson gained one place on his starting position of ninth while Tordoff, a newcomer to the Clio Cup this year, took a deserved 10th place having qualified 13th on the grid.
TCR’s Brookes added: “It was a shame Alex ran a little bit wide at McLeans to lose ground but it’s just a matter of getting more experience. He’s still very young but he knows he has the pace to beat (Philip) Glew and start winning races, he has the talent. Mike and Sam both finished in the top 10 which we were pleased with, hopefully tomorrow they can go even better.”
The team’s first track action tomorrow, Sunday, 17th May, will come at 09.50 with the eighth round of the 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup. Round six of the ELF Renault Clio Cup will follow at 13.30 with round nine of the G50 Cup timetabled to take place at 15.40 – both of these races will be screened live on Freeview, cable and digital satellite channel ITV4. Check listings for further details.
Provisional 2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup Standings (after Rd5):Drivers: 2nd Alex MacDowall, 117pts; 8th Mike Robinson, 62pts; 11th Sam Tordoff, 53ptsTeam: 2nd Total Control Racing, 195pts
Provisional 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup Standings (after Rd7):1st Carl Breeze, 223pts; 6th, Fulvio Mussi, 106pts; 10th Joachim Ritter, 66pts
