Scotland's leading sportscar team, St Cyrus-based Celtic Speed, endured a frustrating weekend in the latest rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup at Rockingham.
The team returned from the Northamptonshire circuit without, for the first time this season, a podium finish from any of its three drivers, Rory Butcher from Kirkcaldy, Edinburgh's George Brewster and Aberdeen's Tommy Dreelan.
A fortnight after bagging three podiums when the Porsche championship was at Knockhill, Celtic Speed suffered with a series of punctures and tyre difficulties at Rockingham.
"Not the best weekend of the season, But these things happen," team boss Dreelan explained. "While I enjoyed a couple of good races, punctures wrecked the weekend for Rory and George.
"The main thing is, George still leads the Pro-Am2 Championship, and Rory is second in Pro-Am1. But because they failed to score this weekend, the chasing pack has edged closer.
"It means we have to ensure they don't have any more non-finishes in any of the closing four races." It was a sentiment echoed by Butcher.
"It certainly wasn't the weekend we were looking for," Butcher, who suffered punctures to his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in both races, admitted.
"After Knockhill, we all headed to Rockingham quietly confident of another batch of strong performances, but it just didn't work out for us this weekend.
"But that's motorsport for you. The surface at Rockingham is a strange one, and I was just unlucky to pick up punctures in both races; unfortunately the same happened to George.
"And it was a pity because that was my first time racing at Rockingham, with its unique combination of high-speed superspeedway and slower infield sections.
"The high-speed stuff was great; sixth gear and 160mph at the end of Turn 1 before we ducked inside for the infield bit.
"But that's all very well when you've got good, new rubber under your car. Believe me, when the tyres start going off and you start gently sliding towards the wall at 160mph, you suddenly become very aware of how big the wall is."
Butcher heads to the penultimate rounds on the Grand Prix Circuit at Brands Hatch in 12 days still holding second place in the Porsche Carrera Cup Pro-Am1 Championship. But the Scot will again be heading into the unknown.
"That was the first time I've raced at Rockingham, and it will be the first time I've raced on the Grand Prix Circuit at Brands Hatch as well," he continued.
"It'll take a wee bit of learning, but I'm up for it. We know the car will be quick, and as long as we don't suffer the misfortunes we experienced at Rockingham, I'm confident the whole Celtic Speed team will get back to winning ways."
