Carrera Cup heads to Oulton Park

The beautiful Cheshire parkland circuit of Oulton Park is the scene for rounds five and six of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB over the weekend of 13/14 May.A fabulous line up for the Carrera Cup GB will make a fantastic spectacle, with 20 of the stunning new 997-model 911GT3 Cup cars expected to compete in a pair of races.The new 997-model racer has drawn universal praise from the drivers, with more power, a sequential gearbox and enhanced aerodynamics, and the Carrera Cup lap record at Oulton is set to tumble if conditions are good.Also new for 2006 is the pro-am category, aimed at giving the non-professional racers their own points and prize money rewards to chase. The move has proved very popular indeed, and a host of quick racers will be contesting this category within the overall race results.At the top of the overall points, a single point splits Damien Faulkner (Team Parker Racing) from Tim Harvey (Motorbase Performance) and that battle will continue at Oulton. Double Brands winner Richard Westbrook will miss Oulton while defending his lead in the Porsche Supercup in the race at the Spanish Grand Prix, so Danny Watts will again take over the Red Line Racing entry. "It will be good to get back out in the car," says Watts. "It's a good circuit for me and I'm looking for a win after the podium finish at Mondello." However, having shared the race wins in Ireland, Faulkner and Harvey will be very tough to beat.Up into a fine third place in the early championship standings has come Richard Williams after an excellent start to the season with IN2RACING. A debut podium visit in Ireland was another clear sign that the driver and the team are getting right up with the Carrera Cup pacesetters, while fellow IN2 racers Mike Richards and Paul Hogarth are both expected to feature strongly at their home track.Elsewhere in the pro category, Jason Templeman (Team Parker Racing) will be keen to get back into his stride after a pair of non-finishes in Ireland, while Michael Caine should have had at least one podium finish at Mondello. He is overdue some good fortune and will be a major contender at Oulton.The new pro-am category has been an immediate success, with close competition and three different winners in four races. While Red Line Racing's Nigel Rice and Jason Young shared the wins at Brands Hatch, it was Phil Quaife who had a mighty weekend at Mondello to win the category twice for Motorbase Performance. Quaife now heads the pro-am points from Young, David Ashburn (Trackspeed) and Rice. However, Sam Edwards (Team Parker Racing) was a big rival to Quaife at Mondello and is another driver capable of taking pro-am glory.Mark Hazell (Team Parker Racing), Maxi Jazz (Red Line Racing) and Pete Osborne (Team O) will all be chasing pro-am points, while Cheshire-based Tech 9 Motorsport will join the grid for Oulton with cars for Mark Cole (pro) and Phil Hindley (pro-am).

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