at ThruxtonRichard Westbrook came through from the back of the grid to win round eight of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton yesterday ..It was Tim Harvey (Motorbase Performance) who got the best start to head Damien Faulkner (Team Parker with SAS) into the first corner as Westbrook set about making up ground from near the back of the grid. By the end of the first lap, Westbrook was up to eleventh, but everything was about to change.Under braking for the Complex on the second lap, Faulkner clipped the back of Harvey’s car and both spun. As Harvey tried to continue, a chain reaction accident was triggered that eliminated Harvey and his team mates Michael Caine and Phil Quaife as well as Jason Templeman (Team Parker with SAS) and Sam Edwards (Team Parker Racing). Meanwhile, Faulkner and Mike Richards (IN2RACING) both limped to the pits to retire as a result of damage sustained. Faulkner was later fined and awarded three penalty points on his racing licence.The safety car was soon out while the damaged cars were moved and it was Sascha Maassen (Porsche Cars GB) who led the pack around from Andy Purdie (Paragon), Richard Williams (IN2RACING) and Westbrook, who had picked his way through the incident to move up to fourth.Williams quickly moved ahead of Purdie, who was leading the pro-am category for the first time, but it was Westbrook who was soon through to second and chasing after Maassen. By lap 12, Westbrook had caught the VIP racer and their battle over the next three laps was a highlight of the race as they fought wheel to wheel. Into Campbell on lap 14, Maassen went fractionally too deep on the brakes and Westbrook seized his chance to dive ahead.Once ahead, Westbrook was able to edge clear although Maassen never stopped chasing as Williams claimed a fine third, never too far adrift of the leading pair. “I had a really good fight with Sascha and he’s very clever,” said Westbrook. “I was hoping for a podium from 15th on the grid, but I never thought I’d win!”Maassen, too, had enjoyed the battle. “It was a great fight. Richard is the best driver in these cars at the moment, so to come here for the first time and race with him was very good.” Behind Williams, Purdie lost a place to Mark Cole (Tech 9 Motorsport) but still won the pro-am category for the first time. Cole had also battled his way up from near the back of the grid and had earned his podium visit. “I’m pleased enough; we’re getting there,” said Cole.Despite a spin after contact with Cole, Purdie was an impressive pro-am winner after a fine drive, which included fending off Jason Young (Red Line Racing) after his spin. “That’s just amazing,” said an elated Purdie. “It’s a great result and I’m very, very happy. But the race seemed to go on so long that I thought they’d lost the chequered flag!”Young took second in the pro-am category, while Nigel Rice (Red Line Racing) fended off David Ashburn (Trackspeed) to take the final podium slot. Meanwhile, Maxi Jazz (Red Line Racing) earned the driver of the weekend award for his consistent pace and a top 10 finish at one of the most daunting tracks on the schedule. “What can I say? I’ve never been on the podium before,” said an elated Maxi.Provisional results 21 laps:

1 Richard Westbrook (Team Irwin with Red Line)     30m12.957s2 Sascha Maassen (Porsche Cars GB)                 30m14.412s3 Richard Williams (IN2RACING)                     30m18.558s4 Mark Cole (Tech 9 Motorsport)                    30m26.092s5 Andy Purdie (Paragon)                            30m35.617s6 Jason Young (Red Line Racing)                    30m36.759s7 Nigel Rice (Red Line Racing)                     30m40.969s8 David Ashburn (Trackspeed)                       30m45.862s9 Mark Hazell (Team Parker Racing)                 31m06.311s10 Maxi Jazz (Red Line Racing)                     31m19.817s