at DoningtonJames Sutton set the pace in testing for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Donington Park today Thursday (12 July) as teams prepared for rounds 11 and 12 of the championship over the weekend. With only a quarter of a second covering the top five cars, the stage is set for some incredibly close racing as the title race heads into the second half of the season.Sutton (Red Line Racing), fresh from contesting the Porsche Supercup supporting the British Grand Prix four days earlier, lapped underneath the existing lap record to head the times after two test sessions. But Sutton knows that the opposition is pushing hard and championship leader Steven Kane (Motorbase Performance) was less than a fifth of a second slower having set his best time in the morning session. Unlike some drivers, Kane did not use new tyres during the test. "The track was a little dirty to start with," said Sutton, who had a trouble free day to continue his excellent season.Kane, too, was fresh from the British Grand Prix meeting and was quick to acknowledge that his best time was done without new tyres. He takes a 16-point lead into the weekend.A fine third fastest, on his first experience of driving a Porsche, was guest racer Oliver Jarvis in the Porsche Motorsport entry. Jarvis flew in from Japan, where he is contesting the Japanese F3 Championship, to make a strong impression. "That's not too bad," he said. "I'm still learning the car and there is a long way to go. There's probably a couple of tenths in me at this stage."Equally right on the leading pace was Tim Harvey (Red Line Racing), although he missed the morning session after spending three hours stuck on the M1 after the motorway was closed due to an accident. "The car was good; overall, I'm pretty happy with that," said Harvey. Fifth fastest was Michael Caine (Team Parker Racing), who ran strongly in the afternoon to make it five cars in little more than a quarter of a second.Sam Hancock (Motorbase Performance) was also inside the 1m10s mark. "I think I was quickest until the new tyres went on and I really think we're in good shape," said Hancock. Seventh overall and an excellent quickest in pro-am was Charles Bateman (Team Parker Racing). "The car's brilliant, but there's still a lot more time to be had," said Bateman.Nigel Rice (Red Line Racing) was eighth and second in pro-am, ahead of Team Parker Racing's new recruits Jon Barnes and David Epton. Barnes has previously raced the guest car, while Epton was having his first session in a Porsche. Both ran very strongly to end the day around a second away from the leading pace.Porsche Carrera Cup GB resultsDate: Thursday 12 July 2007

Venue: Donington Park - Event: Testing

1 James Sutton Pro Red Line Racing 1m09.521s2 Steven Kane Pro Motorbase Performance 1m09.697s3 Oliver Jarvis  Porsche Motorsport 1m09.699s4 Tim Harvey Pr  Red Line Racing 1m09.702s5 Michael Caine Pro Team Parker Racing 1m09.799s6 Sam Hancock Pro Motorbase Performance 1m09.927s7 Charles Bateman Pro-am Team Parker Racing 1m10.236s8 Nigel Rice Pro-am Red Line Racing 1m10.468s9 Jon Barnes Pro Team Parker Racing 1m10.511s10 David Epton Pro Team Parker Racing 1m10.691s11 Andy Britnell Pro-am Motorbase Performance 1m10.976s12 Colin Willmott Pro-am Willmott Racing 1m11.189s13 Pete Osborne Pro-am Team O 1m11.895s14 Maxi Jazz Pro-am Red Line Racing 1m13.299s