While Steven Kane won the race, James Sutton clinched the overall championship title in a thrilling final round of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton on Sunday. Meanwhile, Nigel Rice was crowned pro-am champion after another fine victory in the category. Heading into the 20th and final race of the season, three drivers were in strong contention for the title, with Sutton and Tim Harvey from Red Line Racing narrowly leading the points from Kane (Motorbase Performance). Starting from pole, Kane had the best chance to win the race and duly led all the way, but Harvey had stormed to third on the opening lap and then dived ahead of Jon Barnes (Team Parker Racing) on lap four. Harvey now set about hunting down Kane, and lap-by-lap the gap reduced. However, also on the move was Sutton and he was ahead of Barnes and into third place by lap five, having started seventh on the grid. Knowing that third place was enough to make him champion, Sutton then measured his pace as Harvey continued to chase Kane. With five laps to go, Harvey was little more than a second behind Kane, but by now both drivers had asked a great deal of their tyres. On the final lap, Kane slowed still further and they were nose-to-tail into the chicane. On the dash to the line, Harvey pulled up almost alongside, but Kane got the verdict by 11-hundredths of a second. “I was really struggling for grip, but I just kept it going,” said Kane. Harvey, meanwhile, was hugely disappointed to have missed the title by just four points. “I just kept the pressure on and I could see Steven starting to struggle. I risked everything, even though I knew that a win wouldn’t be enough.” The biggest celebrations were reserved for Sutton, who took third place and the 2007 Carrera Cup GB title. “That race seemed to go on forever,” said James on the podium. “I had a clear idea of the situation. It’s absolutely fantastic! But it’ll probably take a while to sink in.” With Barnes making a pit stop to replace a detached front splitter, Michael Caine (Team Parker Racing) clinched fourth place, but until the final lap it was Sam Hancock (Motorbase Performance) in fourth after a tremendous drive through the field. Unfortunately, a rear puncture on the final lap cost him fourth, but his reward was being named the RAC ‘driver of the weekend’. The RAC ‘team of the weekend’ award went to Team Parker Racing. A fabulous fifth overall was Rice (Red Line Racing) after fighting ahead of Matt Griffin (Team RPM) and fending off pro-am rival Charles Bateman (Team Parker Racing). “It’s like a roller-coaster ride round here,” said Rice after his 12th pro-am win of the season secured the pro-am title. Out on the opening lap with gearbox problems went Andy Britnell (Motorbase Performance), while Pete Osborne (Team O) completed the pro-am podium.