at Donington

Tim Bridgman continued his unbroken run of pole positions this season when he took a double pole position at Donington Park today (Saturday 16 May 2009) ahead of rounds five and six of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. In pro-am1, Glynn Geddie claimed a double pole while championship newcomer Glenn McMenamin was impressive on his way to a double pole in the pro-am2 category.

In a session interrupted by two brief rain showers, Bridgman (Team Parker Racing) headed the grid for both races to make it six poles from six races this season. "It was a messy session with traffic, and I aborted a couple of good laps," said Bridgman. "The car is stronger than the times show."

Michael Caine (Motorbase Performance) will start second for both races, but when the first rain shower came early in the session things looked bad for Caine. "We made the decision not to go out hard on the tyres," he explained, but that left him only 19th when the rain halted any quick laps. Fortunately, the track dried quickly and Caine set some quick laps to leap up the grid, although an even better lap was lost when the rain returned with five minutes of the session remaining.

James Sutton and Tim Harvey claimed third and fourth places for both races for Red Line Racing, but neither was entirely happy with their session. "I didn't get the best out of the car," said Sutton, while Harvey said that he'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time, notably when Robert Lawson (JHR) spun at McLeans.

Tom Bradshaw (Team Parker Racing) took fifth for both races, recognising that he is continuing to make good progress but still has a little bit more to find in order to join the top four. Meanwhile, his team mate Geddie ran strongly to top pro-am1 for both races. "It was a strange session, but it's good to be back up there," said the young Scot.

Second in pro-am1 for round five was Tony Gilham (Red Line Racing). "That was frustrating. I was four-tenths of a second up on my last lap when the rain came at Coppice," said Gilham, while Michael Leonard (Team Parker Racing) was second fastest for round six. Gilham will start third in pro-am1 for round six, while Robert Lawson (JHR) was third fastest for round five.

In pro-am2, McMenamin (Parr Motorsport) was hugely impressive to take two category pole positions on his debut in the Carrera Cup GB. "I'm very, very pleased with that," he said; before adding that he lacks experience of the car in the wet should Sunday prove to be a wet day. Pushing McMenamin close on both grids for pro-am2 were Paul Hogarth (IN2Racing) and Bob Lyons (Celtic Speed).

So, with an excellent 20-car grid and the prospect of close battles in all three categories, the stage is set for some fine racing on Sunday, with round five starting at 9.10am and round six scheduled for 3pm.