at Donington
James Sutton made it four race winners from six races when he won round six of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Donington Park today (Sunday 17 May 2009). In pro-am1, Glynn Geddie mastered some tough conditions to take a fine win, while Paul Hogarth completed a pro-am2 double win.
Sutton (Red Line Racing) tracked early leader Tim Bridgman (Team Parker Racing) as rain made conditions really challenging. Finally, on lap 14 Sutton dived ahead with a tremendous move at the Old Hairpin as Bridgman struggled for grip. Tim Harvey (Red Line Racing) completed the top three, while title contender Michael Caine (Motorbase Performance) slithered home sixth after gambling on running worn wet tyres rather than new wets.
The rain arrived just before the start and all the cars switched to wet tyres. However, the Motorbase team sent Caine out on worn wets, thinking it would be the right choice on a track that was still not too wet. But more rain soon came and Caine and his team mate Ollie Jackson were in trouble.
Up front, Bridgman led the field away and, with Sutton in tow, quickly went clear. But Bridgman knew he was in trouble as the team had not been able to re-set the tyre pressures on the grid. "It cost me dear, but it wasn't the team's fault," said Bridgman. "By mid-race I was struggling." Meanwhile, Sutton was getting stronger and stronger and finally went through by slicing down the inside into the Old Hairpin. "The car was fantastic; if the car hadn't been that good I wouldn't have been able to pull off the move," said Sutton. Once ahead, Sutton went clear for an emphatic victory.
Tom Bradshaw (Team Parker Racing) ran a strong third over the first half of the race, having passed Harvey on the second lap as the reigning champion struggled with a major vibration. However, as the race developed, Bradshaw found his tyres overheating and Harvey was eventually able to move back ahead and take the final podium position.
Glynn Geddie (Team Parker Racing) ran a good race to take pro-am1 victory and fifth overall behind Bradshaw. "I like those conditions," said Geddie, who went well clear of the struggling Caine. "I've never driven with so little grip," admitted Caine. He was nearly caught later in the race by Robert Lawson (JHR) who completed a good weekend with second in pro-am1 from Michael Leonard (Team Parker Racing). However, Leonard had been running behind Caine until a trip over the grass at Starkey's Bridge removed the front splitter from his car and left him struggling.
Paul Hogarth (IN2Racing) wrapped up a great weekend with another pro-am2 victory, this time going well clear of Bob Lyons (Celtic Speed) as Glenn McMenamin (Parr Motorsport) battled with Lyons in the early laps before a spin into the gravel at Coppice.
