Michael Caine scored an epic victory in an enthralling round 13 of the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Knockhill today (Sunday 16 August 2009).
The race was all about tyre choice on a wet but drying track and Caine's choice of slicks paid massive dividends as the race progressed. Through to a magnificent second overall and pro-am1 victory came Glynn Geddie, while Glenn McMenamin bagged pro-am2 after a hectic race.
As the race start approached the rain cleared and the track began to dry. But the field was split on tyre choice and title contenders Tim Bridgman (Team Parker Racing) and Tim Harvey (Red Line Racing) both opted for wets as they continued their battle for the overall title.
However, Caine (Motorbase Performance) was third on the grid and gambled on slicks, along with Geddie (Team Parker Racing), Robert Lawson (JHR), Charles Bateman (Team Parker Racing) and pro-am2 front-runners McMenamin (Parr Motorsport), Paul Hogarth (IN2Racing) and Bob Lyons (Celtic Motorsport).
Initially, with Caine making a cautious start as he waited for his slicks to come up to temperature, the leading trio of Bridgman, Harvey and James Sutton (Red Line Racing) went a long way clear. But as early as lap four it was clear that slicks had been the right choice and Caine quickly started to recover ground. By lap 14, Caine swept through into the lead and soon pulled well clear, leaving Bridgman and Harvey to face a rapid fall down the order as the track continued to dry over the second half of the race.
Such was his advantage over Bridgman and Harvey that Caine was able to lap them in the later stages as they dropped to sixth and seventh at the flag. "I had to get heat into the tyres at the start," said Caine. "For a couple of laps I wasn't sure and it was a complete lottery. But there was no point being on the same tyres; you've got to be different. This time it worked for us!"
While Caine went clear, Geddie and Lawson led the chase as they worked through to second and third overall and battled for pro-am1 victory. They had both driven fine races, coping well on slicks in the early laps before capitalising on their tyre choice. "It was brilliant," said Geddie after his best result to date on his home track. "All we really wanted this season was to get in the top three," he said. Lawson, meanwhile, was frustrated to have lost the pro-am1 lead to Geddie in early traffic. "It was a close call; I was just disappointed with the traffic," said Lawson.
Through to fourth and fifth in a race full of overtaking came Charles Bateman (Team Parker Racing) and Ollie Jackson (Motorbase Performance), with Bateman challenging Lawson at the flag and Jackson completing the pro-am1 podium.
The contest in pro-am2 was just as dramatic, with McMenamin having to drive the race of his life to battle ahead of Hogarth as Lyons hunted them down in third place. After a race-long battle, less than a fifth of a second decided the result after McMenamin tigered ahead of Hogarth at the hairpin. George Brewster went off like a scalded cat," said McMenamin of the Celtic Speed car on wets in the early laps. "Then I saw him in the distance," added McMenamin before moving ahead with Hogarth in pursuit. "I'm just so chuffed; I can't believe the result," said McMenamin.
August 16th, 2009
The top four were running close together, McAleer looking to repeat his Church move on Demetriou on lap five but to no avail. It all changed a lap later, as Kavanagh appeared to run wide on the exit to Church, allowing Demetriou past, and Clark made a move on McAleer for third on the way into the same corner.
McAleer took back third on the run up to the chicane on lap six, and with Demetriou beginning to open a gap at the front closed on Kavanagh in second. McAleer had a big look down the inside of Kavanagh into Allard as they started lap eight, but it took until the final lap for him to find a way past, getting inside Kavanagh into Allard, the two then running side-by-side into the complex with McAleer snatching second and setting off after Demetriou – who was too far ahead and had the race safely in his grasp.
“That was one of my most enjoyable races ever,” said Demetriou. “I was worried that Scott was pulling away, but I was quicker than him out the back, and I looked to go inside him, think I distracted him, and he ran wide at Church. I could see Mark edging towards me, so I was glad it as just a ten-lap race.”
“The race wasn’t long enough for me to catch him!” said McAleer. “I was getting better as the race went on, I got Jeremy into Church, he left the door open so I had to take the opportunity. Ben and Scott were dicing, and then Jeremy got back at me. It was a great race – very enjoyable, at the end Scott and I were side-by-side all the way through the first corner and the complex.”
Clark took Kavanagh at Noble, taking third overall and easily heading the Class Two runners at the flag.
“It was an awesome race,” said Clark, “the more it went on the more I learnt the track. I was able to take corners almost flat and getting used to how the car moved on the track. I had a good battle with Mark, then saw Scott struggling with his tyres and went past him on the last lap. One drink tonight – then think about how to go quicker tomorrow.”
Behind the lead four, Kevin Harrison held off Marcus Carniel in the later laps to take fifth, while Richard Higgins, who had got boxed in on the first corner and lost ground, was right with the battling pair at the end.
Race Two
Demetriou was on pole for Sunday’s race, with Kavanagh alongside and McAleer and Clark on row two. Demetriou made a good start, but Kavanagh’s engine cut out on the line and the field streamed past the stranded 993, the race one early leader finally getting underway at the back of the field – only to be a superb sixth by the end of the first lap.
“The engine just died on the line,” said Kavanagh. “I had a good couple of laps, then the throttle kept sticking open and I just had to park the car.”
At the front, Demetriou led from McAleer and Clark, McAleer right with the leader and looking for a way past. A better exit from Church saw McAleer alongside the leader up Woodham Hill to the chicane on lap five, and he took the lead round the outside of Demetriou as they turned in.
With the front two edging clear of Clark in third, and Carniel running alone in fourth, all the attention was on the lead battle as Demetriou sought to regain the front position. On lap eight it was his turn to make the better run up the hill, and he got inside McAleer as they reached the braking point and took back the lead – staying in front to claim his third double victory of the season.
“An unbelievable race,” said Demetriou, “as good as yesterday’s. I made one of my best starts all season, then got on it, but Mark was all over me. He went past me down the straight and I thought he was quicker, but I learnt from what he was doing and did the same to him.”
“I’m disappointed not to win,” said McAleer, “but I enjoyed it, a good clean race and really good fun. Ben could have stuck his nose in on me when I went past, but I have raced against him long enough to know he wouldn’t do that.”
Clark claimed third ahead of Carniel, with Higgins fifth, taking the place from Richard Ellis on lap four.
“On the first lap I thought I had a real chance of taking the lead,” said Clark, “the car was good on colder tyres, but then they pulled away and I couldn’t pull it back. It was a bit hotter today and they tyres were going off quickly – I had two wheels on the grass at one point, but it is great to finish so high up.”
Porsche Club Championship, Round Nine, Ten Laps: 1 Ben Demetriou (968 CS) 15m05.438s (93.67mph); 2 Mark McAleer (968 CS) +1.756s; 3 Jeremy Clark (944 S2); 4 Scott Kavanagh (993 C2); 5 Kevin Harrison (964 C2); 6 Marcus Carniel (964 C2); 7 Richard Higgins (968 CS); 8 Richard Ellis (993 C2); 9 Paul Follett (968 CS); 10 Peter Erceg (968 CS). Class Winners: Demetriou; Clark. Fastest Lap: Demetriou 1m29.164s (95.12mph).
Round Ten, Ten Laps: 1 Demetriou 14m58.917s (94.35mph); 2 McAleer +0.636s; 3 Clark; 4 Carniel; 5 Higgins; 6 Richard Ellis; 7 Harrison; 8 Follett; 9 Adrian Stock (968 CS); 10 Erceg. Class Winners: Demetriou; Clark. Fastest Lap: Demetriou1m28.084s (96.28mph).
Next Rounds: Castle Combe, Wiltshire, August 31st.
