Michael Caine and Tim Harvey shared race victories at Brands Hatch on Sunday (1/2 May) as the Porsche Carrera Cup GB delivered some thrilling racing in tough conditions at the famous Kent track. At the end of the weekend, Harvey left the circuit with his 12-point series lead over Caine unchanged.
Round fiveCaine was peerless in round five as he romped to victory in his 420 hp 911 GT3 Cup race car. Jonas Gelzinis (Lithuania) drove a superb race to take his first Po-Am1 victory, while Steve Parish (London) was equally impressive as he blitzed the Pro-Am2 category.
With steady rain falling, the field of 27 Porsche 911 racers made an impressive sight as they plunged into Paddock Hill Bend with Caine (Newmarket) leading away from pole position and Tim Harvey (Oxford) slotting into second as the pack ran cleanly around the opening lap. Caine was quick to press home his advantage and pulled clear at around a second a lap as Harvey consolidated second place. That set the standard for the race and Caine was able to build a 10-second lead as he romped to a commanding victory. “The car was fantastic and it was just a case of hanging on for the first five or six laps,” said Caine after his first win of 2010. “We’re pleased to get that first result.”
Although Harvey ran a secure second race-long, he accepted that Caine had the advantage. “Michael was just the class of the field and I didn’t have anything for him at all,” said the championship leader. “I expected several Safety Cars and so initially I wasn’t too concerned, but that never came.” In fact, the standard of driving through the field was excellent in some truly challenging conditions.
Initially, Glynn Geddie (Aberdeen) held third place but a storming opening salvo from Tom Bradshaw (Blackburn) took him from seventh to fourth and then past Geddie as they braked for Druids on the fifth lap. Just as he was about to chase after Harvey for second, Bradshaw got tagged at Surtees bend as Geddie re-challenged and the JHR car spun down the order. Geddie was later penalised three championship points over the incident.
Meanwhile, Stephen Jelley (Leicester) made good progress to overhaul Geddie for third as Euan Hankey (Taunton) battled up to fifth and challenged Geddie over the second half of the race. “It was one of those races where you had to be careful at the start and then get on it,” said Jelley after an excellent podium finish.
Behind Hankey, Michael Meadows (Red Line Racing) completed the top six after Charlie Bateman (Boston) ended his race in the gravel trap at Druids.
Gelzinis was highly impressive on his way to Pro-Am1 victory, although it could have been a lot tougher had Ollie Jackson (Attleborough) not had two spins at Surtees bend. “It was very difficult conditions and I just tried to avoid the accidents,” said Gelzinis, who took seventh overall from the recovering Bradshaw. “There was a river of rain water across the circuit at Surtees and it just picked the front of the car up. But I can’t believe I did it twice,” said Jackson, who eventually finished fifth behind Tony Gilham (Dartford), Archie Hamilton (Fleet) and Michael Leonard (Ireland).
In amongst the Pro-Am1 racers was Parish, who drove a brilliant race to win Pro-Am2 by a commanding margin. “I’ve never driven in the rain like that before,” said Parish. “Fortunately, I got away and the guys behind me were mixing it. It was brilliant; I loved it!” Through to second in Pro-Am2 came Glenn McMenamin (Milton Keynes) after he battled ahead of class rival Mark Hazell (Gwent). “I’m pleased with that from fifth on the grid,” said McMenamin.
Round sixTim Harvey bounced back with an emphatic victory in round six of the championship. Jackson was the class of the Pro-Am1 category while Paul Mace (High Wycombe) took his first Pro-Am2 victory of the season.
Although still wet, the track was not as soaking as it had been for round five earlier in the day and Harvey won the sprint to the first corner as a fast-starting Geddie beat Caine away. That was a critical moment in the race, as Geddie’s strong early pace took him right on to Harvey’s pace and left Caine sitting in third.
For the first six laps, Geddie mounted a constant challenge on Harvey, but then as Caine got up to speed he was able to make it three-car train for the lead. With Caine starting to attack Geddie, Harvey was able to edge clear. On lap nine, Caine finally dislodged Geddie, but Harvey was now around three seconds clear.
“I just couldn’t get the heat in the rear tyres at the start,” said Caine. “Glynn was mega away from the line and it was never going to be easy to get past him.” Meanwhile, Harvey was able to maintain his margin to secure his fifth win from six races. “Glynn is always a challenger in the early laps of a wet race, but I was gradually able to concentrate on my own race,” said Harvey, who leaves Brands with the same 12-point lead over Caine.
One of the drives of the race came from Bradshaw, who battled through to fourth and then reeled in Geddie before diving ahead with a bold move into Paddock Hill Bend. “I loved that; it was brilliant,” said Bradshaw of his race. “So much hard work has gone into that,” he said after being confirmed as ‘Driver of the Weekend’. Meanwhile, the JHR team was presented with the ‘Team of the Weekend’ award.
Geddie battled home in fourth as his tyres struggled over the later stages and Bateman was close enough to challenge until he ran wide at Surtees bend on the last lap. Bateman still took a good fifth with Hankey in sixth.
Jackson soon found himself running in a solitary seventh place and was a clear winner of the Pro-Am1 category. “I just kept some in reserve and tried not to kill the tyres,” said Jackson, as Gilham fought back to second in Pro-Am1 after spinning at Surtees bend. Gilham had to battle ahead of Gelzinis and Ahmad Al Harthy (Oman) in the closing stages.
With Parish sidelined at the start, Mace was a dominant winner in Pro-Am2, after diving ahead of early leader Hazell in a daring move at Surtees bend. “Mark made it difficult and I had two wheels on the grass,” said Mace of the move. Once ahead, Mace went well clear as a stirring drive from George
