Tim Harvey takes record 32nd victory in round nineJonas Gelzinis wins pro-am1 George Brewster takes first pro-am2 win of 2010Stephen Jelley takes best result to date with secondHarvey extends championship lead to 36 points
Tim Harvey became the most successful driver in the history of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB when he scored his eighth win of the season and his 32nd career win at Croft today (Sunday 20 June) in round nine of the championship.
While Harvey (Red Line Racing) led from the start to take a resounding victory, Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) took a hard fought pro-am1 victory and George Brewster (Celtic Speed) emerged to win pro-am2 for the first time this season.
"It was all done at the start," said Harvey. "It's always crucial here as the first corner is so tight." While Harvey went immediately clear, second on the grid Euan Hankey (Team Parker Racing) was squeezed wide at Clervaux and dropped to fourth as his team mate Stephen Jelley and Michael Caine (Motorbase Performance) dived ahead. That set the tone for the race as Caine shadowed Jelley for lap after lap, but was never able to make a move on the former BTCC racer.
"The track was so dirty off line," said Caine of his problem in trying to pass Jelley. "If you went off line it took four corners to clean the tyres up." Ahead, Harvey was able to control the race and take a nicely measured victory. "Stephen was under pressure all race from Michael and I was just concentrating on tyre management," said Harvey. Jelley, meanwhile, had his best Carrera Cup finish so far with second place. "We're getting closer," said Jelley. "As long as I drove the slow stuff well I was going to be okay, but it was a tough race," said Jelley. Close to Jelley and Caine at the finish in fourth was Hankey.
Fifth place was the subject of a mighty battle as well as the contest for pro-am1 victory. Initially, Glynn Geddie (Team Parker Racing) fended off Gelzinis, Ollie Jackson (Addison Lee Motorbase) and Charlie Bateman (Motorbase Performance), but then Gelzinis got briefly ahead of Geddie. The places soon changed back again and it was not until lap 11 that Gelzinis made his move on Geddie permanent. While the Lithuanian racer moved clear, Jackson set about finding a way around Geddie in order to chase after his pro-am1 rival. Into Tower with three laps to go, Jackson dived ahead and was able to close the gap to Gelzinis to three quarters of a second at the flag, while Bateman pushed Geddie back to eighth on the last lap.
"It was a big fight with Geddie," said Gelzinis. "But I didn't push too hard at the beginning and was able to save my tyres for the end of the race." Jackson was almost close enough to challenge after a strong drive. "It was a really good race and I think we had the pace," said Jackson.
In pro-am2, there was heartbreak for George Richardson (Motorbase Performance) when a superb drive took him into a clear category lead and 11th overall. Cruelly, a water pump issue ended his race at half-distance. "I made the best start I've ever had and just kept my nose clean. It was in the bag," said the disappointed Cheshire teenager after his best Carrera Cup race so far.
Instead, victory went to George Brewster (Celtic Speed) after a gritty performance. He had to battle ahead of pro-am1 racer Liam Griffin (Addison Lee Motorbase) and then survived a brush with Alex Martin (GT Marques) at the Hairpin on his way to victory. "It was very hard work," said Brewster, who won at Croft in 2009. "I had a scare when Alex broadsided me and I had a couple of scares on the dropped coolant," he said.
Paul Mace (GT Marques) battled long and hard behind Griffin on his way to second in pro-am2 while Glenn McMenamin (Red Line Racing) completed the pro-am2 podium, despite a high-speed scare at the Jim Clark Esses when a trip through the gravel at Clervaux took the front splitter off the car. At the start of the race, McMenamin dropped to the tail of the field when Michael Meadows (Red Line Racing) stalled on the grid just ahead of him with a clutch problem.
