Michael Caine scored an emphatic victory in round 13 of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Silverstone today (Sunday 22 August). While Caine dominated the race, Tim Harvey maintained his championship lead with second place as he scored his 100th Carrera Cup GB podium.
With fierce battling all the way down the superb 27-car field, Ollie Jackson (Addison Lee Motorbase) claimed another pro-am1 victory and Glenn McMenamin withstood race-long pressure to win pro-am2.
The biggest challenge to Caine (Motorbase Performance) came on the opening lap when he had a poor start and had to fight with Harvey (Red Line Racing) over the first two corners. Slight contact between the two cars left Harvey contending with tracking that was out of line and he struggled for pace. However, Caine was in stunning form and pulled clear at the head of the field to score a resounding win, his third of the season.
"I didn't get a very good start and had to brace it out on the first lap," said Caine. "But when I got my head down the pace was good," he said after stretching his lead to nearly seven seconds at the flag. Second place for Harvey was good for his championship bid, but over the final lap he had to fend off Stephen Jelley (Red Line Racing). "I'm pleased with the result but not with the pace," said Harvey. "When you can't take the win, you take the best you can."
Jelley drove a fine race to battle ahead of Michael Meadows (Red Line Racing) after a long contest. Once into third, Jelley set off after Harvey and was right on the championship leader's tail at the finish. "The car was mega; even when the tyres were old," said Jelley.
Meadows ran home fourth to repeat his strong qualifying form, but had pro-am1 leader Jackson (Addison Lee Motorbase) as a constant shadow. "I probably had the pace to have a go at Michael, but pro-am1 points were more important," said Jackson. "The car was absolutely spot on all the way through the race," he added. Behind Jackson, Glynn Geddie (Team Parker Racing) turned in a superb recovery drive having twice had to take to the grass on the opening laps to avoid other cars. From 14th place, he fought back to sixth at the flag.
Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) ran second in pro-am1 for much of the race, but then spun at Luffield and hit the car of Bob Lyons (Celtic Speed), who was trying to stay out of the way. With a damaged wheel, Gelzinis was forced out and that promoted Tony Gilham (Collins ReDesign Racing) and Michael Leonard (Team Parker Racing) to the pro-am1 podium.
Pro-am2 was the focus of a race-long battle as McMenamin (Red Line Racing) had to withstand constant pressure from George Richardson (Motorbase Performance) and George Brewster (Celtic Speed). "That was absolute pressure from the outset," said McMenamin. "The two Georges were at me all the time," he added. But with a faultless drive, McMenamin held off his challengers for a fine win. Richardson ran second initially, but an error at Luffield allowed Brewster the opportunity he needed to grab the place.
