Tim Harvey lived up to the name on his car in rounds 15 and 16 of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, and made his sponsors at Nationwide proud, as he demonstrated perfect accident management in what looked to be a potentially disastrous situation for his hopes of a second championship title.
The track at Knockhill lived up to its reliably unpredictable reputation; having had a perfect race in round 15, his strong start in race 16 disintegrated after Tim hit a patch of dumped radiator fluid, slid across the gravel, hit the tyres and lost his front splitter. However, Tim managed to keep the damaged Redline Racing Porsche moving with enough traction to get back across the grass and re-entered the pack in tenth place. He passed five cars virtually immediately, overtook a sixth after the safety period, and still managed to finish the race in a hard-earned and critical fourth place - protecting his unwavering lead in the championship this season.
“Race 15 was the best race of the year – it was fantastic from the start,” explained Tim. “There is no doubt we had the fastest car and driver combination on the track and it really felt we were back to our winning ways. We could have easily taken the conservative points but I knew we had the pace, and I felt I owed it to my sponsors, the team and myself, to finish at the front. We passed Caine in a straight fight and were definitely quicker, which is psychologically important as we head into the last two rounds.
“Round 16 was a completely different kettle of fish! The water at Knockhill is normally god-created not car-created but there was just no way to miss it; at least I managed to keep the car in the race and in the points.”
Harvey now leads the championship with a 27 point lead, having won 11 out of the 16 races so far. The Porsche Carrera Cup GB continues at Donington Park on 18/19 September for rounds 17 and 18.
For fans of the Porsche Carrera Cup, Nationwide Accident Repair Services plc is giving away a pair of VIP tickets, including hospitality plus a chance to meet Tim and get up-close to the car, for this next British Touring Car Championship event at Donington on the 19 September – to support Tim in the crucial penultimate race weekend. To enter, visit wefixyourcar.co.uk for more details
