The final battle of the 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup GB takes place this weekend (9/10 October 2010) at Brands Hatch, with Tim Harvey, sponsored by Nationwide Accident Repair Services plc, the hot favourite to win having led the championship from the very first race of the year.
Tim, driving for Redline Racing, will line-up for round 19 on Saturday with a convincing 19 point lead and will be aiming to hold-off Michael Caine, who has been chasing Tim all season, for the deciding encounter. Even if Caine gets a perfect weekend with 44 points – with poles, wins and fastest laps - Tim still only needs 25 points to secure the title. Depending upon Caine’s performance, it would be possible for Tim to secure the championship in the penultimate race.
“I am looking forward to the weekend with anticipation and a small degree of trepidation,” explained Tim as he heads down to Brands Hatch today (Wednesday 6 October) for a day of additional testing. “Obviously, we want things to go our way, but the slightest mistake in motorsport, or even something completely out of your control, can influence your results - so there are just no guarantees.
“From a racing perspective, we are in the best possible position. The team has been exceptional, and has gone over the car time and time again to make sure it is perfectly prepared. Plus we’ve got a new drive shaft and new shock absorbers. The weather looks stable, which is great news, as we really don’t want anything that introduces a variable – so ideally not wet or inclement conditions.
“I know that statistically we are in a very strong position and all we really need to do is basically finish both races – but ‘all we need to do..’ is a huge statement to make before a race weekend!”
Staff and guests from Nationwide will be turning out in force on Sunday to support Tim, led by Chief Executive Michael Wilmshurst. “We have had a very good year so far with lots to celebrate including the launch of our new Mobile Restore and Motorglass operations to the fleet and retail markets, plus our very encouraging performance across the business in the first half of 2010. So, if Tim can clinch this title – it will make it a hat-trick!
“We’ll have nearly 400 people at Brands Hatch from Nationwide this weekend, but the whole team has been avidly following Tim throughout the year from across the UK. The Porsche Carrera Cup has been a great way of bringing everyone together within the business and, with over 2500 people at Nationwide, everyone has a part to place in our success. This weekend will hopefully to be a great way to celebrate our achievements in 2010.”
Qualifying takes place at 13.50 on Saturday with round 19 starting at 17.40 on the same day. Round 20, the final race, will take place at 14.45 on Sunday. However, for anyone who cannot get to Brands Hatch this weekend, BTCC qualifying and the penultimate race of the Carrera Cup GB season will be broadcast live on the web at: itv.com/touringcars for the first time ever and will run from 15.00 until 18.15. Round 19 on Saturday afternoon will be also be broadcast live on itv.com in special extended coverage, and then the Sunday race will be broadcast live on ITV4.
