Euan Hankey made it two wins from the first three races when he won an action packed round three of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Donington Park today (Sunday 17 April).  Hankey swept ahead to win after long-time leader Sam Tordoff spun, while Ahmad Al Harthy (Pro-Am1) and Andrew Shelley (Pro-Am2) both claimed debut category victories.

In a topsy-turvy race, Tordoff (Team Parker Racing) led from the start, having edged ahead of pole sitter Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) on the run to Redgate. Behind them, Hankey (Parker with Juta) boldly went all the way around the outside at Redgate to grab second. Moments later, a clash of wheels at the Old Hairpin wrecked the races of Stephen Jelley (Parker with Juta) and Tim Harvey (Nationwide/Motorbase), with Jelley out with damaged suspension and Harvey losing a lap in a pit stop to change a punctured rear tyre.

Tordoff quickly established a lead of more than a second and, driving with an assuredness that belied his Carrera Cup experience, led for 17 laps as Hankey led the chase. Behind Hankey, Gelzinis headed SAS/Redline pairing Michael Meadows and James Sutton, with Richard Plant (Team Parker Racing) and Ben Hetherington (Redline/Oman Air) chasing along.

At the head of the race, it all went wrong for Tordoff at the Old Hairpin on lap 17. He went to go around a backmarker and his car snapped into a spin. "I got onto the marbles, touched the grass and away it went," said Tordoff. "But until then I did everything right," he said after only his third race in a Porsche. He recovered to finish eighth.

That left Hankey with a clear lead and he was able to ease off over the closing stages to preserve his tyres. "I never predicted that," said Hankey. "I was gently eating into Sam's lead, but then I could back off as I need to use the same set of tyres for the second race this afternoon."

Meadows drove one of his strongest races to date to head Sutton home for second after Gelzinis became another driver to spin at the Old Hairpin. "I was pushing to the maximum and the corner was a little bit dirty," said Gelzinis. "I was lucky to just finish," he added after recovering to seventh and second in Pro-Am1. "That's good for the points," said Meadows as Sutton took the championship lead with third. Plant was a strong fourth, well in touch with the SAS cars, while Hetherington claimed his best result to date with fifth.

With Gelzinis spinning down the order, Al Harthy (Redline/Oman Air) raced to Pro-Am1 victory with a great performance. "That is my first win in the UK and words cannot express how happy I am," said Al Harthy. "But it wasn't an easy race." Alex Martin (Dextra/J&D Pierce by Parker) had chased driver until a spin at the Old Hairpin, so it was Gelzinis second and Rory Butcher (Celtic Speed) third in Pro-Am1.

Shelley (Redline Racing) always had Pro-Am2 under control, despite a moment on the grass at the Old Hairpin. "I managed to stay out of trouble and I felt comfortable," said Shelley, who went clear of team mate Keith Webster early in the race. Second in Pro-Am2 in only his third Porsche race was a good result for Webster, but over the closing laps he had to defend his place from George Brewster (Celtic Speed) as Brewster recovered from an early spin at McLeans.