Gelzinis tops Carrera Cup GB test at Thruxton
The stage is set for another superbly competitive pair of races in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton this weekend (30 April/1 May) after less than a second covered the top 12 drivers in testing today (Friday 29 April) ahead of rounds five and six of the championship.For the second event in a row, it was Pro-Am1 racer Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) who topped the overall times, with James Sutton and Michael Meadows right behind for SAS/Redline. Meanwhile, Steve Parish headed the Pro-Am2 category for Motorbase Performance.Gelzinis shot to the top of the times in the second session to post the fastest ever Carrera Cup lap of the Hampshire track. However, Sutton and Meadows were within four-hundredths of a second of the Lithuanian racer as he competed at Thruxton for the second time. “It is much easier this year,” said Gelzinis. “I know how to drive the circuit faster and the driving style for the new car seems to help me.” Sutton, meanwhile, believed there was a better lap still to come. “I think there is a 1m13s lap in there,” he said. “The balance of the car is good.” Meadows was a whisker slower than his team mate. “We did quite a lot of work between the sessions and it paid off,” he said.Right in contention for the first time this season in fourth was Michael Caine (Nationwide/Motorbase), with a best lap only a tenth of a second away from Gelzinis. “It feels alright,” said Caine. “That’s the most comfortable I’ve felt in the car so far,” he added. Team mate Tim Harvey was eighth fastest, but confident of a strong performance in the two races on Sunday. “We changed the car for the afternoon and it wasn’t so good; but looking after the tyres will be the big issue here.”Well in the hunt were Stephen Jelley and Euan Hankey for the Parker with Juta team, while Richard Plant (Team Parker Racing) was a strong seventh ahead of his first race at Thruxton.With Gelzinis setting the overall pace, second in Pro-Am1 was Ahmad Al Harthy (Oman Air/Redline) with a late push to edge Rory Butcher (Celtic Speed) back to third. Butcher was another Thruxton newcomer. “I really learnt a lot today,” said Butcher. “It’s really physical out there!”In Pro-Am2, Parish topped the times from Redline Racing duo Keith Webster and Andrew Shelley. “I like it here and I had a lot of good advice from my senior team mates,” he said of Caine and Harvey. “It’s all about confidence and it’s coming,” said Webster.