Tim Harvey took a clear lead in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB with a double victory at Brands Hatch yesterday Jason Templeman led the chase in both races, while Richard Westbrook starred with a brilliant drive to third in the later race having started at the back of the grid.QualifyingTempleman topped the field in qualifying on Saturday. With the fastest ever lap by a 911 GT3 Cup car on the Brands Indy circuit, Templeman (Team VLR) grabbed pole by a tiny fraction of a second from Westbrook (BEAST Racing).“I’m pleased with that,” said Templeman. “I didn’t think I’d get into the 47s bracket. I had to abandon a couple of qualifying laps due to traffic,” he added. However, it was a fine performance for Jason’s first pole of the season.
“I’m just happy to be on the front row round here,” reckoned Westbrook, who had set the early qualifying pace. “I’m not actually sure if pole position is an advantage,” he added. Third place, after setting the pace in pre-race testing was Harvey (Team RPM). “I have to say I’m a bit disappointed with third, but we’ll have an analysis and come back fighting tomorrow,” promised Harvey after a couple of strong laps were affected by traffic.Perry McCarthy, racing the VIP car for Porsche Cars GB, was disappointed to qualify only tenth. “We’ll have to sort that out in the race,” he said. “We’ll have some fun and hopefully the crowd will enjoy it. It’s going to be overtaking practice tomorrow!”Race oneTim Harvey scored his second win of the season in round three of the Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch on Sunday (25 April). Harvey swept ahead of Jason Templeman to win after Richard Westbrook was one of several drivers involved in a first-lap accident.
“That didn’t go the way I thought it would,” admitted Harvey as Perry McCarthy raced to a fine third place in the Porsche Cars GB VIP entry. “That was great, I really enjoyed it,” said a delighted Perry on the podium. It all went badly wrong for Westbrook (BEAST Racing) at Druids on the first lap when he led the pack into the corner but was hit from behind and spun sideways across the track. Other cars in the midfield were unable to avoid the stricken car of Westbrook and in an instant the cars of Mark Hazell and Martin Rich (Team Parker Racing) and Des Winks (Red Line Racing) were eliminated with Westbrook.
Jonathan Fildes (TCR) spun in the drama, all of which allowed Templeman (Team VLR) and Harvey (team RPM) to break clear at the front of the race. However, Templeman had sustained damaged steering during the first lap incident with Westbrook and was not able to fend off Harvey. Out of Graham Hill Bend for the eighth time, Harvey nipped ahead and was able to extend his lead over the rest of the race as Templeman chased. “I got caught out on the coolant that had been dropped and ran wide,” explained Templeman.
With a storming first lap, David Pinkney (BEAST Racing) grabbed third and ran close to Harvey and Templeman until his car started to lose fluid and he slowed before retiring with an over-heating engine. “I was just sitting happily behind them,” said a disappointed Pinkney. With Pinkney gone, a tremendous four-car battle raged for third as McCarthy battled to fend off Fildes, Chris Cooper (Team Parker Racing) and Nigel Rice (Red Line Racing), who was charging back into contention after being delayed on the opening lap.
Into Paddock Hill Bend on lap 16, Cooper slid sideways and spun and Rice just tagged Cooper’s car as he tried to steer through. Rice pressed on, even though damaged bodywork was rubbing on a tyre and gave him some anxious times over the remaining laps. With Cooper gone, Fildes was running in a safe fourth behind McCarthy and that was how they finished after a race-long contest. “To be up against someone like Perry is great,” admitted Fildes.McCarthy was elated to have finished on the podium after starting tenth. “I missed a gear off the line, but that gave them all time to settle down! I was fairly keen to be on the podium, but Jonathan was keeping me honest,” reckoned McCarthy.Provisional results – race one (22 laps):1 Tim Harvey (Team RPM) 18m15.533s; 2 Jason Templeman (Team VLR) 18m19.383s; 3 Perry McCarthy (Porsche Cars GB) 18m26.896s; 4 Jonathan Fildes (TCR) 18m27.581s; 5 Nigel Rice (Red Line Racing) 18m42.340s; 6 Andy Britnell (Motorbase Performance) 18m42.700s; 7 Marcus Thomas (Team VLR) 18m50.959s; 8 Jason Young (Red Line Racing) 18m58.568s. Fastest lap: Harvey 48.806s (90.44mph).
Race twoHarvey completed a double victory by winning the fourth round of the Carrera Cup at Brands Hatch on Sunday afternoon. Harvey fended off the challenge of Templeman to take his second win of the day.However, the star of the race was Westbrook who stormed through from the back of the grid to finish third. “All in all, I’ve got to be pleased with that,” said Westbrook after a superb drive.
After a battle with Templeman through Paddock Hill Bend, Harvey edged ahead at Druids on the first lap and was never headed again. However, Templeman pushed the Team RPM car hard for many laps until he ran wide at Paddock mid-race and dropped a couple of seconds. “I gave him a good push for the first few laps, but then I lost a bit of time,” confirmed Templeman.
That was all the chance that Harvey needed to make certain of his second win. “I had to work a bit harder for that; Jason put me under more pressure,” said Harvey after his third win from four races.Behind the leading pair, Westbrook drove a magnificent race to scythe through the field to third in just 10 laps, setting a new lap record in the process. However, once he got to third, Harvey and Templeman were just too far ahead for Westbrook to catch them. “They got away too much at the start and I’d really worked my tyres getting to third,” he said.
Fourth was the focus of a great battle between Fildes and McCarthy. Despite a poor start, McCarthy battled back up to fifth and attacked Fildes several times. “I made such a duff start, but it was great fun and I really enjoyed it,” said McCarthy.Another excellent battle raged for sixth as Rice fended off Andy Britnell (Motorbase Performance) and Cooper in a race-long contest.Provisional results – race two (22 laps):1 Harvey 17m59.802s; 2 Templeman 18m02.334s; 3 Richard Westbrook (BEAST Racing) 18m05.678s; 4 Fildes 18m08.170s; 5 McCarthy 18m08.687s; 6 Rice 18m11.954s; 7 Andy Britnell 18m12.471s; 8 Chris Cooper (Team Parker Racing) 18m13.360s; 9 Gary Britnell (Motorbase Performance) 18m22.754s; 10 Martin Rich (Team Parker Racing) 18m22.969s. Fastest lap: Westbrook 48.319s (91.35mph) new lap record.Provisional championship points after round four:1 Harvey 74; 2 Fildes 60; 3 Templeman 55; 4 Rice 52; 5 Westbrook 51; 6 Cooper 42; 7 Andy Britnell 40; 8 Young 27; 9 Jonathon Cocker 18; 10 Rich 17; etc.
