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Porsche Carrera Cup GB

Bridgman takes Carrera Cup thriller at Donington

Tim Bridgman scored his fourth victory in a row in a thrilling sixth round of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Donington Park today (Sunday 4 May). In tricky weather conditions, six cars put on a fabulous contest in front of a big crowd and live TV cameras and it was Phil Quaife who battled through to take the flag first from Tim Bridgman and Michael Caine, while Nigel Rice completed a double victory in pro-am1. However, Quaife was later penalised for passing under a yellow flag and dropped to third in the amended results.
 
With rain threatening, tyre choice was an issue before the race but all except John Quartermaine (PCGB) went to the grid on slicks. There was an early safety car period after a first corner brush sent Nick Whale (Team RPM) into the gravel at Redgate. As the cars completed the opening lap, just before reaching the safety car, the top four were incredibly close after Bridgman ran wide at the chicane and delayed Caine as Quaife and Charles Bateman dived up alongside. The clerk of the course later ruled that Quaife had passed under a yellow flag, and the resulting penalty would change the results.
 
As the cars toured behind the safety car, more rain fell and conditions were incredibly difficult over the opening laps of the restart.
 
From the green flag, Bridgman (Team Parker Racing) led, but the track was very slippery and drivers were struggling for grip at every corner. It made for a fantastic spectacle as the top six cars ran nose-to-tail for lap after lap, rapidly increasing their pace as the track started to dry once more.
 
It was Quaife (Jota Sport) who took the fight to Bridgman, but right behind were Caine (Team Parker Racing) and Sam Hancock (Jota Sport), while Charles Bateman (Team Parker Racing) and Tim Harvey (Red Line Racing) completed the tightly packed top six.
 
The critical moment came under braking for the chicane on lap 12 when Quaife pulled off an audacious passing move on Bridgman. “I did a pretty crazy move on Bridgman into the chicane and I only just made the corner,” said Quaife. “I thought there was no way he would make the corner,” said Bridgman. However, Quaife found enough grip to get his car slowed down and through the corner, now ahead as Bridgman, Caine, Bateman, Harvey and Hancock chased.
 
The six cars still ran nose-to-tail and produced a superb spectacle, but up front Quaife held on with a fine performance to take the flag ahead of Bridgman and Caine. “Phil drove a great race and was prepared to take the risks; I was pushing all the time,” said Bridgman, who later discovered that he had taken over as race winner. Caine chased them home. “I’d got the championship to think about,” said Caine, who moved to second ahead of Quaife in the amended result.
 
Bateman drove a superb race to claim fourth from Hancock and Harvey, as less than three seconds covered six cars at the end of half an hour of flat out racing. Rice had a straightforward run to pro-am1 victory and seventh overall after Callum MacLeod (PCGB) retired after making a change to wet tyres when the track was at it’s worst. Tony Gilham (ReDesign Racing) headed the chase of Rice in pro-am1.
 
Bateman clinched the ‘driver of the weekend’ award for his outstanding pace, while Jota Sport was confirmed as ‘team of the weekend’.
 

Bridgman takes Carrera Cup victory at Donington

 
Tim Bridgman completed a hat-trick of victories at Donington Park today (Sunday 4 May) in round five of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. With a faultless performance for Team Parker Racing, Bridgman made it three wins from three races as Tim Harvey (Red Line Racing) headed the pursuit. Nigel Rice claimed pro-am1 spoils for Red Line Racing.
 
Starting from pole position, Bridgman led the pack into Redgate as Harvey edged ahead of Michael Caine (Team Parker Racing). “When I hooked second off the line, there was a big bang and I thought second gear had gone; that’s when Tim got me,” said Caine.
 
Up front, Bridgman set about building his advantage. “I got an okay start and managed to pull a gap. Then I just pushed hard for the whole race,” said Bridgman. “The hat-trick of wins is great, but we’re just taking each race as it comes.” Harvey never stopped chasing, and was able to ease clear of Caine. By setting fastest lap, Harvey also ensured that he took over the championship lead from Caine.
 
“It was a case of job done,” said Harvey. “I’m very happy with that race.” With no apparent gearbox problem, Caine ran a strong third and brought the gap to Harvey back down to 1.5s at the flag. “I started taking a bit of time off Tim towards the end, but I’m sure he was backing off,” said Caine.
 
Fourth belonged to Sam Hancock (Jota Sport) and at one stage he was shadowing Caine for third. But as the race developed, Hancock dropped away and slipped into the clutches of Callum McLeod (PCGB). Into the final lap there were nose-to-tail, but Hancock held on to secure fourth. “We’ve still got some work to do; it’s just little bits everywhere,” said Hancock. MacLeod drove a strong race to work through to fifth as his experience of the 911GT3 Cup car grew lap by lap.
 
Phil Quaife (Jota Sport) took sixth, but had to battle ahead of pro-am1 leader Rice, who ran as high as sixth place overall after a rocket start. “It’s really good fun just driving the car,” said Rice after settling into seventh place and a commanding pro-am1 lead. Out of contention after running fifth on the opening lap went Charles Bateman (Team Parker Racing) after picking up a rear puncture in the opening stages.
 
Behind Rice in pro-am1, Tony Gilham (ReDesign Racing) had to push hard in the early laps to fend off Nick Whale (Team RPM). However, as the race developed, the gap grew to a few seconds. “It took a couple of laps to get heat into the tyres in the early laps,” said Gilham.
 
 

Bridgman takes Rockingham double
 
Tim Bridgman completed a perfect weekend with his second victory of the day in round four of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Rockingham today (Sunday 13 April).
 
In what was something of a re-run of the earlier race, Bridgman (Team Parker Racing) went ahead from the start and was able to work clear of Tim Harvey (Red Line Racing) as Michael Caine (Team Parker Racing) again completed the podium. “It’s been a perfect weekend and that’s just what we needed after Brands,” said Bridgman. “The team gave me a great car and I was really focused on getting a strong weekend, so I’m really, really pleased,” said Bridgman.
 
With Bridgman settled into the lead and Harvey establishing himself in second place, the focus of attention moved to the contest for third as Sam Hancock (Jota Sport) dived through to third at the first corner ahead of Caine. “As I went from fourth to fifth out of Turn One, it jumped out of gear,” said Caine after briefly losing momentum.
 
Dean Smith (PCGB) was also in the scrabble for position in the opening corners, but spun at Yentwood and also tipped Charles Bateman (Team Parker Racing) into a spin. Both resumed after a delay as Caine set about challenging Hancock. But with Jota Sport’s Phil Quaife right on his tail, Caine found himself sandwiched between team mates.
 
For lap after lap, Caine attacked Hancock but it was not until lap 16, three from the finish, that Caine finally squeezed ahead after they ran side-by-side through Brooke. By now, Harvey was long gone in second, but Caine believed that it could have been different if he had found a gap to get by Hancock earlier. “I think our car had the pace to be second,” said Caine. Harvey, meanwhile, acknowledged that Bridgman was out of reach. “It was pretty much the same as the first race; I wasn’t going to catch him today.”
 
Quaife ran close behind his team mate Hancock over the final laps to take fifth place, but was under pressure at the flag from Smith after the guest racer mounted a strong recovery following his first lap delay.
 
A commanding pro-am1 victory went to Nigel Rice (Red Line Racing), and he was just unable to go with the pro drivers ahead of him. “I didn’t want to fight with Dean Smith when he came through,” said Rice. Second in pro-am1 and backing up his earlier category win was Tony Gilham and his performance earned him the ‘driver of the weekend’ award, while his ReDesign Racing team was confirmed as winners of the ‘team of the weekend’ award.
 

 

Bridgman storms to victory at Rockingham

Tim Bridgman was the winner of round three of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Rockingham today (Sunday).It was Bridgman's first win in the series On his way to his first victory in the championship, Bridgman (Team Parker Racing) saw off the early challenge of Tim Harvey to take a stylish win.

The start was all-important and the leading drivers were evenly matched as they raced through Turn One and down the Deane hairpin. “I managed to get a good start and pull out a gap in the early laps,” said Bridgman after a faultless performance. Harvey (Red Line Racing) chased hard for many laps, but over the closing stages the gap grew as arvey found his car struggling for pace. “Tim drove a really tidy race,” said Harvey of his rival. “My car was consistent all the way through,” said Bridgman.

 
Conversely, Harvey found his car’s handling going away as the race developed. “We haven’t done as much dry testing as the others and we just need to make a couple of changes to make it last better in the race,” said Harvey.
 
In fact, Michael Caine (Team Parker Racing) was catching Harvey over the closing stages, with Caine having run much of the race with Dean Smith (PCGB) in close attendance. However, Harvey had things under control and that was how they finished, with Smith impressing with a mature drive to fourth. “Tim was struggling a bit later in the race, but I had understeer all the time,” said Caine. “That was definitely good experience,” said Smith after chasing the leaders. “I briefly got up to third at the first corner. The set-up changes we made after qualifying worked really well.”
 
A tremendous battle raged over fifth place for much of the race as Sam Hancock (Jota Sport) and Charles Bateman (Team Parker Racing) fought tooth and nail. Bateman briefly got ahead, but Hancock re-challenged at Deane and they both ran wide after slight contact. Eventually, Bateman had a quick spin at Brooke and so Hancock was finally safe in fifth. Phil Quaife (Jota Sport) was out before the start with a gearbox problem.
 
There was drama in the pro-am1 category as well as Nigel Rice (Red Line Racing) fought back from a drive-through penalty. Rice spun on the parade lap and was penalised for recovering to his grid position. After the penalty, he was third in pro-am1, but tigered back to pass team mate Fergus Campbell for second and set about closing the gap to leader Tony Gilham (ReDesign Racing).
 
On the final lap they were nose to tail, but Gilham held on very well to claim victory. “I saw that he had a drive-through and so mid-race I backed off a bit to save my tyres,” said Gilham. But in the last two laps, Rice came storming up into contention and Gilham had to defend hard to make sure of his win. “I just managed to hold him off,” said Gilham.

 

Caine takes Carrera Cup double at Brands 

Michael Caine completed a perfect double weekend victory at Brands Hatch today (Sunday 30 March) by winning round two of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB to give his title bid the very best start. 

Caine repeated his victory from the previous day with another faultless drive, grabbing the lead away the grid and fending off an early challenge from Team Parker Racing team mate Tim Bridgman to sweep to victory. Unfortunately, the race was shortened after Bridgman later crashed at Paddock Hill Bend after suffering a puncture. 

In the early laps Caine led from Bridgman as Tim Harvey (Red Line Racing) made it a three-way lead pack. Bridgman kept the pressure on Caine for many laps, but with Harvey working up into contention in third, Bridgman had to watch his mirrors for attacks from Harvey. Finally, through Surtees on lap 17, Harvey saw his chance and set up a classic passing move up the inside line into McLaren to grab second. 

By now, Caine was clear and well on his way to his second win in two days. “I thought Tim Bridgman was going to come back at me in the early laps, but once he’d got Tim Harvey on his tail, I was able to go clear. It’s been an unbelievable weekend!” 

Once through to second place, Harvey was able to ease away from Bridgman. “It was good to pass Tim, but I honestly couldn’t close Michael down. I’m happy with the result,” said Harvey. Unfortunately things did not end so well for Bridgman, who spun heavily into the barriers at Paddock Hill Bend. Though unharmed, he was winded and the safety car was deployed and then the race was later halted with five laps left to run. 

Chasing after Bridgman over the closing stages was Phil Quaife (Jota Sport), who had gradually eased clear of his team mate Sam Hancock. “Our pace isn’t quite there yet, but towards the end of the race I had better pace than Tim Bridgman,” said Quaife. Hancock struggled with a lack of grip at the front of the car, but took fourth while Nigel Rice (Red Line Racing) fended off Charles Bateman (Team Parker Racing) to take a fine fifth and pro-am1 victory. 

“I’d worked my tyres hard so I was pleased to see the red flag,” admitted Rice, who had worked hard to fend off constant attacks from Bateman. “That makes up for not finishing yesterday,” said Rice who had ended Saturday’s race in the gravel trap. 

Andy Britnell (Porsche Motorsport) took seventh, but accepted that the fierce pace at the head of the field was tough to match, while Fergus Campbell (Red Line Racing) took second in pro-am1 after Tony Gilham (ReDesign Racing) lost time with a trip through the gravel trap at Paddock Hill Bend and slipped to third.

 

Caine wins Carrera Cup opener at Brands

 
Michael Caine scored a dramatic victory at Brands Hatch today (Saturday 29 March) in round one of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. In a race full of incident, Caine scored his first Carrera Cup victory after a fierce battle with Andy Britnell.
 
A damp track and the threat of more rain made tyre choice very difficult ahead of the race. Eventually, the Porsche Motorsport cars of Britnell and Steve Rance, along with Sam Hancock (Jota Sport), Tony Gilham (ReDesign Racing) and Fergus Campbell (Red Line Racing) elected to start on wet tyres, while the rest went for slicks.
 
Caine got a superb start to lead into Paddock Hill Bend, having dived ahead of poleman Tim Bridgman, his Team Parker Racing team mate. Unfortunately, Bridgman and Hancock then made contact and spun into the gravel and out of the race. Meanwhile, Britnell made a fine start and used the grip from his treaded tyres to dive through to second place from Tim Harvey (Red Line Racing).
 
After a safety car period while the cars of Bridgman and Hancock were moved, Caine resumed in the lead but was driving on a knife-edge on slicks in incredibly difficult conditions as Britnell challenged constantly. It was only after the race that Caine realised that he’d been battling with his friend and former team mate.
 
A second safety car period came after Nigel Rice (Red Line Racing) spun out of fourth place at Paddock Hill Bend, and there were more anxious moments for Caine as the small lead he had built was wiped out. Now, Harvey was also able to move right up onto Britnell’s tail. But Caine was driving superbly and was able to rebuild his lead over the final laps. “I was just wishing that race away,” admitted Caine. “My first Carrera Cup win has been a long time coming and it’s a great feeling.”
 
Britnell could not quite hold Harvey off to the flag and into the final lap Harvey edged ahead to take second. “The conditions were really difficult and the cars on wets certainly had the advantage at the start. I’m just glad to have finished.” Britnell was elated to have run in the thick of the lead battle, while Phil Quaife (Jota Sport) battled through to fourth after a tough fight with Rance. “That was an amazing race; we were battling all the time,” said Rance who drove a fine race in the pro-am2 car to finish an eventual fifth overall.
 
In a big queue of cars fighting for fourth, Gilham took sixth from Charles Bateman (Team Parker Racing) and Campbell. Bateman drove a dogged chase of the cars on wets and finally nipped ahead of Campbell at the end of the race as the treaded tyres started to lose their grip.

 

Paul Lawrence