In the Pro-Am1 category Ahmad Al Harthy (Redline/Oman Air) remains the current category pace-setter, and Tania Mann (SIBSport) took home maximum points in Pro-Am2.
Round
three
Meadows
(Banbury) got just the start he wanted to lead the pack into Redgate
and edged clear in the opening laps as a fierce battle developed for
second between Sam Tordoff (Leeds), Richard Plant (Sheffield), Ben
Barker (Cambridge) and Jonas Gelzinis (Lithuania). Gelzinis struggled
with his start, the team having fitted a new clutch after qualifying
and he got too much wheelspin and he dropped from second place to
fifth.
On
lap three, Tordoff missed a gear at the chicane and instantly dropped
back to fifth, which helped Meadows build his lead to nearly three
seconds. But as the race progressed all was not entirely well with
the lead car. “Mid-way through the race I was locking the rear
brakes,” said Meadows as Plant inexorably closed the gap. But it
all went wrong for Plant when a front tyre deflated as he dived down
to the Old Hairpin on lap 13.
This
saw Barker chasing Meadows while also trying to defend from the
challenge of the resurgent Gelzinis and Tordoff. With three laps to
go, Meadows had barely half a second in hand as Barker came under
intense pressure from Gelzinis and Tordoff. Into the final lap, the
four cars were nose-to-tail and a relieved Meadows took the flag just
a quarter of a second ahead of Barker with Gelzinis and Tordoff in
their wheel tracks.
“I
was struggling a bit and had to push harder than I wanted,” said
Meadows. “I was just counting the laps down to the finish.”
“It
was so tight at the front, ridiculously close,” said Barker.
“Michael got a gap when we were fighting, but we got up to him at
the end.” Gelzinis completed the podium despite losing time at the
start. “I just got my head down and drove very quickly,” he said,
after smashing the lap record by half a second. “But I didn’t
want to take any big risks,” he added. For Tordoff, fourth place
was scant reward for his pace.
Al
Harthy always set the pace in Pro-Am1, and had one or two Pro
category drivers between him and the rest of the Pro-Am1 field as he
claimed a stylish victory. “That was a perfect race for me,” he
said afterwards. “I kept my head down and concentrated the whole
race.”
Derek
Pierce (West Kilbride) was a strong second, following a fierce battle
between Glynn Geddie (Aberdeen) and Rory Butcher (Kirkcaldy) for many
laps. Pierce then worked ahead of Geddie to take seventh overall.
“The car was really good and I’m pleased to have gone from
eleventh to seventh,” he said.
Victor
Jimenez (Spain) completed the Pro-Am1 podium with a strong run. “That
was fantastic,” said the Spanish racer. “Now my start is good.”
Meanwhile Mann ran alone in Pro-Am2, but drove well to chase the
Pro-Am1 pack for many laps before a quick spin at the chicane.
Round
three results:
Pro
category: 1 Michael Meadows; 2 Ben Barker; 3 Jonas Gelzinis
Pro-Am1
category: 1 Ahmad Al Harthy; 2 Derek Pierce; 3 Victor Jimenez
Pro-Am2
category: 1 Tania Mann
Round
four
While
Meadows stayed ahead of Gelzinis to make it three wins from four
races this season, Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholar Daniel Lloyd
(Huddersfield) starred with a fighting drive to grab third place on
the final lap from Tordoff. Despite constant pressure from Pierce, Al
Harthy won Pro-Am1 for the second time, while Mann took Pro-Am2 with
another strong performance.
Meadows
dived ahead at the start from pole position as Gelzinis forged
through to second at the expense of Team Parker Racing team-mates
Tordoff and Plant. This quartet soon started to edge clear and their
escape was aided when Barker spun off into the tyre wall at Schwantz
Curve when battling with Lloyd for fifth.
Gelzinis
stalked Meadows for a dozen laps but the decisive moment in the lead
battle came when the Lithuanian had a big moment under braking for
the chicane and lost nearly two seconds to Meadows. “Maybe there
was coolant down on the track,” he said afterwards. “I didn’t
want to push Meadows too hard at the beginning.” With two such
evenly-matched cars, the gap was now too big for Gelzinis to narrow
it down and Meadows was able to carry a two-second advantage to the
flag. “We were really quick in that race and I was able to edge out
the gap,” said Meadows. “We made quite a few changes to the car
for the second race and they worked.”
The
action now centred on the contest for third as the trio of young
Yorkshire racers from Team Parker provided the fireworks. Tordoff
lost third position with a moment on the grass on the exit of Coppice
and then set about closing back up to Plant as Lloyd chased them
both. By lap 20, they were nose-to-tail and into Redgate with two
laps to go Plant locked a wheel and ran wide, instantly losing two
places. Now it was Lloyd attacking Tordoff and they ran side-by-side
into Redgate for the final time. Lloyd edged ahead on the exit and
they raced side-by-side through Hollywood in a display of fine
racing.
“Sam
went defensive into Redgate and I got a bit of a cut back,” said
Lloyd after a great contest. Plant deserved more than fifth for his
efforts, and only just held off the charging Butcher on the dash to
the finish line.
In
Pro-Am1, Al Harthy led all the way but was kept under constant
pressure by Pierce and was still less than two seconds ahead at the
flag. “It was a very hard race from start to finish,” said Al
Harthy. “That’s the first time we’ve had a perfect weekend with
two wins.” Meanwhile, Pierce had driven a great pursuit. “I
chased and chased and never gave up, but it was his weekend this
time.” Jimenez completed the Pro-Am1 podium.
Round
four results:
Pro
category: 1 Michael Meadows; 2 Jonas Gelzinis; 3 Daniel Lloyd
Pro-Am1
category: 1 Ahmad Al Harthy; 2 Derek Pierce; 3 Victor Jimenez
Pro-Am2
category: 1 Tania Mann
The
next round of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship takes place at
Thruxton, Hampshire, on April 28/29.
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