Cars That Go Fast: HARVEY TAKES PORSCHE CARRERA CUP GB DOUBLE AT THRUXTON HARVEY TAKES PORSCHE CARRERA CUP GB DOUBLE AT THRUXTON ================================================================================ Elton on 08 April, 2010 09:57:00 Tim Harvey completed a superb double in the opening two rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton on Easter Sunday (4 April), but the second victory came under constant pressure from Championship newcomer Euan Hankey. Ollie Jackson claimed Pro-Am1 spoils, while Mark Hazell wrapped up a great weekend by winning Pro-Am2 for the second time. In the earlier race, Tony Gilham won the Pro-Am1 category. After 21 laps around the high-speed Hampshire track in front of a big crowd and live TV cameras, at an average speed of almost 110mph, each of the three categories throughout the awesome 25-car field was decided by less than three-quarters of a second in the later race. Round one Harvey (Oxford) got a better start than Tom Bradshaw (Blackburn) off the line and was able to move clear over the first three laps as Hankey (Taunton) and then Michael Caine (Newmarket) edged Bradshaw back to fourth. “I pushed early then eased back to conserve the tyres,” said Harvey. Caine had to battle ahead of Hankey to get into second and did it with a bold move around the outside into the chicane on lap five. Caine then set off in pursuit of Harvey and closed the gap to less than a second. That was how it ran for many laps as the two most experienced drivers in the Championship matched each other’s pace. “I knew Michael would have to push his tyres to catch me,” said Harvey, who crossed the line with eight-tenths of a second in hand. Caine had been close enough to try a move into the chicane, but Harvey was not about to let his lead slip. “It was important to finish that one,” said Harvey of the first of this year’s 20 races. Hankey ran a safe third and was elated to score the first overall podium finish for a Carrera Cup GB Scholarship racer. “I’m absolutely ecstatic,” said Hankey. “I didn’t know what to expect and it was so challenging. I didn’t fight Michael Caine as I knew he was faster than me.” Behind Hankey, a mighty battle raged for fourth as Bradshaw fended off Charles Bateman (Boston), Stephen Jelley (Leicester) and Glynn Geddie (Aberdeen). As Jelley mounted constant attacks on Bateman, Bradshaw had some respite, but it was very close all the way to the flag. The contest for Pro-Am1 produced a great spectacle as Ahmad Al Harthy (London) made the early running with Jonas Gelzinis (Lithuania) and Tony Gilham (Dartford) right on his tail. Meanwhile, making up ground fast was Ollie Jackson (Attleborough) after a first corner knock left him with an ill-handling car. This made a tremendous battle until Gelzinis spun and that allowed Gilham to start attacking Al Harthy, just as Jackson lost his front spoiler and dropped back. Gilham made his move with three laps to run and dived ahead under braking for the chicane. “I loved it,” said Gilham after taking the Pro-Am1 victory from fifth on the grid. “We’d not done any dry laps here and the car faded towards the end,” added Gilham. Al Harthy was rightly pleased with his first Carrera Cup race. “I’m very proud to be on the podium in my first Porsche race. It was a tough challenge,” said the Oman racer. In Pro-Am2, the lead battle was just as entertaining as Hazell (Monmouthshire) and Steve Parish (London) ran wheel to wheel for many laps. Eventually, Hazell’s experience told, and he edged away for a deserved win. “It’s hard work when you’re 50,” joked Hazell. “I was just waiting for the chequered flag.” Parish was never far adrift in second. “That was really hard, but it was brilliant. The best fun I’ve had in a racing car,” he said as George Brewster (Edinburgh) worked through to third. Round two “If that’s the pace that Euan has at this stage of the season, it’s going to be hard work,” said Harvey after a fiercely competitive race. With Hankey as a constant shadow and Caine going with them, the lead was always in doubt even though Harvey led from lights to flag. “Euan was all over me and kept me honest,” said Harvey. For his part, Hankey was elated to run so strongly on his debut weekend in the Carrera Cup. “I was pushing my hardest and I’m still learning,” said the Carrera Cup Scholarship driver. He also had to contend with muscle pump-up in his right arm over the closing laps and concentrated on keeping ahead of Caine. Having watched Hankey’s race from close quarters, Caine joined Harvey in congratulating the Championship newcomer. Hankey was declared ‘Driver of the Weekend’ for his performances. Bradshaw completed a strong weekend with fourth place, despite early pressure from Geddie and Michael Meadows (Banbury). “Our pace was not spot on in the dry, but that’s two solid results at my least favourite circuit,” said Bradshaw. Geddie claimed fifth, but Meadows dropped to seventh behind Bateman after losing his front splitter later in the race. The Pro-Am1 category once again delivered a great contest as Jackson led from the start and battled with Bateman for overall position. However, in the closing stages Jackson was nearly caught by Gelzinis and Al Harthy, who had been battling race-long. At the flag, less than a second covered the three cars. “That was really tough,” said Jackson. Gelzinis’ team of Juta Racing won the ‘Team of the Weekend’ award for its first weekend in the Carrera Cup GB. The battle in Pro-Am2 was another highlight of the race as Hazell worked clear of Parish. However, in the closing laps, Parish closed the gap once more as Brewster and Glenn McMenamin (Milton Keynes) made it a four-car train for the lead. At the flag, just 1.7s covered the quartet. “It’s been good fun but very hard work,” said Hazell after one of his best weekends of racing for several seasons.