The colourful grid of 450hp, rear-engined 911 GT3 Cup race cars thrilled spectators at the unique banked circuit in support of the British Touring Car Championship. In the second race, Barker had to contend with tough weather conditions en route to a further win, while Michael Meadows clinched a brace of podium finishes to boost his overall Championship lead.
Round 15
While Barker stormed to victory from Jonas Gelzinis, Meadows extended his overall points’ advantage with third place. In Pro-Am1, a mighty four-way battle ran for much of the race as Derek Pierce fended off his rivals for a hard-earned victory. In Pro-Am2, Will Goff (Dereham) claimed maximum points to consolidate his Championship lead.
“I got a great start and got a gap I could control,” said Barker (Cambridge) who backed up his double win at Knockhill with another perfect performance. He went a second clear in the opening two laps and was then able to control the race from the front as Gelzinis (Lithuania) led the chase. “I couldn’t have dreamt of this: you get a good result and then you carry the momentum forward,” he added.
Gelzinis was always the best of the chasing pack and was able to edge further clear in second place when third-placed Rory Butcher (Kirkcaldy) ran wide at the chicane and lost a place to Meadows (Banbury). Andy Meyrick (Chester) edged Butcher back to fifth and then mounted a lengthy pursuit of Meadows. Mid-race, the gap was down to less than a second. But Meadows reckoned to have a little in hand and was able to respond later in the race while Meyrick then lost any chance of challenging when he suffered a flat-spotted front tyre.
“Once I was ahead of Rory I let the first two go and conserved my tyres,” said Meadows after a nicely judged race that allowed him to extend his Championship lead to 53 points over Gelzinis. There was a great spectacle in the contest for fifth place as a pack of five cars battled behind Butcher, and it was Richard Plant (Sheffield) who claimed sixth.
There was an equally compelling tussle over top spot in the Pro-Am1 category as Pierce (West Kilbride) rocketed ahead with a tremendous start. “I had a mega start and got to the front,” he said, as Victor Jimenez (Spain) led the chase. With Ahmad Al Harthy (Oman) and Oly Mortimer (Edinburgh) joining in, it made a four-way battle at the head of Pro-Am1. Al Harthy moved through to challenge Jimenez, but a clash on the exit of the Deene Hairpin put Al Harthy out with damaged steering. Pierce could not relax, however, as Mortimer dived through to second from Jimenez. “Victor was very strong,” said Pierce after a hard race. “I wish the laps had counted down a bit quicker!” he added.
Round 15 results:
Pro category: 1 Ben Barker; 2 Jonas Gelzinis; 3 Michael Meadows.
Pro-Am1 category: 1 Derek Pierce; 2 Oly Mortimer; 3 Victor Jimenez.
Pro-Am2 category: 1 Will Goff.
Round 16
A very wet track greeted the drivers for round 16 of the season, but Barker maintained his superb form to make it four wins in a row as Rory Butcher led the chase. Al Harthy clinched victory in Pro-Am1 while Goff again took maximum points in Pro-Am2. In Championship terms, Meadows left Rockingham with an increased overall advantage after another podium finish.
Barker got the jump at the start and quickly went clear as Butcher slotted into second place on the soaking wet track. Despite an early Safety Car period, Barker always had the race under control and held his margin at between two and three seconds. “Four wins in a row is fantastic,” he said afterwards. “The conditions were really dreadful and it was a case of keeping off the white lines.” Butcher, meanwhile, was an equally secure second, finding it tough to see through the spray whenever he edged closer to Barker. “It was really tough and I’m just glad to be back on the podium,” he said.
Meadows was always third and eased clear of Gelzinis in the early stages. Meanwhile, Sam Tordoff (Leeds) was the man on the attack and battled past Al Harthy, James Sutton (London) and Gelzinis to take fourth and close right in on Meadows. But Meadows had it covered to the flag to complete an important weekend in terms of Championship points. “This is the only weekend we’ve not been in contention for race wins, so to come away with two podiums is good,” said Meadows.
“The car was fantastic, but with the amount of spray I couldn’t see a thing at times,” said Tordoff after a great performance. A trip across the grass at the chicane took the front aero splitter off Gelzinis’ car and he slipped down the order as Sutton took fifth from Plant.
Al Harthy had a tremendous run to win Pro-Am1 in some of the toughest conditions he had ever experienced. “I had good pace and kept pushing,” said the Omani ace. However, he was fortunate to finish after he picked up a front puncture over the final two laps. Jimenez and Mortimer completed the Pro-Am1 podium, with Mortimer earning the ‘Driver of the Weekend’ award for his efforts on a very limited budget. GT Marques was confirmed as the ‘Team of the Weekend’.
Round 16 results:
Pro category: 1 Ben Barker; 2 Rory Butcher; 3 Michael Meadows.
Pro-Am1 category: 1 Ahmad Al Harthy; 2 Victor Jimenez; 3 Oly Mortimer.
Pro-Am2 category: 1 Will Goff.
The next round of the 2012 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship takes place at Silverstone on October 6/7.
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