Porsche Carrera Cup season resumes in Yorkshire

After a six-week mid-season break, the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship resumes over the weekend of 15/16 July at the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire. Heading into rounds nine and ten of the 20-race season, just two points split Damien Faulkner (Co Donegal) and Tim Harvey (Witney) at the head of the championship.

The Carrera Cup is enjoying a fabulous season in 2006, with great racing from the all-new ‘Type 997’ 911 GT3 Cup cars that were introduced at the start of the season. Strong grids, packed with quality teams and drivers, and a new Pro-Am category are making this the best season so far for the Porsche championship.

Defending Carrera Cup champion Faulkner currently has a slender lead in the title race, but former BTCC ace Harvey is chasing hard and there are just two points between them as they head to Yorkshire after the long break. They have pulled 30 points clear of the chasing pack after the opening eight races, but it's too early just yet to talk about a two-horse title-race!

The car most likely to come between Faulkner and Harvey and the chequered flag is the Cleveland-based Team Irwin with Red Line Racing entry. Car number two has won five of the eight races to date, three times in the hands of Richard Westbrook (London) and twice with Danny Watts (Buckingham) at the wheel. Westbrook is in with a very strong chance of winning the international Porsche Michelin Supercup title this season and will be racing at the French Grand Prix meeting at Magny Cours over the Croft weekend. So, former F3 single-seater ace Watts is again racing the car and he will be going all-out to repeat his double Oulton Park victory.

Other strong runners in the Pro category include Richard Williams (London), one of the revelations of the season, Jason Templeman (Nottingham), Michael Caine (Newmarket) and Tech 9 team mates Mark Cole (Inkpen, Berkshire) and Phil Hindley (Chester). Williams will resume his Carrera Cup campaign at Croft after two weekends of racing in the Porsche Supercup at Silverstone and Indianapolis, USA, over recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the new Pro-Am category is delivering some great racing within the overall race and it is young Phil Quaife (Tonbridge) who heads to Croft with a useful points lead. However, Jason Young (Oakham), Sam Edwards (Aylesbury), Nigel Rice (Beverley) and David Ashburn (London) are all battling hard for their share of the glory and it was rising star Andy Purdie (Maidstone) who claimed his first Pro-Am victory last time out at Thruxton in Hampshire.

After qualifying during the morning of Saturday (15 July), round nine will run on Saturday afternoon, with round ten on Sunday during the British Touring Car Championship meeting.