Watts wins Porsche Carrera Cup double at Croft

Danny Watts was in dominant form as he won rounds nine and ten of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Croft circuit in North Yorkshire over the weekend (15/16 July). Meanwhile, Pro-Am category pace setter Phil Quaife also completed a double victory.

Round nine

Watts got away at the start and was never challenged as title rivals Damien Faulkner and Tim Harvey battled for second, and Phil Quaife won the Pro-Am category.

"I wanted to get the car off the line smartly and into the first corner in the lead," said Watts. "Then I knew I had the pace to stay ahead." Sure enough, Watts (Buckingham) led the field into Clervaux corner and was able to break away on the first lap as Harvey (Blackthorn, Oxfordshire) and Faulkner (Co Donegal, Eire) chased in second and third.

It was soon clear that Harvey’s hands were full of Faulkner and for 13 laps Harvey withstood tremendous pressure as Faulkner kept his championship rival under constant attack. But it was not until they braked for Tower on the 13th lap that Faulkner made the decisive move and dived down the inside. "I was very pleased with the move into Tower and Tim gave me the room," said Faulkner.

However, with Watts clear by eight seconds, Faulkner knew that second was the best he could achieve. "It’s the championship we’re after and Tim’s the only one we’re really concerned with." Faulkner’s team mate Jason Templeman (Nottingham) ran fourth in the early laps, but overshot going into the Complex and just nudged the tyre barrier. He resumed, but was down in eleventh place at the chequered flag.

Making it two Motorbase Performance cars in the top four, Michael Caine (Newmarket) chased Harvey and Faulkner throughout and almost got close enough to make it a three-way battle. But he was still a couple of seconds adrift of Harvey at the flag as Richard Williams (Bromley-by-Bow, London) also closed in on the leading pack over the final stages of the race.

Mark Cole (Inkpen, Berkshire), having started eighth after spinning into the gravel in qualifying, moved up to sixth at the flag, moving ahead of Quaife (Tonbridge) on lap 16. Quaife, however, was more concerned with scoring maximum Pro-Am points and didn’t defend too hard when Cole closed in. "It was very hot out there and I had to work hard," said Quaife after extending his points’ lead.

For the first half of the race, Nigel Rice (Beverley) ran second in Pro-Am, and was coming under increasing pressure from Sam Edwards (Aylesbury). Unfortunately, Rice’s race ended on lap 12 when he spun into the gravel at Clervaux. "I just lost it on my own," admitted Rice, as Edwards went through to take a clear second in the category.

Round ten

Watts scored his second win of the meeting and his fourth win of the season by leading round ten from start to finish. "It’s been the perfect weekend," said Watts. "The team gave me a fantastic car!"

In front of a packed BTCC crowd basking in glorious sunshine, Watts got the start he wanted to lead into the first corner and in a repeat of the earlier race, moved steadily away from the chasing pack.

Once again, the battle for second place was all about title contenders Faulkner and Harvey. This time, however, Faulkner beat Harvey to the first corner and had to withstand pressure from his rival for many laps before edging away a little. Meanwhile, Harvey had to watch his mirrors for Williams, who was having a great race to match the pace of the leading trio. "We didn’t have the ultimate speed to win this weekend," said Faulkner. "But both Tim and I are clearly looking at the bigger picture," he said. With Watts only contesting four race weekends this season, he is not concerned with the season-long championship contest.

Harvey retained third as Williams shadowed him to the flag. "We were all so close together," he said, with less than two seconds covering the three cars at the flag. Williams was justifiably pleased to have matched the pace of the established championship front-runners, after tackling two rounds of the Porsche Michelin Supercup in recent weeks. "Doing the Supercup rounds has really paid dividends and we’re there now!"

A fine fifth place overall assured Quaife of a Pro-Am double as he finished ahead of ‘Pro’ racers Cole and Templeman. "I’m absolutely over the moon," said a jubilant Quaife. "I can’t ask for much better than that."

When Cole ran wide at the Complex, Templeman was able to nip through to sixth after starting towards the tail of the grid. Once into his stride, he made excellent progress after starting eleventh. Behind Edwards, Purdie was ninth and third in Pro-Am, but had to hold off Nigel Rice over the closing laps. "I lost a lot of time when Jason Templeman came by," said Purdie. "But I’m really happy to get another podium result."

Rice, meanwhile, also battled his way up the order after starting 15th. He almost got ahead of Purdie at the Hairpin, but was just three-tenths of a second behind as they raced for the finish line. "I wish it had been a 20-lap race today," said Rice. Behind him, Pete Osbourne (Worksop) had his best race to date in Carrera Cup and earned the ‘Driver of the Weekend’ award after making a significant step forwards.