Porsche Carrera Cup title race goes north of the border

The unique Knockhill track in Scotland is the spectacular setting for rounds 15 and 16 of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB over the weekend of 2/3 September.

This could prove to be one of the most important weekends of the season as the championship title chase heads into the final six races. If Damien Faulkner (Co Donegal) has another good weekend, he will take another major step towards retaining the coveted number ‘1’. Meanwhile, his key rivals Tim Harvey (Oxford) and Danny Watts (Buckingham) really need the Irish ace to hit trouble to keep their hopes of the crown alive.

However, Faulkner is not a driver who makes many mistakes, and with a 40-point advantage, he really does have the upper hand right now. If he keeps on finishing in the top four or five, Faulkner will take the big prize.

Harvey, meanwhile, suffered a body blow to his title bid last time out at Snetterton. Two non-finishes left him with no points and at a stroke he went from being seven points behind Faulkner to being 40 points adrift. Harvey has vowed to keep fighting and can only go all out for race wins and see what happens.

The same applies to Watts, who has taken over the car in which Richard Westbrook started the season. Having missed two weekends, Watts was always going to struggle to rival Faulkner, but he's now won his last eight races and lies just nine points adrift of Harvey. The former F3 racer will surely be a pacesetter once more.

Another driver making a fine impression this season is Richard Williams (London) and he's now well-established at the head of the chasing pack, while Michael Caine (Newmarket) had his best weekend of the season at Snetterton. In both races he led the chase of Watts and is now aiming to maintain that form at Knockhill. Also running well in the Pro category after a troubled start to the season is Jason Templeman (Nottingham).

The new Pro Am category has delivered some great racing within the overall race and it is young Phil Quaife (Tonbridge) who has a clear points' lead with six races to run. His 33-point advantage should be enough to claim the crown, but that won’t stop Phil battling hard for overall results as well – particularly as he is also chasing Williams for fourth place in the overall standings.

Generally leading the pursuit of Quaife is Sam Edwards (Aylesbury), who is having an excellent season in Pro Am and took his second category victory at Snetterton. However, David Ashburn (London), Nigel Rice (Beverley), Mike Richards (Knutsford) and Andy Purdie (Maidstone) are all capable of claiming Pro Am podiums.

Then there is 1995 World Rally Champion Colin McRae (Lanark), who will give the local fans plenty to cheer about as he races the car entered by Porsche Cars GB in association with Vertu, the world’s first and only manufacturer of luxury handcrafted mobile phones. He's already raced the ‘Type 997’ Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in the Porsche Michelin Supercup this season and is sure to go very well around his home track.

Meanwhile, at the head of the field, Faulkner can't win the title during his weekend in Scotland, but he can take another big step towards the crown. Harvey and Watts, of course, have other ideas….