Faulkner and Harvey take Carrera Cup wins at Knockhill

Damien Faulkner and Tim Harvey scored a race win each as tricky weather conditions hit rounds 15 and 16 of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Knockhill in Scotland over the weekend (2/3 September). A win and a second place for Faulkner has left him 41 points clear in the title chase with four races to run. Meanwhile, 1995 World Rally Champion and Scottish motorsporting hero, Colin McRae, enjoyed mixed fortunes on his Carrera Cup debut.

Race one

While Tim Harvey and Michael Caine battled up the field to third and fourth in the thrilling opening race after starting on slick tyres on a damp track, Faulkner had to fend off series newcomer James Pickford for victory. Meanwhile, a fine drive from Sam Edwards netted him the Pro-Am victory.

With the track damp but no rain falling, Harvey (Oxford) dived into the pits from the green flag lap to switch to slicks, sacrificing his pole position in the process. Harvey’s team mate, Caine (Newmarket), who was due to start from the back of the grid, made the same tyre choice, and both cars joined the race from the pit lane.

Up front, Faulkner (Co Donegal) stormed into the lead from Pickford (Macclesfield), with Danny Watts (Buckingham) chasing in third. The leading trio was seldom more than a couple of seconds apart until Watts ran across the grass at Duffus Dip and lost time. It also damaged his car’s radiator and Watts was soon forced to retire. “Completely my fault,” he accepted.

Pickford – guesting for Stratford upon Avon-based team IN2RACING - could now concentrate on challenging Faulkner and the gap reduced to only a second mid-race. Meanwhile, Harvey and Caine were pushing as hard as they dared on slick tyres, but made only modest progress over the first half of the race. But by lap 20, the slick tyres were coming into their own, with Harvey up to seventh and Caine eighth as they set the fastest laps of the race.

But still Faulkner led from Pickford, with Jason Templeman (Nottingham) and Richard Williams (London) running third and fourth, but being rapidly caught by Harvey and Caine. Now catching Faulkner and Pickford at several seconds a lap, Harvey dived ahead of Templeman for third on lap 30 and Caine snatched fourth on the final lap. But Harvey needed just one more lap before he could have attacked Pickford and Faulkner.

“I was driving as fast as I could given the state of the tyres,” said Faulkner after his win. “I’m just delighted for the team and the sponsors.” Pickford, too, had driven a fine race. “That’s a bit of a surprise really, so I’m very happy. I’m glad we got to the end; the tyres are finished!” Harvey crossed the line only five seconds behind Faulkner after an enthralling chase. “I’d rather race from the back on the right tyres. I thoroughly enjoyed the race; every single lap was on the edge. It was a cracking fun race.” Caine, too, had a great drive. “It was the right decision from where I was on the grid,” he confirmed.

Templeman and Williams – the latter in his new Robert Wiseman Diaries-liveried car - battled home fifth and sixth as their wet weather tyres struggled in the drying conditions, while Edwards (Aylesbury) took control of the Pro-Am category from the start. “I had a really good start, but it was slippery right to the finish.” Andy Purdie (Maidstone) led the chase of Edwards, with Nigel Rice (Beverley, E Yorks) completing the Pro-Am podium.

Race two

Having gambled on slicks the previous day, Harvey opted for wets as a heavy rainstorm swept across the track before Sunday's and he was able to work ahead of Faulkner for an impressive win. The sudden rainstorm left the field split almost evenly on tyre choice, with Faulkner and Templeman joining Harvey on wets, as Pickford and Williams and Caine opted for slicks.

But though the track dried slowly through the race, it was wets that proved the right choice as Faulkner, Harvey and Templeman quickly went clear. In the Pro-Am category, wet tyres for Edwards, Phil Quaife (Motorbase Performance) and Purdie helped them to fill fourth, fifth and sixth places overall.

Up front, Harvey was soon challenging Faulkner and battled ahead as they raced past the pits to start lap 10. Once ahead, Harvey was able to build his lead and was soon several seconds clear. Such was the advantage of the treaded tyres that Harvey lapped all the drivers who had opted for slicks. “It’s good to make up for yesterday,” said Harvey. “I felt I should have won that one! From the word go my car was better than Damien’s and I knew I’d made the right choice unless there was a reason to call out the Safety Car.”

“I was defending at that point and it was better to get out of his way,” reckoned Faulkner after finishing a strong second, while Templeman’s podium finish was rather overdue. “About time!” he joked after his best result of the season so far.

Quaife managed to fight his way ahead of Edwards in Pro-Am, with Purdie chasing them. However, Edwards’ race was to end with a damaged radiator after he slid off on oil, so Quaife won Pro-Am by nine seconds from Purdie. “Before the race we went wets, slicks, wets, slicks and wets! It paid in my favour,” he added. Purdie, meanwhile, claimed the ‘Driver of the Weekend’ award for two podium finishes on his Knockhill debut. “I’ve had a really, really good weekend. Roger Heavens and the guys have given me a great car.”

Of those who struggled home on slicks, sixth overall was Pickford as he headed team-mate Williams by 10 seconds after 32 laps of trying to keep 400bhp in check on a very slippery track. Watts, Caine and Rice completed the top 10, with Rice taking the final Pro-Am podium finish. Unfortunately, Colin McRae was destined not to finish in the car entered by Porsche Cars GB in association with Vertu, the world’s first and only manufacturer of luxury handcrafted mobile phones, after the car overheated, the probable legacy of a stone puncturing the radiator in Saturday’s race.