Watts wins races; Faulkner and Quaife win titles

While Danny Watts took two impressive race wins in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch over the weekend (23/24 September), Damien Faulkner clinched the overall drivers' title and Phil Quaife secured the Pro-Am category crown.

Round 17

Watts clinched another victory in round 17 on Saturday afternoon, but only after withstanding race-long pressure from Tim Harvey and Faulkner as the leading trio ran nose-to-tail for much of the 34-lap race.

Watts (Buckingham) knew that if he could convert pole position into a first-corner lead, he would be difficult to beat and that set the tone for an absorbing race. With Harvey (Oxford) and Faulkner (Co Donegal) right on his tail, Watts knew it was going to be a tough 34-lap race. Meanwhile, in the opening laps, Michael Caine (Newmarket), Jason Templeman (Nottingham), Mike Richards (Knutsford) and Richard Williams (London) went with the leaders to make a stunning seven-car train.

Even after the first 15 laps, the top three were still running neck and neck as a small gap opened up to the rest. “It was really hard work! I had to look after the tyres over the first half of the race and it paid dividends,” said Watts after managing to edge away over the second half of the race. But even at the end of 34 flat-out laps, the winning margin was still only 1.2 seconds.

“The first 15 or 20 laps was a bit of a status quo,” said Harvey. “After that we lost a little bit of tyre performance,” he added. However, in finishing ahead of Faulkner by a third of a second, Harvey pegged back two points in the title race against Faulkner. In truth, Faulkner had elected not to take any major chances in challenging Harvey for second. “I’m leading the championship and that’s what I’m trying to preserve,” he admitted. “Tim made the odd mistake, but nothing I could capitalise on.”

Caine and Templeman both had strong runs to finish fourth and fifth, and were almost alongside one another over the line as Templeman launched a late attack. Meanwhile, Richards drove a mighty race to fend off team-mate Williams and score a convincing Pro-Am category victory. “I had a bit of a moment at Druids and lost touch with Jason Templeman. So I just decided to hold station. Once these guys are gone, you won’t get them back!” said a delighted Richards after one of his best Carrera Cup drives to date.

Behind Williams, Sam Edwards (Aylesbury) had a relatively lonely run to eighth overall and second in pro-am, having lost a couple places off the start. Third in Pro-Am went to Andy Purdie (Maidstone), who had to work his way ahead of Nigel Rice (Beverley, East Yorkshire) and David Ashburn (London) after a slow start.

Behind Purdie, a four-way battle raged for the next pro-am places as Rice fended off Jason Young (Oakham, Leics), Phil Quaife (Tonbridge) and Ashburn. After a first-lap spin at Druids, Quaife fought back into contention and passed Ashburn only to suffer a late-race puncture. He finally limped over the line in thirteenth place to salvage important Pro-Am category points.

TV personality and one-time GT racer Shane Lynch adapted well to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, driving the car entered by Porsche Cars in association with Vertu, the world’s first and only manufacturer of luxury mobile telephones. The Irishman finished 17th in round 17.

Round 18

While Watts clinched another victory in round 18, Faulkner secured the overall championship title by finishing a close second and Quaife moved into an unbeatable position in the Pro-Am category.

The opening laps of the race really settled the season-long championship battle. Watts again converted pole position into a first corner lead from Harvey, but Faulkner then squeezed ahead of Harvey into Clearways. “I saw him make a lunge and gave him room,” said Harvey. The cars made slight contact and half a lap later Jason Templeman edged Harvey back to fourth on the run up hill out of Paddock. Suddenly, things were not looking good for Harvey, but then came three laps behind the safety car after Maxi Jazz (London) spun into the gravel at Druids.

At the restart, Harvey ran wide onto the grass at Graham Hill Bend as a front puncture – a legacy of the contact with Faulkner – became apparent. Harvey limped to the pits for a wheel change, but his final championship hopes were gone. “The contact took the valve out of the tyre and also bent the steering. It’s a shame; I wanted the championship to go down to the wire,” added Harvey.

Now, it was Watts, Faulkner and Templeman clear at the front of the pack and they raced to the flag in close formation, with Watts scoring win number 10 and Faulkner clinching the title. “That’s another perfect weekend,” said Watts. “I wanted to bounce back from Knockhill with a couple of wins!”

Faulkner, too, had realised his ambition for the weekend. “Absolutely fantastic,” he said. “It’s just brilliant to wrap the title up here and I’m just overwhelmed. It’ll take a day or two to sink in that we’ve won back-to-back titles,” he said. “I was prepared to risk things a bit more today, but there was nothing I could do about Danny,” he added.

Templeman had also enjoyed a strong race. “I got a good start and dispatched Tim nicely. Then it was a matter of staying behind Damien,” said Jason. Behind the leading trio, Caine and Williams battled for fourth and Caine was unlucky to lose the place at Paddock as the rejoining Harvey inadvertently held up his team-mate. By the end of the race, Williams and Caine had been caught by James Pickford (Macclesfield) after a mighty charge up the field from the back of the grid.

Edwards was a dominant Pro-Am winner on the road, having run with Williams and Caine for much of the race. “I was glad to see the flag,” explained Edwards. “I had a big vibration over the last two laps and I really had to slow down.”

However, Edwards was later excluded from the results for a technical infringement and so Purdie and Young moved up to first and second in Pro-Am after excellent races, while Rice raced hard to fend off Richards, Quaife and Ashburn after a race-long battle. Richards recovered strongly from a first-lap spin at Druids, but could not depose the defiant Rice. However, after his fine Pro-Am win on Saturday, Richards earned the Driver of the Weekend award, while Quaife was confirmed as Pro-Am champion after Edwards' exclusion.

Meanwhile, Shane Lynch in the Vertu-backed car had a short race in round 18, completing only a quarter distance before retiring.