Kane takes Porsche Carrera Cup GB double at Thruxton

Steven Kane scored a superb double victory in rounds five and six of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton over the weekend (5/6 May). While Tim Harvey and James Sutton chased Kane throughout, Nigel Rice also took a double in the pro-am category.

Round five

Kane (Brixworth) got the jump off the line to lead into the first corner from Harvey (Oxford), while Michael Caine (Newmarket) challenged Sutton (Barnet) for third, but got boxed in at the Complex and again at the Chicane. By the end of the first lap, Caine’s excellent start had been badly rewarded and he was down to eighth place.

Up front, Kane had to push very hard to build even a small margin over his pursuers, as Sam Hancock (Clapham) chased in fourth. Gradually, the top three edged clear, with Kane taking a lead of around a second as Harvey chased. But mid-race, the gap began to grow as Harvey, unwell before the weekend, started to feel even worse. “I did feel really bad about halfway through the race,” admitted Tim, who dropped away from Kane and had to concentrate on keeping ahead of Sutton.

That made certain of a second win of the season for Kane after an exemplary drive. His main concern was adapting to the heat inside the cockpit. “It’s hard to believe how warm you get inside the car,” he said on the podium after clawing three more points back from Harvey’s championship lead.

Sutton was right behind team mate Harvey over the line. “That was a tough race,” said Sutton. “I made a couple of mistakes mid-race,” he added after another podium visit. Hancock ran fourth, but was being caught over the closing stages by Kelvin Burt (Banbury) and Caine. “That’s another step forward, and it’s just about getting everything right,” said Hancock.

Burt, meanwhile, had driven a strong race despite losing time in the traffic at the Complex on the first lap. “I lost two places then, but it’s a good result for the team,” he acknowledged. Caine was sixth, but disappointed to have lost out so much on the opening lap, while Rob Collard (Fleet) was seventh after working ahead of Rice.

In fact, though he took a commanding pro-am victory, Rice dropped to ninth place right at the chequered flag when Matt Howson (Preston) just pipped him in a sprint to the flag. The margin was five-hundredths of a second. Andy Britnell (Hildenborough, Kent) took second in pro-am, while Pete Osborne (Mansfield) claimed his first pro-am podium after coming out on top of a race-long battle with Charles Bateman (Lincoln).

Round six

Kane swept ahead at the start of round six to lead from Harvey, as the race ran under a safety car for six laps after a major accident for Burt. Contact at Segrave on the first lap of the race with the car of Sutton as they went side by side into the corner pitched Burt’s car into a series of rolls. Although Burt was uninjured, he was later taken to hospital for observation. When the race resumed, Kane was able to fend off an early challenge from Harvey as they pulled clear of the pack. “I pushed really hard to start with as I knew it was my best chance,” said Harvey. But Kane responded and with Harvey feeling decidedly unwell, that was how they stayed.

For Kane, it was a third straight win and the result moves him to within two points of Harvey in the title race. “I ruined my front tyres on qualifying and I was worried about that,” said Kane. “Tim is really good round here, but every time he pushed, I pushed.” The performance of Kane in particular earned Motorbase Performance the ‘RAC team of the weekend’ award.

The battle for third went all the way to the line and it was only on the final lap that Sutton was able to squeeze ahead of Hancock, as Caine chased them home. “Sam was driving very well, but I lined up a move on him in the Complex,” said Sutton. “He got past me at the one corner I was struggling,” added Hancock.

Behind Caine, Matt Howson drove an excellent race to work up from eighth on the grid and was closing on the Sutton/Hancock/Caine battle at the finish. “Everyone in this championship is seriously good; the standard is immense,” said Howson.

Rice again topped the pro-am category, and came close to grabbing seventh overall from Collard. “I drove harder today going after Rob Collard,” said Rice after his fifth pro-am win in six races. With Britnell falling away after losing his car’s front splitter, it was Bateman and Osborne who completed the pro-am podium. Osborne also earned the ‘RAC driver of the weekend’ award for scoring his debut podium finishes.