Porsche Carrera Cup second half starts at Donington Park

The next eight weeks will be the critical period in the battle for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB as the second half of the season starts at Donington Park (Leicestershire) this weekend (14/15 July). With eight of the remaining 10 races to run by the first weekend of September, the title contenders know that they are entering the deciding period in the season.

All three of the top drivers will head to Donington fresh from racing in the Porsche Supercup race supporting the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday (8 July), but now it is time to focus once again on the Carrera Cup title race, where just 22 points cover the trio. That's equivalent to one non-finish, so it's all to play for.

Kane (Brixworth) claimed a double win last time out at Oulton Park to stretch his title lead to 16 points and relishes the prospect of racing the 400bhp 911GT3 Cup car at Donington for the first time. "I love Donington," says Steven. "It's one of the best circuits in Britain and I'm really looking forward to the races."

Donington is also a venue that has been good to Harvey (Oxford) over the years and he knows that he needs to beat Kane this weekend to start clawing back some points as he bids for the title he's chased for the last three seasons. "We're coming off the Supercup race at Silverstone in good shape and taking that to Donington," says Tim.

Sutton (Barnet), racing alongside Harvey at Red Line Racing, is also having a superb debut season in Porsches and is now just six points behind his team mate with 10 races still to run. Having finished 12th overall in the Supercup race at Silverstone, Sutton is confident of a strong weekend at Donington.

But this is not just about the three drivers at the head of the points, and Michael Caine (Newmarket) came so close to scoring his debut Carrera Cup win at Oulton Park. He has the pace to win at Donington, while Sam Hancock (Clapham) is getting ever closer to the leading pace.

New into the pro category at Donington will be David Epton (Preston) and Jon Barnes (Southampton), both joining Team Parker Racing. Epton is new to Porsche racing, while Barnes has already shown excellent Carrera Cup form when racing the Porsche Motorsport entry. In the guest car at Donington will be rising single-seater star Oliver Jarvis (Cambridge), who will take time out of contesting the All Japan F3 Series to make his sports car racing debut.

Meanwhile, the contest in the pro-am category gets ever tougher, although a superb run of success has given Nigel Rice (Beverley) a handy lead at the moment. But Andy Britnell (Hildenborough, Kent) and Charles Bateman (Boston) got the better of Rice at Oulton Park, while Pete Osborne (Worksop) and Colin Willmott (Redditch) are chasing hard and Maxi Jazz (London) will be aiming to make his overdue 2007 debut.

However, at the head of the race three drivers are shaping up for an absorbing title race over the second half of the season. Any one of them could be champion!