Caine and Sutton take Porsche Carrera Cup wins at Donington

Michael Caine and James Sutton claimed victories in a fine weekend of racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Donington Park , Leicestershire (16/17 May). While Tim Harvey took over the Championship lead, it was Caine and Sutton taking the wins, with Sutton making it four race winners from six races.

Round five

Caine scored a tremendous victory after a grandstand finish to round five. Caine beat Tim Harvey and Sutton in a dramatic scramble to the line, with 14-hundredths of a second covering the three cars. In Pro-Am1, Robert Lawson raced to a fine win while Paul Hogarth claimed Pro-Am2 after a long battle with Bob Lyons.

There was disaster at the start for Tim Bridgman (Stansted) who lost his pole position when a driveshaft failed on the green flag lap. That left Caine (Newmarket) to head the pack into Redgate, with Sutton (Barnet) and Harvey (Oxford) chasing hard. Initially, Tom Bradshaw (Blackburn) went with the leading trio, but a moment under braking at Redgate dropped him a few seconds.

Up front, Caine led lap after lap with Sutton his ever-present shadow and Harvey just a few lengths back. “I got a little gap on James, but as soon as I pushed I started losing grip,” said Caine. Under braking for Redgate, Sutton would close right up, but Caine could rebuild his slender lead on the exit of the Old Hairpin. “It was stalemate for a long time as we were all looking after our tyres,” said Harvey.

Meanwhile, Lawson (Richmond, Yorks) had battled clear of the rest of the pro-am1 pack to go clear in fifth overall, as Michael Leonard (Ireland), Tony Gilham (Dartford) and Derek Pierce (West Kilbride) battled with Aaron Steele (Chatham) in the Porsche Cars GB entry. In Pro-Am2, Hogarth (Knutsford) and Lyons (Aberdeen) were nose-to-tail for lap after lap.

The contest at the head of the race came down the final corner of the last lap and Sutton saw a chance as they braked for the chicane. He got partly alongside Caine and they touched, which sent Caine over the grass and slowed them both. Out of the corner, Caine had to defend from Sutton, but Harvey had got a run on both of them and the cars were virtually three abreast as they crossed the line, with Harvey grabbing second from Sutton in a blanket finish. “I thought there was room and I was later on the brakes; I had to go for it,” said Sutton. “It was a great finish and I managed to pick up a place,” said Harvey after a thrilling climax to a superb race.

Bradshaw was a clear fourth from Lawson, who became the first driver to take a second Pro-Am1 victory this season. “I made things a bit difficult for myself in qualifying, so I’m very pleased with the result,” said Lawson. When Leonard spun at the chicane, Gilham moved through to second in pro-am1, but losing three places on the opening lap when Steele dived through cost Gilham any chance of taking the battle to Lawson. Never far behind Gilham to make it a good race for the JHR team was Pierce, who duly completed the Pro-Am1 podium.

In Pro-Am2, the fine battle between Hogarth and Lyons ran for lap after lap, although early on Glenn McMenamin (Milton Keynes) ran between them in an impressive debut until gearbox dramas sent him to the pits. Now it was Hogarth fending off Lyons and only in the final stages did the gap start to grow. “Excellent,” said Hogarth. “Bob pushed me hard but I managed to keep him at bay.” “I just asked too much of my tyres, but he wasn’t giving anything up easily,” countered Lyons.

Round six

Sutton made it four race winners from six races when he won round six in tricky weather conditions. In Pro-Am1, Glynn Geddie (Aberdeen) mastered some tough conditions to take a fine win, while Hogarth completed a Pro-Am2 double win.

Sutton tracked early leader Bridgman as rain made conditions really challenging. Finally, on lap 14 Sutton dived ahead with a tremendous move at the Old Hairpin as Bridgman struggled for grip. Harvey completed the top three, while title contender Caine slithered home sixth after gambling on running worn wet tyres rather than new wets.

The rain arrived just before the start and all the cars switched to wet tyres. However, the Motorbase team sent Caine out on worn wets, thinking it would be the right choice on a track that was not too soaked. But more rain soon came and Caine and his team mate Ollie Jackson (Ely) were in trouble.

Up front, Bridgman led the field away and, with Sutton in tow, quickly went clear. But Bridgman knew he was in trouble as the team had not been able to re-set the tyre pressures on the grid. “It cost me dear, but it wasn’t the team’s fault,” said Bridgman. “By mid-race I was struggling.” Meanwhile, Sutton was getting stronger and stronger and finally went through by slicing down the inside into the Old Hairpin. “The car was fantastic; if the car hadn’t been that good I wouldn’t have been able to pull off the move,” said Sutton. Once ahead, Sutton went clear for an emphatic victory.

Bradshaw ran a strong third over the first half of the race, having passed Harvey on the second lap as the reigning champion struggled with a major vibration. However, as the race developed, Bradshaw found his tyres overheating and Harvey was eventually able to move back ahead and take the final podium position.

Geddie ran a good race to take Pro-Am1 victory and fifth overall behind Bradshaw. “I like those conditions,” said Geddie, who went well clear of the struggling Caine. “I’ve never driven with so little grip,” admitted Caine.

He was nearly caught later in the race by Lawson who completed a good weekend with second in pro-am1 from Leonard. However, Leonard had been running behind Caine until a trip over the grass at Starkey’s Bridge removed the front splitter from his car and left him struggling.

Hogarth wrapped up a great weekend with another pro-am2 victory, this time going well clear of Lyons as McMenamin battled with Lyons in the early laps before a spin into the gravel at Coppice.