Sutton takes Porsche Carrera Cup double at Rockingham

James Sutton made it four wins in a row during rounds 17 and 18 of the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Rockingham over the weekend (19/20 September 2009). By leading Michael Caine, Tim Bridgman and Tim Harvey to the flag, Sutton set up a dramatic three-way title shoot out in the deciding races at Brands Hatch on 4 October; just eight points covers the top three drivers.

Round 17

Sutton (Barnet) got the jump on Harvey (Oxford) off the grid as Bridgman (Stansted) and Michael Caine (Newmarket) slotted into third and fourth. This quartet quickly went clear of the pack and ran nose-to-tail for much of the race. With the cars so evenly matched, the places did not change, but the result was always in doubt as Harvey shadowed Sutton and Caine challenged Bridgman.

“It was very hard work,” admitted Sutton. “At one stage I thought I’d got the jump on Tim, but he came back at me.” Harvey, however, had championship points uppermost in his mind. “I wasn’t going to do anything silly,” said Harvey. “We just needed to get our heads down and stay away.” Over the second half of the race Caine was constantly looking for a chance to pass Bridgman, but that was how it stayed to the flag, although they ran side by side into Brook on one lap. “It was just an average race and I didn’t get a great start,” said Bridgman.

Fifth overall and a commanding Pro-Am1 victory went to Robert Lawson (Richmond, Yorkshire), who kept ahead of the class battling to score an important victory. “It was a case of watching the mirrors and monitoring the gap,” said Lawson. His result became even more important when his key title rivals Glynn Geddie (Aberdeen) and Tony Gilham (Dartford) both failed to finish. Initially, Gilham ran second from Ollie Jackson (Attleborough) and Geddie. Then, under braking for Deene on lap seven, Geddie dived inside Jackson and unfortunately ran into the side of Gilham, who was out straight away. Geddie tried to struggle on after a pit stop, but was later given the black and orange flag due to suspension damage. That ensured second place in Pro-Am1 for Jackson after a strong race to sixth overall. “That was hard work, but it couldn’t have gone better,” said Jackson.

Third in Pro-Am1 finally went to championship newcomer Alex Martin (Somerset), despite a couple of first lap moments. He then thought he had a drive through penalty when he struggled to see the numbers being shown on the start gantry, so visited the pits as a precaution. He quickly rejoined and took third when Tommy Dreelan (Aberdeen) picked up a puncture late in the race.

The Pro-Am2 result was heavily affected by the same drive through issue as early leader Glenn McMenamin (Milton Keynes) also dived into the pits in error. With Paul Hogarth (Knutsford) out after swiping the wall at Turn 1, Steve Parish (London) scored a famous win, first time out. “I was just trying to take it easy,” said Parish. “I just wanted to stay out of trouble and it paid off.” A frustrated McMenamin rejoined and charged back through to second, passing Paul Mace (London) in the closing stages as Mace struggled without a front splitter on his spoiler. However, Mace was later excluded from the results over a flag infringement.

Round 18

Sutton once again got the jump off the grid and led into the race, but it nearly all went wrong as they braked for Deene on lap three. A lap earlier Lawson hit the wall at Turn 1 and dropped coolant at Deene as he limped into retirement. When Sutton led the pack around on the next lap, he was first to find the slippery track and overshot the corner. Harvey followed suit, and flat-spotted his tyres as he tried to slow the car down. That allowed Bridgman and Caine to get ahead of Harvey, as Sutton just managed to retain the lead.

While Sutton headed the quartet, Caine made the best progress and dived through to second when he got inside Bridgman into Tarzan on lap eight. Caine then moved in on Sutton and pushed the leader all the way to the flag as Bridgman and Harvey slipped away a little in third and fourth. “He was hounding me an awful lot,” said Sutton of Caine. “I was just being cautious with the tyres,” added Sutton after another fine victory.

“I think we had the car to win, but James did a good job,” said Caine after taking second, while third place was significant for Bridgman as he finished ahead of Harvey. “We just didn’t have the pace over a race distance,” said Bridgman, while Harvey was relieved to salvage fourth place with his flat-spotted tyres.

Into a superb fifth overall went Pro-Am1 winner Jackson, having stayed clear of class rival Gilham with a faultless drive. “I just locked onto the back of Tim Harvey and kept an eye on the mirrors now and again,” said Jackson after his first Pro-Am1 victory. Gilham had strong early pace as he tigered through to sixth, but found his car’s handling falling away as the race developed. With Lawson out, third in Pro-Am1 was an important finish for Geddie, despite handling problems. The Abderdeen ace goes in to the final two races of the year just one point behind Lawson.

Seventh was scant reward for a tremendous drive from Tom Bradshaw (Blackburn) who, along with Lewis Hopkins, was awarded the 2009 Carrera Cup Scholarship. Tom ran as high as third off the start, but spun at Yentwood when giving Bridgman room. He then stormed back through the field and took overall fastest lap in the process.

McMenamin always had the measure of Pro-Am2, although mid-race Parish closed the gap. “It’s harder than you think to stay out front, said McMenamin after a well-judged win. “It was about managing the tyres.” With Parish out later with a puncture, Hogarth took second in Pro-Am2 from Mace.

The close racing that is such a thrilling characteristic of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship also sees just two points separating Robin Clark and Glenn McMenamin in the Pro-Am2 title chase.

The final round in the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship takes place on the iconic Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit on October 3 – 4 and will see the destination of the overall championship decided as well as that for the Pro-Am1 and Pro-Am2 championships.

The Teams’ Championship was sewn up at Rockingham by Red Line Racing, having amassed an unbeatable score ahead of the final weekend of the season. The runner-up position will be settled at Brands Hatch between Team Parker Racing and Motorbase Performance. Cleveland-based Red Line, headed by Simon Leonard, has a superb record in the Carrera Cup GB and scored points through the 2009 season with lead drivers Tim Harvey and James Sutton. This marks the third Teams’ title for Red Line Racing, following previous successes in 2004 and 2007.

Leonard says that winning the Teams’ title is the perfect launch pad into the 2010 season, when the equipe will expand into running parallel teams in the Porsche Supercup, which supports selected Formula 1 Grand Prix, and the Carrera Cup GB. The Supercup squad will run under the Team SAS banner, while the team will also continue to field a multi-car squad in the Carrera Cup GB.