News 2006: Motorbase Takes Three Carrera Cup Podiums at Donington
Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain
30th July
Motorbase Performance bagged another three podium finishes as well as the 'driver of the weekend' award during rounds 11 and 12 of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Donington Park over the weekend (29/30 July).
In front of a packed BTCC crowd, the Motorbase cars of Tim Harvey, Michael Caine and Phil Quaife all showed tremendous speed and after the weekend's pair of races Harvey continues to battle for the championship title while Quaife stays clear at the top of the pro-am title race.
Harvey claimed a second and a third place as he went head to head with Damien Faulkner in both races. In the end, they each took a second and a third place to stay just seven points apart at the head of the table.
"We've worked hard on the car since the last round again to find some more performance," said Harvey. He took third place on the grid for the first race, but only a fraction of a second covered the leading three drivers as Motorbase's Michael Caine rivalled Danny Watts for pole. "Qualifying was really close and it could have been any of the three of us on pole position," he added.
In Saturday's first race, Harvey chased Danny Watts and Faulkner and the three leading cars ran nose-to-tail in the first half of the race. "In the first race, the car felt good early on, but by lap seven or eight it was working its rear tyres hard and by the end of the race I was just pleased to get the car home," he admitted after finishing third.
In the second race, Harvey dived ahead of Faulkner heading into the Old Hairpin after a safety car period. "He went very defensive down the Craner Curves," said Harvey after going ahead in a bold move. Harvey then held second to the flag, but Faulkner was seldom more than half a second behind.
The weekend started in stunning style for Quaife as he posted third fastest time overall in the pre-race test sessions on Thursday. "I'm really chuffed to be third during testing. I'm going to leave the car just as it is for the races! The car was absolutely fantastic," he said. That from continued in qualifying on Saturday when he set the pace in the pro-am category. "I was very happy to be on pro-am pole, but Andy Purdie did a very impressive time. The first race is going to be tight between us."
However, in the opening race, Quaife was able to break clear of the rest of the pro-am pack and win the category as well as finish a strong fifth overall. "Very happy!" said an elated Quaife as he took the top pro-am podium step. "The car was fantastic and I was able to put in some very good laps."
Unfortunately, his second race was over by the first corner when he was hit from behind by the car of Sam Edwards as the pack charged towards the first corner. Phil's car suffered a damaged rear wheel and he was out on the spot.
Although Caine's weekend was to prove rather frustrating, he made a massive step forward in qualifying to take pole position mid-session and it took another big effort from Watts to edge Caine back to second on the grid. "That's where I expected to be at start of the season," he admitted. "It's a great result for the Motorbase team."
However, on the opening lap of the first race he was clipped by another car at the Old Hairpin and dropped to the back of the pack after a trip over the grass and through the gravel. He still fought back, and after another spin when a slower car blocked him, Michael got back up to ninth. That meant another charge up the order on Sunday and he ended the weekend in sixth place, earning the 'driver of the weekend' award in the process.
The Carrera Cup season continues for rounds 13 and 14 at Snetterton on 12/13 August.
Provisional 2006 driver championship points positions:
| Pos | Driver | Total Points |
| 1 | Damien Faulkner | 201 |
| 2 | Tim Harvey | 194 |
| 3 | Danny Watts | 143 |
| 4 | Richard Williams | 134 |
| 5 | Phil Quaife | 111 |
| 6 | Jason Templeman | 94 |
| 7 | Sam Edwards | 77 |
| 8 | Michael Caine | 69 |
| 9 | Nigel Rice | 67 |
| 10 | David Ashburn | 66 |
| 11 | Richard Westbrook | 64 |
| 12 | Jason Young | 63 |
| 13 | Mark Cole | 51 |
| 14 | Mike Richards | 46 |
| 15 | Andy Purdie | 45 |
| 16 | Mark Hazell | 44 |
| 17 | Pete Osbourne | 35 |
| 18 | Maxi Jazz | 25 |
| 19 | Alex Mortimer | 22 |
| 20 | Phil Hindley | 10 |
| 21 | Paul Warren | 2 |
| 22 | Paul Hogarth | 1 |
| 23 | Piers Masarati | 0 |
| = | Tim Sugden | 0 |
| Pro-am category | ||
| 1 | Phil Quaife | 111 |
| 2 | Sam Edwards | 77 |
| 3 | Nigel Rice | 67 |
| 4 | David Ashburn | 66 |
| 5 | Jason Young | 63 |
| 6 | Mike Richards | 46 |
| 7 | Andy Purdie | 45 |
| 8 | Mark Hazell | 44 |
| 9 | Pete Osbourne | 35 |
| 10 | Maxi Jazz | 25 |
| 11 | Alex Mortimer | 22 |
| 12 | Paul Warren | 2 |
| 13 | Paul Hogarth | 1 |
Provisional 2006 team championship points positions:
| Pos | Driver | Total Points | Scoring Drivers |
| 1 | Team Parker Racing | 295 | Faulkner and Templeman |
| 2 | Red Line Racing | 274 | Westbrook/Watts and Rice |
| 3 | Motorbase Performance | 263 | Harvey and Caine |
| 4 | IN2RACING | 180 | Williams and Richards |
| 5 | Trackspeed | 66 | Ashburn and Masarati |
| 6 | Tech 9 Motorsport | 57 | Hindley and Cole |
| 7 | Paragon with RH Motorsport | 45 | Purdie |
| 8 | Team O | 35 | Osbourne |
| 9 | Team RPM | 26 | Cole and Mortimer |
Note:
Only two cars per team can score points towards the team championship.
The scoring cars had to be nominated prior to the opening race of the season.
