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Richard Westbrook claimed a mighty double victory in the opening rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch over the weekend (8/9 April). With a 21-car field racing in front of a packed BTCC crowd, it was a great start to the season.
Race one
Despite starting third on the grid, Westbrook (Ipswich) dived past Damien Faulkner (Co Donegal) off the grid and then six laps later jumped ahead of Tim Harvey (Witney) going into Clearways corner. Once ahead, even a brief safety car period (to retrieve the car of Mark Hazell from Llanhennock, Monmouthshire) failed to unsettle Westbrook as he swept to victory.
“We got the car completely sorted for the race and it was absolutely spot on,” said an elated Westbrook, who drives for the Cleveland-based Red Line Racing team. “What a win! I’m just delighted.”
Things were far less comfortable for Harvey, however, as he spent lap after lap fending off the two Team Parker with SAS cars of Faulkner and, later in the race, Jason Templeman (Nottingham). The three cars were always incredibly close, but Harvey just held on over the 35-lap race. “That’s the first time we’ve run a race distance,” admitted Harvey, driving for Kent-based Motorbase Performance. “I made room for Richard when he dived up the inside and Damien was very fair to me; it was a very clean race.”
Faulkner was left to rue a poor start, before spending nearly 30 laps glued to the tail of Harvey’s car. “We just weren’t quick enough in the right places,” accepted Faulkner, who was never able to mount a decisive passing move. Meanwhile, Templeman shadowed his team-mate home to take fourth, only a second behind at the flag.
Down the field, battles raged throughout the race and it was Michael Caine (Newmarket) who fended off Richard Williams (Bromley-by-Bow, London) to take fifth. Caine had tried to go after the leading quartet, but lost touch when he was caught behind Mark Hales (Bedford) in the car entered by Porsche Cars GB, in association with Vertu, during mid-race lappery. Mark Cole (Newbury) had run ahead of Williams until being edged onto the grass at Graham Hill Bend and spinning while trying to lap a slower car.
Meanwhile, the new Pro-Am category proved an instant hit, with a fabulous contest raging race-long. Initially Phil Quaife (Tonbridge) made the running, but he slipped down the order with a spin at Druids as he suffered worsening oversteer. Nigel Rice (Beverley, East Yorks) then took over the category lead, but was under constant attack from Mike Richards (Knutsford). Then, in the closing stages Jason Young (Oakham, Leics) worked into contention from the back of the grid and nipped ahead of Richards for second when Richards had to back off when attacking Rice. “That was hard work,” admitted Rice after a great performance.
All the time Quaife was clawing his way back towards the leaders as Andy Purdie (Maidstone) claimed fifth in Pro-Am after starting last when the car stalled on the start line.
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