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All to play for in Carrera Cup GB at Oulton Park
Jonas Gelzinis heads the title race
Michael Meadows, Dean Stoneman and Dan Lloyd lead the chase
Victor Jimenez tops strong Pro-Am1 pack
After six rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, 2013 is shaping up to be one of the most open and competitive of recent seasons as the action resumes at the fabulous Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire (8/9 June).
After a five-week spring break following rounds five and six at Thruxton, four drivers have emerged as the major contenders for the overall title in the mighty 450bhp 911 GT3 Cup cars.
Three drivers have taken wins across those six races, but as the championship moves north, it is the consistent Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) who holds a single-point lead over defending champion Michael Meadows (Samsung Smart Motorsport). Meadows has had a mixed start to his season, with a couple of clashes denting his early points' scoring. However resounding wins at Donington (twice) and Thruxton show why he remains the favourite for the title.
Gelzinis, however, has been strong everywhere and heads to Oulton Park on top. The Lithuanian racer relishes the challenge of Oulton and will be determined to add his name to the list of 2013 race winners.
The driver who dominated the opening weekend of the season at Brands Hatch was Dean Stoneman (Redline Racing), but after that rocket start to his Carrera Cup career Dean has had a couple of mixed weekends. He will want to start the middle section of the season with the sort of form that put him straight to the top of the points at Brands.
Carrera Cup Scholarship racer Dan Lloyd (Team Parker Racing) scored a mighty victory at Thruxton to bounce back from two troubled weekends and has the pace to win again as he chips away at the points' gap to the top three. Meanwhile, Rory Butcher (Celtic Speed) is the fifth of the potential race winners and deserves a change in fortune after an up and down season to date.
In Pro-Am1, Spanish racer Victor Jimenez (Redline Racing) has established a handy early lead but his team mate Dan De Zille in particular is chasing hard after switching to Pro-Am1 before round three at Donington Park. However, back on the grid for Oulton Park and sure to make a big impact on the category are Irish brothers Michael and Karl Leonard with Team Parker Racing. Both are potential Pro-Am1 winners and Karl in particular is recognised as a real ace at the Cheshire track. Giving Pro-Am1 its best entry of the season to date should be Keith Webster (Redline Racing) who returns after missing the opening races due to a broken arm.
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Meadows tops Carrera Cup GB Qualifying at Oulton Park
Michael Meadows claims two pole positions
Jonas Gelzinis and Dan Lloyd take second places
Karl Leonard and Dan De Zille top Pro-Am1 times
Michael Meadows was the dominant force in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB during qualifying at Oulton Park today (Saturday 8 June) ahead of rounds seven and eight. Meadows claimed two pole positions in a session full of action, while Pro-Am1 poles were shared between Karl Leonard and Dan De Zille.
Dean Stoneman (Redline Racing) set the early pace but clipped the tyres at Knickerbrook on his fourth lap and damaged his steering. His session was over, but such was his initial pace that he still took fifth and third places on the two grids.
Meanwhile, Meadows (Samsung Smart Motorsport) was building his speed and swept to the top of the times on his second tyre run, setting the fastest ever Carrera Cup lap at Oulton Park on his way to pole for both races. Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) charged up to second place with a late push, while Dan Lloyd (Team Parker Racing) posted second best time for round eight.
In Pro-Am1, the times were extremely close as Leonard (Team Parker Racing), De Zille (Redline Racing) and Victor Jimenez (Redline Racing) were split by a fifth of a second for round seven. On the grid for round eight, De Zille edged ahead of Leonard. Meanwhile, Peter Smallwood (Parr Motorsport) headed Pro-Am2 despite ending his session with a spin at Druids and a minor off into the tyre wall as he pushed ever harder.
Michael Meadows (Samsung Smart Motorsport) first and first:
'I had to back off on the lap that Stoneman hit the tyres and it took a while to get the best out of my tyres. It was inevitable that everyone else would close the gap, but two poles are what we came here for. I hope that is the hardest part done."
Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) second and fifth:
'I had a big moment at the start and touched the tyres. I had to watch the data very carefully to check I had not damaged the radiator, but I was very lucky. Then I had a slow puncture in a rear tyre. I had to wait for a lot of laps to finally do a good time and the tyres had already done five laps by then."
Daniel Lloyd (Team Parker Racing) third and second:
'Michael is still a bit of time ahead, but we moved forward from yesterday and put it two good laps. It's just a shame about Michael's pace."
Karl Leonard (Team Parker Racing) first and second in Pro-Am1:
'That's not too bad, but I'm disappointed not to be closer to the front of the overall times. I made little mistakes on my two best laps, but anything can happen in the races."
Dan De Zille (Redline Racing) second and first in Pro-Am1:
'We made up some ground on Karl Leonard and I'm very pleased with how qualifying went. We're making good progress."
Round 7 grid:
Pro category: 1 Michael Meadows (1m22.788s); 2 Jonas Gelzinis (1m23.026s); 3 Dan Lloyd (1m23.248s).
Pro-Am1 category: 1 Karl Leonard (1m24.103s); 2 Dan De Zille (1m24.154s); 3 Victor Jimenez (1m24.295s).
Pro-Am2 category: 1 Peter Smallwood (1m26.164s).
Round 8 grid:
Pro category: 1 Michael Meadows (1m23.026s); 2 Dan Lloyd (1m23.250s); 3 Dean Stoneman (1m23.334s).
Pro-Am1 category: 1 Dan De Zille (1m24.283s); 2 Karl Leonard (1m24.297s); 3 Victor Jimenez (1m24.407s).
Pro-Am2 category: 1 Peter Smallwood (1m26.570s).
Jonas Gelzinis heads the title race
Michael Meadows, Dean Stoneman and Dan Lloyd lead the chase
Victor Jimenez tops strong Pro-Am1 pack
After six rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, 2013 is shaping up to be one of the most open and competitive of recent seasons as the action resumes at the fabulous Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire (8/9 June).
After a five-week spring break following rounds five and six at Thruxton, four drivers have emerged as the major contenders for the overall title in the mighty 450bhp 911 GT3 Cup cars.
Three drivers have taken wins across those six races, but as the championship moves north, it is the consistent Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) who holds a single-point lead over defending champion Michael Meadows (Samsung Smart Motorsport). Meadows has had a mixed start to his season, with a couple of clashes denting his early points' scoring. However resounding wins at Donington (twice) and Thruxton show why he remains the favourite for the title.
Gelzinis, however, has been strong everywhere and heads to Oulton Park on top. The Lithuanian racer relishes the challenge of Oulton and will be determined to add his name to the list of 2013 race winners.
The driver who dominated the opening weekend of the season at Brands Hatch was Dean Stoneman (Redline Racing), but after that rocket start to his Carrera Cup career Dean has had a couple of mixed weekends. He will want to start the middle section of the season with the sort of form that put him straight to the top of the points at Brands.
Carrera Cup Scholarship racer Dan Lloyd (Team Parker Racing) scored a mighty victory at Thruxton to bounce back from two troubled weekends and has the pace to win again as he chips away at the points' gap to the top three. Meanwhile, Rory Butcher (Celtic Speed) is the fifth of the potential race winners and deserves a change in fortune after an up and down season to date.
In Pro-Am1, Spanish racer Victor Jimenez (Redline Racing) has established a handy early lead but his team mate Dan De Zille in particular is chasing hard after switching to Pro-Am1 before round three at Donington Park. However, back on the grid for Oulton Park and sure to make a big impact on the category are Irish brothers Michael and Karl Leonard with Team Parker Racing. Both are potential Pro-Am1 winners and Karl in particular is recognised as a real ace at the Cheshire track. Giving Pro-Am1 its best entry of the season to date should be Keith Webster (Redline Racing) who returns after missing the opening races due to a broken arm.
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Meadows tops Carrera Cup GB Qualifying at Oulton Park
Michael Meadows claims two pole positions
Jonas Gelzinis and Dan Lloyd take second places
Karl Leonard and Dan De Zille top Pro-Am1 times
Michael Meadows was the dominant force in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB during qualifying at Oulton Park today (Saturday 8 June) ahead of rounds seven and eight. Meadows claimed two pole positions in a session full of action, while Pro-Am1 poles were shared between Karl Leonard and Dan De Zille.
Dean Stoneman (Redline Racing) set the early pace but clipped the tyres at Knickerbrook on his fourth lap and damaged his steering. His session was over, but such was his initial pace that he still took fifth and third places on the two grids.
Meanwhile, Meadows (Samsung Smart Motorsport) was building his speed and swept to the top of the times on his second tyre run, setting the fastest ever Carrera Cup lap at Oulton Park on his way to pole for both races. Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) charged up to second place with a late push, while Dan Lloyd (Team Parker Racing) posted second best time for round eight.
In Pro-Am1, the times were extremely close as Leonard (Team Parker Racing), De Zille (Redline Racing) and Victor Jimenez (Redline Racing) were split by a fifth of a second for round seven. On the grid for round eight, De Zille edged ahead of Leonard. Meanwhile, Peter Smallwood (Parr Motorsport) headed Pro-Am2 despite ending his session with a spin at Druids and a minor off into the tyre wall as he pushed ever harder.
Michael Meadows (Samsung Smart Motorsport) first and first:
'I had to back off on the lap that Stoneman hit the tyres and it took a while to get the best out of my tyres. It was inevitable that everyone else would close the gap, but two poles are what we came here for. I hope that is the hardest part done."
Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) second and fifth:
'I had a big moment at the start and touched the tyres. I had to watch the data very carefully to check I had not damaged the radiator, but I was very lucky. Then I had a slow puncture in a rear tyre. I had to wait for a lot of laps to finally do a good time and the tyres had already done five laps by then."
Daniel Lloyd (Team Parker Racing) third and second:
'Michael is still a bit of time ahead, but we moved forward from yesterday and put it two good laps. It's just a shame about Michael's pace."
Karl Leonard (Team Parker Racing) first and second in Pro-Am1:
'That's not too bad, but I'm disappointed not to be closer to the front of the overall times. I made little mistakes on my two best laps, but anything can happen in the races."
Dan De Zille (Redline Racing) second and first in Pro-Am1:
'We made up some ground on Karl Leonard and I'm very pleased with how qualifying went. We're making good progress."
Round 7 grid:
Pro category: 1 Michael Meadows (1m22.788s); 2 Jonas Gelzinis (1m23.026s); 3 Dan Lloyd (1m23.248s).
Pro-Am1 category: 1 Karl Leonard (1m24.103s); 2 Dan De Zille (1m24.154s); 3 Victor Jimenez (1m24.295s).
Pro-Am2 category: 1 Peter Smallwood (1m26.164s).
Round 8 grid:
Pro category: 1 Michael Meadows (1m23.026s); 2 Dan Lloyd (1m23.250s); 3 Dean Stoneman (1m23.334s).
Pro-Am1 category: 1 Dan De Zille (1m24.283s); 2 Karl Leonard (1m24.297s); 3 Victor Jimenez (1m24.407s).
Pro-Am2 category: 1 Peter Smallwood (1m26.570s).