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Porsche Carrera Cup GB 2011 Race 5 & 6 Thruxton
Sutton takes double Carrera Cup GB pole at Thruxton
James Sutton was the man on top in qualifying for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton today (30 April) when he took pole position for both rounds five and six of the championship. Jonas Gelzinis did the double In Pro-Am1, while George Brewster took both Pro-Am2 poles.
With his car nudging 165mph on the charge up Woodham Hill towards the Club Chicane, Sutton (SAS/Redline) became the fastest ever Carrera Cup driver at Thruxton by twice breaking the 1m14s barrier to secure an impressive double pole. 'We knew we had room for improvement after testing, but I didn't get the best out of my first set of tyres," said Sutton. His mid-session pit stop strategy worked well and Sutton was one of the first drivers to rejoin the session after his tyre change. 'I got 2.3 miles of clear track to give myself the best chance," he said after topping both grids.
Leading the challenge to Sutton was Euan Hankey (Parker with Juta), who also broke the 1m14s mark for the opening race. However, Hankey believed it could have been even better. 'I had a big moment into the chicane; I locked the rears and bounced over the middle kerb and it was still a 13.9s lap," said Hankey, who will start second for both races.
Third places were shared between Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) and Stephen Jelley (Parker with Juta). 'There was a lot of traffic, but I'm leading Pro-Am1 and that is the focus," said Gelzinis, who slipped to fifth for round six. Jelley, meanwhile, was confident that he would be strong for the races. 'We did a very good race run in testing and we're in good shape for tomorrow," he said.
Michael Meadows (SAS/Redline) and Tim Harvey (Nationwide/Motorbase) both took top six places for each race, but there was frustration for Harvey's team mate Michael Caine. 'We've got mega understeer; the car is very different to testing," said Caine who had been right on the pace in testing but will start in ninth place for both races.
While Gelzinis set a searing pace in Pro-Am1, Rory Butcher (Celtic Speed) was very impressive on his debut weekend at Thruxton to lead the chase of the Lithuanian driver. Importantly, Butcher did the fewest number o laps in qualifying to keep his tyres in as good a condition as possible at a track that it notoriously tough on tyres. 'I seem to have taken to the circuit relatively quickly and I'm in among the Pro drivers, which is where we want to be," said the Scot. On both grids, Ahmad Al Harthy (Oman Air/Redline) and Alex Martin (Dextra/JD Pierce by Parker) were third and fourth in Pro-Am1.
Making it a good session for Celtic Speed, Brewster headed Pro-Am2 for both races and, like his team mate, had been very conservative on tyre usage. 'It was excellent; we had a game plan to do the minimum number of laps to save the tyres," said Brewster. Andrew Shelley (Red Line Racing) was twice second for Pro-Am2, but felt that a better time was within reach, while third and fourth places in the Pro-Am2 were shared between Steve Parish (Motorbase Performance) and Keith Webster (Red Line Racing).
Sutton takes double Carrera Cup GB pole at Thruxton
James Sutton was the man on top in qualifying for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton today (30 April) when he took pole position for both rounds five and six of the championship. Jonas Gelzinis did the double In Pro-Am1, while George Brewster took both Pro-Am2 poles.
With his car nudging 165mph on the charge up Woodham Hill towards the Club Chicane, Sutton (SAS/Redline) became the fastest ever Carrera Cup driver at Thruxton by twice breaking the 1m14s barrier to secure an impressive double pole. 'We knew we had room for improvement after testing, but I didn't get the best out of my first set of tyres," said Sutton. His mid-session pit stop strategy worked well and Sutton was one of the first drivers to rejoin the session after his tyre change. 'I got 2.3 miles of clear track to give myself the best chance," he said after topping both grids.
Leading the challenge to Sutton was Euan Hankey (Parker with Juta), who also broke the 1m14s mark for the opening race. However, Hankey believed it could have been even better. 'I had a big moment into the chicane; I locked the rears and bounced over the middle kerb and it was still a 13.9s lap," said Hankey, who will start second for both races.
Third places were shared between Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) and Stephen Jelley (Parker with Juta). 'There was a lot of traffic, but I'm leading Pro-Am1 and that is the focus," said Gelzinis, who slipped to fifth for round six. Jelley, meanwhile, was confident that he would be strong for the races. 'We did a very good race run in testing and we're in good shape for tomorrow," he said.
Michael Meadows (SAS/Redline) and Tim Harvey (Nationwide/Motorbase) both took top six places for each race, but there was frustration for Harvey's team mate Michael Caine. 'We've got mega understeer; the car is very different to testing," said Caine who had been right on the pace in testing but will start in ninth place for both races.
While Gelzinis set a searing pace in Pro-Am1, Rory Butcher (Celtic Speed) was very impressive on his debut weekend at Thruxton to lead the chase of the Lithuanian driver. Importantly, Butcher did the fewest number o laps in qualifying to keep his tyres in as good a condition as possible at a track that it notoriously tough on tyres. 'I seem to have taken to the circuit relatively quickly and I'm in among the Pro drivers, which is where we want to be," said the Scot. On both grids, Ahmad Al Harthy (Oman Air/Redline) and Alex Martin (Dextra/JD Pierce by Parker) were third and fourth in Pro-Am1.
Making it a good session for Celtic Speed, Brewster headed Pro-Am2 for both races and, like his team mate, had been very conservative on tyre usage. 'It was excellent; we had a game plan to do the minimum number of laps to save the tyres," said Brewster. Andrew Shelley (Red Line Racing) was twice second for Pro-Am2, but felt that a better time was within reach, while third and fourth places in the Pro-Am2 were shared between Steve Parish (Motorbase Performance) and Keith Webster (Red Line Racing).