The racers in the Michelin Porsche Cup should be refreshed and ready for
action over the weekend of July 7/8 at Brands Hatch as the championship resumes
after a four-week break. The Porsche Cup didn’t go to Castle Combe for the
most recent PowerTour, so they last raced at Rockingham in early June.
This will be the biggest weekend so far in the racing career of Kevin
Harrison. The Maidstone-based fire-fighter is a relative newcomer to racing, but
is having a brilliant season in his Porsche Carrera 2RS. Currently, he leads
class two as well as the overall championship table and is working very hard to
stay there. Despite limited funds, Kevin and his engineer Peter Grieves have had
the car bang on the class two pace every time out and won five times in 10
races.
At the head of the race will be the stunning GT3 Cup cars that have
transformed the championship this season. But the Brands Hatch weekend has added
significance for the current top four drivers, as the following weekend they
will be racing in front of the British Grand Prix crowd at Silverstone. The
UK-based Michelin Porsche Cup now uses the same cars as in the Porsche Supercup
that supports many Grands Prix each year. To mark that, the top four from the
British series will join their international counterparts for a very special
occasion.
The leading quartet is Nigel Rice, Peter Chambers, Adrian Slater and Mike
Salmon. In the meantime, they have to think about points at Brands, but keeping
the car in one piece for Silverstone could also be in their minds! With only 20
points splitting Rice from Chambers and Slater, the championship contest is
finely balanced, although it is Rice who has taken the initiative in recent
weeks.
Others to watch in class one include Basil Demeroutis, who is once again
raising funds for the CLIC charity this weekend, friends and rivals Craig Rapp
and Robi Bernberg and Barbara Armstrong. At Rockingham last time out, Barbara
really showed her speed and determination, battling hard for a podium finish.
With the big four having to drive with next weekend in mind, Barbara could go
for her first win. If it is wet or damp, her victory chances will be even
greater, for her rally experience has already shown itself in slippery
conditions.
Challenging Harrison in class two will be Yorkshiremen - Chris Heeley and
Andrew Shelley, both winners already this season. Paul Martin and Tim Bartlett
are also scoring consistently well, while Tom Combrink stormed through to win at
Rockingham. At present, Ian Croft is having class three pretty much to himself,
and will chase the class two pack in his 968CS.
Link: [points]Points Table[/points]
