|
[Porsche Carrera Cup GB]Two More Podium Places Keep Faulkner In Porsche Hunt |
|
|
|
|
Monday, 18 July 2005 |
Two More Podium Places Keep Faulkner In Porsche Hunt As Home Event Approaches
Damien Faulkner is looking forward to his home event at Mondello Park this weekend following another pair of Porsche Carrera Cup GB rostrum finishes at Croft on Sunday. A third in the shortened race one and Second in race two leaves the Donegal racer lying second in the standings just nine points adrift of series leader Richard Westbrook with the championship almost at it's half way point.
Faulkner has an opportunity to move into a clear lead in the Porsche Cup next Saturday at Mondello when the re-scheduled round eight takes place. Westbrook is not eligible to start Saturday's extra race as he did not take the start of the original event which has handed the Irish driver an incredible opportunity to steal a march on his rival on home ground.
The tone of Sunday's Croft double header was set in qualifying where a combination of a less than ideal set up and bad luck with traffic left Faulkner trailing in fourth. "We couldn't get the car dialled in and nothing went right so I did not get the best out of my new tyres." was Faulkner's response to his performance. "I am very disappointed with fourth and we are left with a lot of head scratching to do before the race to try and get things right."
Away from the lights in race one Faulkner found himself behind Team SAS International team mate Jason Templeman but he was handed a second chance when the race was red flagged on lap two. Following a lengthy stoppage Faulkner made the best of the restart, pulling alongside the leaders on the run to the first turn. Finding himself on the outside and with second placed starter Tim Harvey moving across to take his line for the corner, Faulkner had to back off and slot into third. The Irish driver pushed Harvey hard over the next few laps and was preparing to make his move when he was surprised to see the chequered flag after only six laps, ending his hopes of passing Harvey and chasing down Westbrook.
Third place in race one meant starting behind Harvey and Westbrook for the second race. A poor start meant that no progress was made but third place was retained into the first turn. Faulkner was not interested in looking at the back of Harvey's car again in race two and sliced past the experienced Englishman at the hairpin at the end of lap one. Following a dummy to the outside the SAS car dived down the inside an grabbed second place. Over the remaining laps Faulkner drove as hard as he ever has but was unable to make any real impression on Westbrook. The two leaders pulled steadily away from the field but the gap between them stayed in the region of a second throughout the race. At the flag the order was Westbrook just over a second clear of Faulkner with Harvey a further five seconds back.
"I could do nothing about Richard today." said Faulkner after race two. "When I was following him I was pushing really hard and was right on the limit, and sometimes over it, yet he and his car looked relaxed in comparison. We still have a bit of work to do to get on his pace but I firmly believe we will get there. I have my 'game in hand' at Mondello which is a great opportunity for me to take the championship lead, and if we can get the car spot on, two more wins would set the second half of the season up very nicely."
Qualifying for rounds 11 & 12 takes place at Mondello on Saturday morning with the re-scheduled round eight slated for 16.00 Saturday evening. Rounds eleven and twelve take place on Sunday at 11:35 and 15:20 respectively.
|
News