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Jota Sport emerged from their first Porsche Carrera Cup GB weekend with
two podiums and second position in the teams’ championship after an encouraging
showing at Brands Hatch.
Phil Quaife marked his return to the series with two third place
class-finishes and, had Sam Hancock not been taken out of the lead in race 1 by
a spinning Tim Bridgman, the team may even have taken a victory on their
debut.
Race 1
On a damp track and with drizzle in the air, Hancock’s late decision to
switch to wet tyres seemed to have paid dividends as he stormed from fifth on
the grid to lead into turn 1. Unfortunately, his race ended immediately when he
was collected by the spinning poleman Tim Bridgman and left beached in the
gravel at Paddock Hill Bend. Quaife, meanwhile, started the race on dry tyres
and a determined drive in slippery conditions was rewarded with fourth place
overall, third in the ‘Pro’ category, and 16 championship points.
Race 2
Sunday’s race took place in the dry with Quaife starting 4th and Hancock 5th,
the two having set near identical qualifying times. After an incident free start
both cars suffered with understeer leaving them unable to close on leading trio
Michael Caine, Bridgman and Tim Harvey. In the closing stages, Quaife began to
close the gap to third place Bridgman and was just a couple of car lengths
behind when the Team Parker Racing driver suffered a huge accident at Paddock
Hill Bend. With Quaife promoted to third and Hancock to fourth, the race was red
flagged with the just a handful of laps remaining due to the debris caused by
Bridgman’s off.
Sam Hignett, Team Principal: “Both drivers did a great job all
weekend, and although we still have some more pace to find, two podiums is a
fantastic return on our series debut. The team have been superb and to be just a
couple of points behind an established squad such as Team Parker Racing in the
teams’ championship is excellent news.”
Phil Quaife: “For a team new to the championship, the weekend was a
huge success. I can’t complain about two third places and I’m certain that we
can find that little bit extra to challenge the front two. I’d like to say a big
thank you to all the guys who have worked night and day to prepare the cars for
the start of the season.”
Sam Hancock: “Overall it’s a very positive start for the team. We’ve
had no mechanical problems all weekend which is of huge credit to the boys.
After such a great start, I think Race 1 would have been ours, so to be taken
out was hugely frustrating but that’s motor racing! In Race 2 we both struggled
a bit with understeer, but we still put some strong points on the board.”
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