Westbrook wins at Brands

Richard Westbrook was again the man to beat in round five of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch today (Saturday, 4 June).



Westbrook (Red Line Racing) fought ahead of early leader Damien Faulkner (Team Parker Racing) to score his fifth win in five races in a race that was shortened after Tim Harvey (Team RPM) crashed out of the race after contact with Jason Templeman (Team Parker Racing).

The opening laps of the race provided a superb spectacle as the leading four cars ran nose to tail in a mighty battle. Faulkner just got the better start from the outside of the front row to nose ahead of Westbrook on the sprint to the first corner. Harvey slotted into third with Templeman fourth.

“The first lap or two wasn’t too bad, but the car went off very, very quickly and it was difficult to keep Richard behind me,” explained Faulkner. Into Clearways for the eighth time, Westbrook saw his chance and dived through on the inside to take the lead. “I didn’t panic too much and was patient,” confirmed Westbrook. “I could see he was struggling into Clearways.”

Once ahead, Westbrook was able to steadily build his lead as Faulkner now had his hands full of Harvey and Templeman. Whilst trying to attack Faulkner, Harvey also had to defend from Templeman. Into Paddock for the 19th time, Templeman saw a gap on the inside line and ran side-by-side through Paddock Hill Bend with Harvey. However, as the foot of the hill, the cars touched and Harvey spun heavily into the tyre barrier on the inside of the circuit and, with his car abandoned on the track, the race was halted.

Up front, Westbrook had strengthened his grip on the title race with his fifth win. With Harvey removed from the results as the cause of the red flag, Jason Young (Red Line Racing) moved up to fourth after a mighty battle with first Alex Mortimer (Team RPM) and then Stephen Shanly (Red Line Racing).

However, Mortimer hit ABS dramas and spun at Clearways, while Shanly was forced to retire with gear linkage problems. Nigel Rice (Red Line Racing) had run a strong fifth for much of the race, but was penalised 10 seconds for a false start and dropped to ninth. All of that left the battling team mates Andy Britnell and Sam Edwards to take fifth and sixth for Motorbase Performance. Into seventh, went Susie Stoddart after an excellent performance in the Porsche Cars with Team Autosport entry as Mortimer took eighth.

Westbrook takes win number six

Richard Westbrook made it six wins from six rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch today (Sunday, 5 June).



With another masterful display, Westbrook (Red Line Racing) saw off the early challenge of Damien Faulkner (Team Parker Racing) to extend his championship lead to 22 points. Meanwhile, Tim Harvey was dealt another blow when he was forced to retire with a detached water pipe.

For Harvey, even being on the grid was a massive achievement. His car has been badly damaged in Saturday’s accident, but the crew at Team RPM worked late into the night to repair the damage, using parts taken from Alex Mortimer’s car and a loaned engine. Assistance from other teams, notably Motorbase Performance, helped get the car straightened out. “We couldn’t have done it without the help of the other teams,” said team boss Robin Mortimer on Sunday morning.

While Westbrook beat Faulkner to the first corner, Harvey pulled off an amazing start from eleventh on the grid to grab fourth at the first corner and then jumped ahead of Jason Templeman (Team Parker Racing) before the end of the opening lap. “I couldn’t hang about; I just had to go for it on the first lap,” admitted Tim.

Up front, Westbrook pulled out a lead of a couple of seconds and then controlled the race as Faulkner was not able to mount a challenge. “The main focus was to get a good start,” said Westbrook. “After that, the race was relatively simple.”

Sadly, Harvey’s amazing opening was not destined to bring a reward as he was forced into the pits after nine laps. That put Templeman back into third place. Into fine fourth and fifth places went the Motorbase Performance pair of Andy Britnell and Sam Edwards, both putting in excellent drives. “It’s good to come back into the championship and get two top six places,” said Britnell. Edwards, too, had impressed with his pace and consistency on his championship debut.

Another tremendous battle raged for sixth as Jason Young and Stephen Shanly from Red Line Racing battled with the flying Susie Stoddart (Porsche Cars with Team Autosport). Shanly eventually took the place, but had to fend off Stoddart in the closing stages.

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