Euan Hankey took the honours of fastest Porsche Carrera Cup GB driver during practice today as the BTCC package heads to Croft. With Hankey taking the top spot championship leader Tim Harvey had to settle for second fastest time of the day.
Despite setting the quickest time Hankey says he feels he can still make up more time. “On old tyres the car was absolutely brilliant, but I didn’t find as much time on the new tyres as I expected,” said the Carrera Cup Scholarship driver. “But I think I know where I can find the time.”
Tim Harvey also believed that he could get more out of his car as he focuses on qualifying tomorrow. “I had a big miss with a slower car at Barcroft and lost a couple of laps through traffic,” said Harvey. “Qualifying is so important here and I think we can go quicker.”
Stephen Jelley set the fastest time of the day in the first session and finished the day in a solid third place. The ex-BTCC star was positive at the end of the day. “It’s a good start; we’ve just got to carry it through the weekend,”
Championship challenger Michael Caine chose not to use his new tyres and finished the session in fourth, just 0.364s behind the fastest time of Hankey.
In fitfh place Ollie Jackson lead the pro-am1 category as four-tenths of a second covered the top six. “It was a slightly untidy lap but I’m happy with the pace of the car,” said Jackson.
Jonas Gelzinis continued to impress the paddock as he learns the new circuits. Gelzinis also chose not to run on new tyres today. “I drive only with old tyres,” said the Lithuanian racer. “I hope to improve between five and seven-tenths on new tyres in qualifying.”
Tom Bradshaw rounded out the top ten based on his morning times after a car vibration prevented him from taking part in the second session of the day.
Mark Hazell set the pace in the pro-am2 category as he returned to Croft in a Porsche for the first time in four years. George Richardson finshed second on old tyres followed by Glenn McMenamin and Paul Mace.
Combined times
| POS | # | CL | NAME | ENTRY | 1st SESSION | LAPS | 2nd SESSION | LAPS | GAP | DIFF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | P | Euan HANKEY | Team Parker Racing | 1:23.717 | 17 | 1:22.852 | 17 | ||
| 2 | 3 | P | Tim HARVEY | Redline Racing | 1:23.858 | 16 | 1:22.860 | 22 | 0.008 | 0.008 |
| 3 | 70 | P | Stephen JELLEY | Team Parker Racing | 1:23.618 | 21 | 1:22.967 | 17 | 0.115 | 0.107 |
| 4 | 44 | P | Michael CAINE | Motorbase Performance | 1:23.970 | 14 | 1:23.216 | 11 | 0.364 | 0.249 |
| 5 | 48 | A1 | Ollie JACKSON | Motorbase Performance | 1:24.801 | 17 | 1:23.250 | 13 | 0.398 | 0.034 |
| 6 | 7 | P | Glynn GEDDIE | Team Parker Racing | 1:23.978 | 21 | 1:23.271 | 20 | 0.419 | 0.021 |
| 7 | 8 | A1 | Jonas GELZINIS | Juta Racing | 1:25.930 | 20 | 1:23.949 | 20 | 1.097 | 0.678 |
| 8 | 9 | P | Michael MEADOWS | Redline Racing | 1:24.624 | 19 | 1:24.141 | 20 | 1.289 | 0.192 |
| 9 | 18 | A1 | Archie HAMILTON | Redline Racing | 1:25.404 | 22 | 1:24.285 | 16 | 1.433 | 0.144 |
| 10 | 77 | P | Charlie BATEMAN | Motorbase Performance | 1:24.342 | 3 | 0 | 1.490 | 0.057 | |
| 11 | 43 | P | Tom BRADSHAW | JHR Developments | 1:24.379 | 21 | 0 | 1.527 | 0.037 | |
| 12 | 23 | A1 | Ahmad AL HARTHY | Redline Racing | 1:26.238 | 18 | 1:24.473 | 13 | 1.621 | 0.094 |
| 13 | 6 | A1 | Andrew SHELLEY | Redline Racing | 1:26.652 | 23 | 1:24.639 | 22 | 1.787 | 0.166 |
| 14 | 66 | A1 | Liam GRIFFIN | Motorbase Performance | 1:26.699 | 20 | 1:25.660 | 18 | 2.808 | 1.021 |
| 15 | 62 | A1 | Jeremy CLARK | Team Parker Racing | 1:28.284 | 24 | 1:25.721 | 21 | 2.869 | 0.061 |
| 16 | 5 | A2 | Mark HAZELL | JHR Developments | 1:26.307 | 21 | 1:25.765 | 18 | 2.913 | 0.044 |
| 17 | 34 | A1 | Tony GILHAM | Collins ReDesign Racing | 1:28.151 | 4 | 1:25.846 | 16 | 2.994 | 0.081 |
| 18 | 28 | A2 | George RICHARDSON | Motorbase Performance | 1:26.798 | 21 | 1:25.923 | 20 | 3.071 | 0.077 |
| 19 | 13 | A2 | Glenn McMENAMIN | Redline Racing | 1:26.562 | 16 | 1:25.952 | 18 | 3.100 | 0.029 |
| 20 | 40 | A2 | Paul MACE | GT Marques | 1:26.794 | 22 | 1:26.136 | 15 | 3.284 | 0.184 |
| 21 | 99 | A2 | George BREWSTER | Celtic Speed | 1:26.176 | 17 | 1:26.420 | 22 | 3.324 | 0.040 |
| 22 | 87 | A1 | Alex MARTIN | GT Marques | 1:28.186 | 20 | 1:26.630 | 18 | 3.778 | 0.454 |
| 23 | 68 | A1 | Tommy DREELAN | Celtic Speed | 1:29.511 | 21 | 1:26.950 | 18 | 4.098 | 0.320 |
| 24 | 79 | A2 | Bob LYONS | Celtic Speed | 1:28.522 | 17 | 1:27.208 | 14 | 4.356 | 0.258 |
| 25 | 19 | A1 | Tautvydas BARSTYS | Juta | 1:27.625 | 21 | 1:27.890 | 21 | 4.773 | 0.417 |
| 26 | 15 | A2 | Richard DENNY | Parr Motorsport | 1:28.742 | 22 | 1:29.116 | 8 | 5.890 | 1.117 |
