After the delayed start to racing at Brands Hatch for the opening weekend of the 2019 Porsche Carrera Cup GB, it was unsure if the second race would run, as the clocks counted down on the tight schedule.
Over the course of the day the changeable conditions had played havoc with racing in both the BTCC races and the supporting TOCA package, but by the time came for the lights to go out in the second Carrera Cup GB race of the weekend the track had dried up.
After finishing fourth in the first race, George Gamble would start from pole position for the second race after the top four positions were reversed for the start of race two.
With teammate Seb Perez alongside him on the front row, Gamble made a lightning start, leading the field into the first corner as Lewis Plato leapt from the second row of the grid to get the better of Perez, moving into second place.
Credit: Porsche / Dan Bathie
Pro-Am Round One winner Karl Leonard used his experience to overtake Porsche GB 2018/19 Junior Dan Harper for fourth overall. After securing an impressive second in class in the first race, Esmee Hawkey lost out to Pro racer Dan Vaughan and fellow Pro-Am racers Jack McCarthy and Jamie Orton on the opening lap.
Tom Roche was also on the move on the first lap after starting from the back row of the grid due to a spin in race one, the Welshman had fought his way through to tenth place at the end of lap one.
In the Am class, Justin Sherwood led the way with Formula Ford regular John Ferguson and 2018 Am champion Peter Mangion in tow, in a battle that would last most of the race.
After finding a way back around Leonard in the early stage of the race, Harper had set his sights on the third place that Perez was occupying, and on lap eleven pounced, passing him along the Cooper Straight to claim the final podium place.
With Gamble out at the front of the pack, Plato and Harper pushed hard to hunt him down, but as the three Pro drivers hit traffic, Gamble was able to extend his lead and ultimately take the victory.
Credit: Porsche / Dan Bathie
The battle was heating up in the Am class as the experienced champion Mangion put newcomer Ferguson under pressure for second place. As the race drew to a close Ferguson made a mistake and was pitched into a spin, allowing Mangion through to second place and a recovering Peter Kyle-Henney into third place after an earlier incident.
As the race entered the final lap Harper wasn’t ready to settle for third place and mounted an attack on Plato for second place. The pair ran closely with Plato managing to maintain his advantage to hang on for another second place.
In Pro-Am Leonard romped home for a second victory ahead of Orton and McCarthy, who made a promising start to his Carrera Cup GB career.
2019 PCCGB – Round Two Results
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After the race, Harper was awarded Driver of the Weekend while his team, JTR, picked up the Team of the Weekend award.
2019 PCCGB Championship standings after two rounds
Pro Class Championship
1 – Dan Harper – 21 points
2 – Lewis Plato – 19 points
3 – George Gamble – 16 points
4 – Seb Perez – 13 points
5 – Tom Roche – 7 points
6 – Dan Vaughan – 4 points
Pro-Am Class Championship
1 – Karl Leonard – 20 points
2 – Jamie Orton – 16 points
3 – Esmee Hawkey – 14 points
4 – Jack McCarthy – 12 points
Am Class Championship
1 – Justin Sherwood – 20 points
2 – Peter Mangion – 18 points
3 – John Ferguson – 12 points
4 – Peter Kyle-Henney – 11 points
5 – Richard Hawken – 8 points
6 – Adam Knight – 7 points
Rookie Class Championship
1 – Jack McCarthy – 17 points
2 – Tom Roche – 9 points
3 – John Ferguson – 6 points
4 – Adam Knight – 3 points
Teams’ Championship
1 – Amigos Redline Racing – 64 points
2 – JTR – 53 points
3 – Motorbase Performance – 45 points
4 – Team Parker Racing – 35 points
5 – GT Marques – 17 points
6 – Redline Racing – 17 points
7 – In2Racing – 13 points
8 – Rob Boston Racing – 9 points
9 – Valluga Racing – 3 points
10 – Slidesports Engineering – 3 points
