The Porsche Carrera Cup GB will reach the mid-point of the season at Croft next weekend (19/20 June) when rounds nine and ten are held at the challenging North Yorkshire track. A fabulous field of 27 cars is due to contest the weekend.
Tim Harvey is currently riding high in the Carrera Cup GB, with seven wins from eight races and a useful 32-point lead in the title race. But as the teams head for Croft, Tim knows well enough that it could all turn around with one bad day at the office.
The 2010 season is proving to be the best yet for the Carrera Cup GB, with record grids and superb racing across all three categories. While Harvey tops the overall title race, Ollie Jackson heads pro-am1 and Mark Hazell leads pro-am2 as the Croft races mark the start of a seven-week mid-season break.
Harvey, who spearheads the six-car squad from Cleveland-based Red Line Racing, is having a fabulous season. The former BTCC champion, and Carrera Cup champion in 2008, has been the benchmark at every event and only a victory for Michael Caine at Brands Hatch has stopped a clean sweep of wins for Harvey.
In truth, allowing Harvey to take a 32-point lead after eight of the 20 races has left the rest of the pack with a mountain to climb if they are to peg him back. Tim makes few, if any, mistakes and has an uncanny knack of finishing races. He’ll soon score his 100th Carrera Cup podium.
But with 44 points on offer every weekend, this contest is far from over and Caine is the man most likely to upset the party for his old rival. Last time out at Oulton Park was a bad day for Caine when contact at the first corner pitched him out of the opening race. He now really needs a non-finish for Harvey to redress the balance.
But this is not just about the two seasoned campaigners and there is every reason to expect at least three other drivers to feature strongly at the head of the action at Croft. The charging trio from Team Parker Racing of Glynn Geddie, Euan Hankey and Stephen Jelley are getting closer and closer to the pace of Harvey and Caine with every race and all of them are potential race winners.
Carrera Cup qualifying is on Saturday at 14.35, with the first race at 12.45 on Sunday and the second race at 16.25. Both races are due to be shown live on ITV4 in the extensive BTCC race day programme, which starts at 11.30am.