Porsche Cup Brands Hatch 01/04/2007

Caine takes two podiums at Brands

Michael Caine scored two podium finishes for Paragon Porsche in the opening rounds of the 2007 Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch over the weekend (31 March/1 April).

Caine, from Newmarket, finished third in the opening race and then battled through to second place in his Porsche 911GT3 Cup, which carries support from Sussex-based Paragon Porsche.   

After a very wet and slippery track for the pre-race test day on Friday, the conditions for qualifying were greatly improved and Michael posted third fastest time at a track he rates as one of his least favourite.  However, Tim Harvey signalled his pace by qualifying four-tenths of a second clear of the rest of the pack. "Qualifying in third is okay, but I’d have liked to be a bit closer to Tim Harvey’s lap times," admitted Caine after qualifying.  

As Michael had feared, Harvey got away on the opening lap of the first race to set up a clear victory. Meanwhile, Caine was fighting hard in the pack and had to recover ground lost in a hectic opening lap. " I got pushed out wide onto the grass on the opening lap and lost several places," he explained.   

He rejoined down in seventh place, but was soon battling back up the order and grabbed fifth place from Nigel Rice going into Paddock Hill Bend for the fifth time. That allowed Michael to close in on the three cars dicing for second place and he quickly made it a four-way contest. In the remaining laps he was able to dive ahead of Steven Kane and James Pickford to take third, less than a third of a second behind James Sutton.  

Starting third for race two, Caine got a superb start to move ahead of Sutton before the first corner and he held the place all the way through the 34-lap race, despite constant pressure from Jon Barnes, Sutton and Kane. Even at the finish, Harvey was only two and a half seconds ahead. "There wasn't anything else I could do," said Caine after driving flat out for 34 laps.  

The result leaves him second in the early championship standings, but knowing that they will have to work hard to peg Harvey back at the next races at Rockingham on 21/22 April.