There was action all the way in rounds 13 and 14 of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Knockhill on Sunday (26 August) as Ben Barker scored two dominant wins - leading from green light to chequered flag - to complete a perfect weekend in Scotland. In front of packed crowds at the popular Fife circuit, the field of identical 450 hp rear-engined Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars made an impressive sight as they traded places around the twisting 1.3 mile circuit.

Round 13

Barker scored his first series victory with an assured drive from pole position. Round 13 of the Championship was shortened after an accident at the first corner, but Barker and Michael Meadows were clear of the drama while Ahmad Al Harthy took over to win Pro-Am1 after Derek Pierce spun into gravel.

Barker (Cambridge) got the start he needed to fend off Meadows (Banbury) into the first corner. Sam Tordoff (Leeds) slotted into third but made a mistake on lap three, which cost him a second and put Barker and Meadows comfortably ahead in the race to the flag. “I knew I was quick and consistent and could maintain the gap,” said Barker. Meadows, with the Championship title race uppermost in his mind, was content to track the leader and hold station a few yards back.

Tordoff, however, had Jonas Gelzinis (Lithuania) and Rory Butcher (Kirkcaldy) close on his tail. On the opening lap, Daniel Lloyd (Huddersfield) had run fourth, but slid wide at the chicane and instantly dropped three places. In Pro-Am1, Derek Pierce (West Kilbride) grabbed the early advantage from Al Harthy (Oman).

Up front, Barker was driving a faultless race and had everything under control. However, on lap 21 Pierce spun into the gravel at the chicane and the Safety Car was deployed while his car was retrieved. Barker judged the restart perfectly to retain the lead, as Meadows concentrated on staying clear of any attack from behind.

“My only worry was when the Safety Car came out,” said Meadows. But the race was destined to be red-flagged a lap later and Barker’s victory was confirmed. “We’ve had the pace all year and we’ve now translated it into a win,” said an elated Barker afterwards. Meadows, meanwhile, had driven a measured race to out-score his title rivals.

Tordoff held off Gelzinis to complete the podium. “I don’t think we had the pace to go with them and Gelzinis kept me honest,” the Yorkshire driver said afterwards. Behind Gelzinis, Lloyd and Andy Meyrick (Chester) rounded out the top six finishers but were both involved in the incident that brought out the red flags. As they rounded the hairpin ahead of the restart, Butcher had a slide and lost a little momentum as Lloyd and Meyrick ran on his tail. Into the first corner, Meyrick dived down the inside and tipped Butcher into a spin. Lloyd also spun, and as Butcher rotated he tagged Richard Plant (Sheffield). Meyrick was later excluded from the results over the incident.

Al Harthy was next on the scene and just managed to steer a course through the drama to claim Pro-Am1 victory. "Derek Pierce had the pace on me and opened a gap,” said the Omani driver of the early laps. “I’m very lucky to have stayed out of the carnage,” he added. Despite running tyres that had done a race at Donington as well as qualifying, Oly Mortimer (Edinburgh) claimed second in Pro-Am1 from Victor Jimenez (Spain).

Round thirteen results:

Pro category: 1 Ben Barker; 2 Michael Meadows; 3 Sam Tordoff.
Pro-Am1 category: 1 Ahmad Al Harthy; 2 Oly Mortimer; 3 Victor Jimenez.

Round 14

The action began at the first corner when Tordoff tagged the back of Meadows. With Barker ahead of them both, Meadows spun to the tail of the pack and Tordoff retired with a damaged radiator. Through into second place went Lloyd from Butcher, and Butcher then grabbed the place at the hairpin on the third lap.

Barker was able to control the race from the front as Butcher, Lloyd and Gelzinis filled the next places. Meanwhile, Meadows set about fighting his way back up the order. Barker had a scare when the Safety Car was deployed on lap 10 for the removal of the beached car of George Brewster (Edinburgh), but the leader was quickly able to regain control of the race.

However, Meadows’ dramatic race took another twist on lap 16 when Mortimer attacked Pierce for second place in Pro-Am1 at the hairpin. Meadows was right behind these two and had to take to the grass to avoid the spinning Mortimer, and dropped to last once again.

Up front, Barker rattled off the remaining laps to score a resounding double win and earn himself the ‘Driver of the Weekend’ award, while Parr Motorsport took the ‘Team of the Weekend’ award. “I knew Rory was there and it wasn’t an easy race, but we had really good pace this weekend,” said Barker afterwards. Butcher was delighted to take second after retiring from the first race and paid tribute to the hard work of his Celtic Speed team in repairing his car for the second race. “That’s what we should be getting at Knockhill,” said the local ace. “I just kept pushing right to the last lap.”

Lloyd was pleased to be back on the podium in third place. “It’s hard starting from sixth on the grid but I just kept out of trouble,” he reflected. Gelzinis however was hobbled by a misfire and struggled home at the tail of the field after a pit stop.

In Pro-Am1, Al Harthy took his second win of the day with fourth place overall. “That’s the best overall result I’ve ever had: a perfect weekend,” he said. Pierce had been hunting him down until being delayed by the incident with Mortimer at the hairpin. “He came backwards at me,” said Pierce after taking avoiding action. Then, Plant clipped Pierce into a spin, which further delayed Meadows as he tried to pick a way through the field.

Plant worked through to fifth overall, while Meadows took sixth after a remarkable race of near misses, avoidances and potential disasters. “I was trying everything to stay out of trouble and get round,” he said. Remarkably, with his major title rivals having worse results, he further extended his Championship lead. Pierce and Mortimer completed the Pro-Am1 podium to make it six Scottish drivers on the podium.

Round fourteen results:
Pro category: 1 Ben Barker; 2 Rory Butcher; 3 Daniel Lloyd.
Pro-Am1 category: 1 Ahmad Al Harthy; 2 Derek Pierce; 3 Oly Mortimer.

The next rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship take place at Rockingham, Northamptonshire, on September 22/23.