Bridgman wins Carrera Cup round nine at Croft

Glynn Geddie (Team Parker Racing) lost out the most and limped to the pits to retire with damage to the rear of the car. Tony Gilham (Red Line Racing) and Derek Pierce (JHR) made contact and spun into the infield, while Paul Hogarth (IN2Racing) was also badly delayed.

There was no such trouble up front as Bridgman headed Michael Caine (Motorbase Performance), Sutton (Red Line Racing), Tim Harvey (Red Line Racing) and Tom Bradshaw (Team Parker Racing). This quintet quickly established itself at the front of the race and Bridgman started to edge clear as Sutton dived ahead of Caine, with Harvey on their tail and Bradshaw, in one of his best races to date, going after them.

"I just kept pushing the whole race through," said Bridgman, who steadily extended his lead to score his third win on the run and take the championship lead from Harvey. "It's an important result for me, to carry on from Oulton Park. We're just focused on winning races."

In Bridgman's wake, Sutton, Caine and Harvey spent much of the race running nose-to-tail, but the cars were so evenly matched that the places did not change. "Tim just had a little edge on us," said Sutton, who was suffering badly with hay fever. "I was struggling with the rear tyres as the race wore on, so had to concentrate on Tim behind me rather than James in front," reported Caine.

Bradshaw chased them home to take fifth, while Lawson (JHR) had to race hard in the early laps to fend off Ollie Jackson (Motorbase Performance) in the battle for pro-am1 victory. "Glynn Geddie had a moment at the first corner and handed the lead of pro-am1 to me," said Lawson. "Then I just had to look after my tyres," said the local racer after his fifth pro-am1 win. Jackson pushed hard, but over-worked his tyres by mid-distance and soon came under great pressure from Lewis Hopkins (Red Line Racing). In his best Carrera Cup race to date, Hopkins later battled ahead of Jackson to take seventh place, while Jackson still bagged second in pro-am1 with the recovering Gilham fighting back to third.

The pro-am2 contest was also affected by the first corner incidents and that helped Brewster (Celtic Speed) take a decisive lead to win the category and make it six pro-am2 winners in nine races. "That's fantastic; I felt a bit under pressure, but I made a good start," said Brewster. Hogarth recovered to take second in pro-am2 with Bob Lyons (Celtic Speed) completing the podium.

After the race, Bradshaw and Gilham were penalised two penalty points on their race licences and two championship points following the first corner incidents.


Bridgman wins Carrera Cup round nine at Croft (17-6-09)
Tim Bridgman swept to a fine victory in round nine of the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Croft today (Sunday 14 June 2009). Bridgman led from the start to fend off the early challenge of James Sutton, while Robert Lawson won pro-am1 and George Brewster claimed pro-am2 spoils on his Carrera Cup debut. Bridgman (Team Parker Racing) headed the pack into the first corner from pole position, but further back there was drama as the closely packed field stormed into the tight right-hander at Clervaux.
Glynn Geddie (Team Parker Racing) lost out the most and limped to the pits to retire with damage to the rear of the car. Tony Gilham (Red Line Racing) and Derek Pierce (JHR) made contact and spun into the infield, while Paul Hogarth (IN2Racing) was also badly delayed. There was no such trouble up front as Bridgman headed Michael Caine (Motorbase Performance), Sutton (Red Line Racing), Tim Harvey (Red Line Racing) and Tom Bradshaw (Team Parker Racing). This quintet quickly established itself at the front of the race and Bridgman started to edge clear as Sutton dived ahead of Caine, with Harvey on their tail and Bradshaw, in one of his best races to date, going after them. "I just kept pushing the whole race through," said Bridgman, who steadily extended his lead to score his third win on the run and take the championship lead from Harvey. "It's an important result for me, to carry on from Oulton Park. We're just focused on winning races." In Bridgman's wake, Sutton, Caine and Harvey spent much of the race running nose-to-tail, but the cars were so evenly matched that the places did not change. "Tim just had a little edge on us," said Sutton, who was suffering badly with hay fever. "I was struggling with the rear tyres as the race wore on, so had to concentrate on Tim behind me rather than James in front," reported Caine. Bradshaw chased them home to take fifth, while Lawson (JHR) had to race hard in the early laps to fend off Ollie Jackson (Motorbase Performance) in the battle for pro-am1 victory. "Glynn Geddie had a moment at the first corner and handed the lead of pro-am1 to me," said Lawson. "Then I just had to look after my tyres," said the local racer after his fifth pro-am1 win. Jackson pushed hard, but over-worked his tyres by mid-distance and soon came under great pressure from Lewis Hopkins (Red Line Racing). In his best Carrera Cup race to date, Hopkins later battled ahead of Jackson to take seventh place, while Jackson still bagged second in pro-am1 with the recovering Gilham fighting back to third. The pro-am2 contest was also affected by the first corner incidents and that helped Brewster (Celtic Speed) take a decisive lead to win the category and make it six pro-am2 winners in nine races. "That's fantastic; I felt a bit under pressure, but I made a good start," said Brewster. Hogarth recovered to take second in pro-am2 with Bob Lyons (Celtic Speed) completing the podium. After the race, Bradshaw and Gilham were penalised two penalty points on their race licences and two championship points following the first corner incidents.