Kane Heads Porsche Carrera Cup GB To Brands

Northampton's Steven Kane will continue his quest for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB title in rounds 15 and 16 at Brands Hatch (Kent) next weekend (18/19 August). Racing on home ground for his team, Motorbase Performance, Kane heads to Brands with a 28-point lead over James Sutton (Barnet).

Although his advantage is significant, Kane knows that one bad weekend could change the title race completely. "The game plan is to stay out of trouble, but I do want to try and win races," says Kane, who is keen to do well for the Motorbase team, which is based less than five miles from the track. "I love Brands," says Kane. "We went well there in April and that was the first time I'd raced the car."

Sutton currently lies second in the points as he enjoys a fine debut season in the Carrera Cup. "I'm just taking each race as it comes, but I've never enjoyed racing a car as much as the Porsche," said Sutton. However, Sutton is only five points ahead of team mate Tim Harvey (Oxford) and it was Harvey who dominated both Brands races in April.

"A repeat of April would be very acceptable, but I don’t think it will be quite as easy," said Harvey. "But I'm going there with every intention of doing the same again." Having scored an impressive double win at Snetterton, Harvey is still chasing the title, but needs Kane to suffer some misfortune to really open the championship contest up.

While the three leading drivers are really the remaining title contenders, the battle for fourth is very close between Michael Caine (Newmarket) and Sam Hancock (Clapham). Both are poised to score a first Carrera Cup win and will certainly be chasing podium finishes.

"Qualifying at Brands is maybe more important than the race. You’ve got to try and start on the front row," says Caine. "If you are three-tenths of a second off the pace, you are a long way off." Hancock, meanwhile, has been getting faster and faster through the season and is only three points behind Caine in the championship standings. Another rising star is Jon Barnes (Southampton) and he scored a fine podium finish at Brands in April at the wheel of the Porsche Motorsport entry.

In the pro-am category, Nigel Rice (Beverley) is having a fabulous season and has a useful points' lead over Andy Britnell (Hildenborough, Kent). Rice is also regularly battling with the pro racers and his customary rocket-like starts could serve him well at Brands.

For Kent's Britnell, this is very much home ground. "It's always special to race at Brands and we'll have a huge crowd of supporters," says Britnell. He will be battling with Charles Bateman (Boston), Pete Osborne (Worksop), Colin Willmott (Redditch) and Steve Clark (Worcester) for a place on the pro-am podium.