The Porsche Carrera Cup GB championship hit the halfway mark last weekend as it moved onto the North Yorkshire venue of Croft for rounds 9 and 10.
In front of a packed Croft crowd and live on ITV4, Dartford based driver Tony Gilham claimed two podium spots with 3rd in class finishes in both races.
The pink and green 34 car of Collins ReDesign Racing had some minor technical issues during Friday’s testing session, which also followed into qualifying on Saturday. A power steering fault during the first session of testing and a lack of suitable tyres for the second, made for a disappointing start to the weekend. However, Tony managed to turn this misfortune around by producing a satisfying 5th row start on the grid for both races, despite the car still suffering; this time with brake problems during the 30-minute qualifying period.
Under glorious sunshine, the Croft circuit saw a massive turnout with the crowds witnessing two amazing Porsche Carrera Cup GB races on Sunday. Both of the races were broadcast live on ITV4′s popular British Touring Car Championship programme, but despite still having to drive with brake problems, Tony produced two podium finishes, to gain more silverware and continue this seasons form – now with seven podiums under his belt.
Given the extent of technical issues that the team had to face, the weekend’s result was made even more special, as Tony and the Collins ReDesign Racing team received both “Driver of the Weekend” and “Team of the Weekend” prizes from the Porsche Officials. After being presented with these trophies by Porsche Carrera Cup GB co-ordinator, Marion Barnaby, Tony was overwhelmed and extremely proud of the teams efforts. Tony told tonygilham.com: “We knew we would be up against it when we arrived on Friday, but we didn’t expect to have technical issues like we did.
“The team stuck together and pulled out all the stops, which I’m extremely pleased with. It certainly enabled us to drive two excellent races and claim our seventh podium of the season, but the added bonus of claiming the ‘Team’ and ‘Driver’ awards was brilliant.
“I’m extremely proud of the team and it’s great to be able to head into the halfway break of the championship on a high. We can now use this seven week break to refresh ourselves and do some much needed work to the car, so that we are ready to push on and mount a serious bid for the championship during the second half of the season.”
The championship will resume on 7th/8th August at Snetterton in Norfolk and if anyone is interested in talking to Tony about sponsorship and getting involved; including race weekend hospitality, live coverage on National television, etc, please contact Gary Allen on 07813 74784.
