Brilliant victory denied

Brilliant victory denied after Phil Quaife penalty imposed at Donington

Phil Quaife pulled out all the stops on round six of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Donington Park as he flew home to victory, only to be stripped of it minutes later, once a two-second penalty was applied by the Clerk of the Course, dropping him to third.

The 22-year-old had a difficult start to the weekend as too much wheel spin off the line from seventh on the grid in race 1 saw Quaife quickly passed by Nigel Rice. But he soon fought back delivering the Red Line Racing driver a dose of his own medicine and with everyone else staying out of trouble, he sat tight from there to finish sixth behind MacLeod.
But race two was a different story. He made a stunning start, passing Tim Harvey, Charles Bateman and Michael Caine on the first lap to sit comfortably in second behind Bridgman. He remained there, despite the challenges posed by the rain, and finished the race off with a courageous move past Bridgman in the final chicane, to take the win. Unfortunately his debut victory was short-lived as a penalty imposed by the Clerk of the Course for overtaking under a yellow flag dropped him down the order to third.

Phil reflects on his day: "Race one wasn't too good for me as I had a lot of wheel spin off the line and Nigel Rice passed me on the first corner. The second race was great, though, and it's a real blow to receive a penalty, but I respect the Clerk of the Course's decision. In the heat of the moment it was really difficult to see because we were jostling for position, but that's racing. The team did a fantastic job today, the car was faultless in the race and consistent all the way through, so a big thank you to the guys. I'm just looking to Thruxton now, boosted by our overall performance and hoping to make amends. We've made excellent progress with the set up this weekend so that bodes well for the rest of the season."

Phil Quaife returns to competition in rounds 7 and 8 at Thruxton on 17-18 May.