Quaife Wins Carrera Cup Season Finale At Silverstone

Although Phil Quaife had clinched the Pro-Am title at the previous meeting, Brands Hatch, he was determined to "do the business" this weekend and finish his season on a high.

Friday morning testing did not go according to plan, with Phil struggling to find pace in the car. When the session ended he was an uncharacteristic 12th fastest overall.

Friday afternoon was completely different, however, after making a number of set-up changes. Phil was running second quickest for most of the session, however in the closing stages several of the front-runners bolted on new rubber and managed to beat Phil's time (set on old rubber). He eventually finished the session 5th overall and quickest in the Pro-Am class.

Qualifying also went well and Phil slotted the car onto pole in the Pro-Am category and 7th overall. However, he was adjudged to have overtaken a competitor under a yellow flag and the Clerk of the Course penalised him for doing so. Therefore Phil had to start Race 1 from the back of the grid with a 10 second penalty as well!

Race 1 was never going to be easy,and when Phil got the green flag the remainder of the field were long gone! He pushed hard early on, and within a couple of laps he had caught the tail end of the field. Working his way through such a large grid was difficult, especially when he came up against some of the very experienced Porsche drivers.

Phil drove a superb race to finish 5th in the Pro-Am category and 11th overall, which was also going to give him a far better grid position for the second race on Sunday.

Phil made a fantastic start in Race 2 moving straight into 4th in class on the first lap. He was determined to push hard, as he desperately wanted to enjoy a podium finish in the final race of the year.

Phil's determination and commitment paid off, and after some close battles he took the chequered flag ahead of Sam Edwards to take a well deserved Pro-Am win and 7th overall.

It was the end to the season that Phil had hoped for in a hugely competitive championship. He has managed to achieve what he had set out to do at the beginning of the year, to win the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Pro-Am Championship, taking 10 wins out of the 20 rounds.

For more info www.philquaife.co.uk