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Faulkner's Mondello
Domination
Blunted by Last Lap Spin
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Donegal's Damien
Faulkner was the class of the field at rounds three and four of the
Porsche Carrera Cup GB as he led the field through testing, qualifying
and both races only for a last lap spin in race two to curtail his
total domination of the weekends results.
The reigning champion took his SAS International back car to a win in race one
and then led until the second last corner in race two, before a spin dropped
him to second. The Irish driver also picked up the bonus points for pole position
and fastest lap in both races.
Faulkners weekend started with fastest time in testing on Friday and he continued
to dominate in qualifying as he topped the time sheets throughout. Despite ending
his session in the turn seven gravel and missing the last third of the session
Faulkner still sat on the number one spot by more than 0.3 of a second having
set three laps good enough to take pole.
Saturday's race one provided the pole sitter with a lights to flag win having
withstood the pressure of the initial start and two restarts following pace car
periods. Each time Faulkner quickly built a cushion over second placed Tim Harvey
in a drive that could only be described as flawless. A best lap 0.7 of a second
quicker than Harvey's gave the local driver a valuable bonus point to go with
the one he had earlier earned for pole.
A similar drive in race two saw the Team SAS car pull away from the field only
to see his lead again be eroded by a pace car period on lap two. When the race
resumed Faulkner re-established the lead over Harvey and gradually built a six
second cushion. With the race seemingly in the bag Faulkner made a rare mistake
and spun on coolant dropped by the damaged car of Nigel Rice with just one corner
left to negotiate. The spin allowed a very surprised Harvey to slip by and take
the win but another fastest lap bonus for Faulkner allowed him to retain the
championship lead he had gained in race one.
Speaking after race two Faulkner said. "The team gave me a fantastic car
and all I had to do was drive it so I just cannot describe how disappointed I
am for everyone involved that I made that mistake. On the plus side we dominated
qualifying and both races and the bonus points have helped me to overtake Tim
(Harvey) to move in to the championship lead. There's a very long way to go still
but we can be really happy with the pace we have shown and all I can do now is
put this race behind me and concentrate on the rest of the season."
The Porsche Carrera Cup championship continues with rounds five
and six at Oulton Park on May 13th & 14th. |
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