Porsche Cup Rockingham 23/04/2007

Caine maintains title bid at Rockingham

Michael Caine maintained his bid for the 2007 Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Rockingham over the weekend (21/22 April) with a second and a fourth in the latest two rounds of the championship.

Caine, from Newmarket, is racing for Sussex-based Paragon Porsche this season and was at the head of the battling as the field took to the unique Rockingham Speedway in Northamptonshire. With a crowd of more than 20,000 fans on Sunday, the return of the Carrera Cup to the Corby track was judged to be a great success.  

The best result came in the opening race when Michael finished third, but took championship points for second as race winner Andrew Kirkaldy was ineligible for points in the VIP car. Importantly, Caine finished ahead of championship leader Tim Harvey after fending off his former team mate through the first half of the race.  "We all had moments where we detoured a bit!" said Caine after a race of ever-changing fortunes as the drivers pushed to the limit. 

"It was nice to get ahead of Tim Harvey." Early on, James Sutton led the race, but he overworked his tyres and finally picked up a puncture. "You've got to feel a bit sorry for James," admitted Caine.  In the second race, Harvey got a better start and jumped ahead of Caine off the grid and with Sutton squeezing ahead on the final lap after a lengthy contest, Michael finished fourth.   

He now lies third in the overall points' table, just four points behind Rockingham winner Steven Kane and 11 points behind Harvey. The action continues at Thruxton in Hampshire on 5/6 May.