PCCGB: Harper Claims Historic Thruxton Double

Dan Harper became the first driver to win both races and claim a maximum points haul in a Carrera Cup GB weekend since the reverse grid draw was brought in at the start of last season.

The young Irishman delivered another impressive display to tighten his grip on the championship with six races remaining.

The opening race of the weekend was run on a drying track following rain on Sunday morning. At the end of the formation lap Tom Roche, Dan Vaughan and Lewis Plato dived into the pits to fit wet tyres.

As the lights went out Harper assumed the lead of the race from Josh Webster as both front row men made good starts. However, the trio of drivers on wet tyres looked to have made an inspired choice as they scythed through the field and quickly locked out the top three positions. With just a few laps remaining though, the track began to dry sufficiently enough to suit the slick shod men and Harper set about reclaiming the lost ground. He passed Vaughan and Plato in near identical moves at the Club chicane on consecutive laps before easing past a fading Roche a couple of laps later. He then set about building a commanding lead and stretched the gap to over five seconds by the flag. Webster worked his way back up to second ahead of George Gamble who completed the podium in third.

In race two, a first lap collision between Seb Perez, pole sitter Jamie Orton and Gamble saw the latter instantly eliminated and allowed Webster to swoop into the lead. A lap later Harper found a way past Perez in second and set off in pursuit of Webster. The decisive moment of the race came on lap 11 when Harper cleverly jinked one way and then the next to wrong foot Webster on the run into Club and dived down the inside to take the lead at the chicane. It would be a lead he would never relinquish and he headed Webster over the line to complete a memorable weekend. Lewis Plato was third after making a decisive move to pass Perez early on in the race.

Esmee Hawkey completed a fine Pro-Am double victory to take the category championship lead, while in the Am division John Ferguson won both races to close the gap to points leader Justin Sherwood.

Dan Harper leads Josh Webster, this would prove to be the theme of the weekend.