Silverstone report

Fifth Round at the British Grand Prix -------------------------------------

Emmanuel Collard Rules Silverstone Weekend

Frenchman Emmanuel Collard (JMB Competition) convincingly lead the field from green light to chequered flag to his fourth consecutive win, dominating the Silverstone round of the Porsche Pirelli SuperCup. It was a perfect weekend for the 25 year old Tyrrel Formula 1 test pilot who not only won the race, but achieved pole position and fastest lap, too. The unassuming star remained humble even after his admirable performance: "I had a big practice advantage over the others here. Last week I spent a lot of time in a Formula 1 cockpit on the Silverstone circuit." Only Dutchman Patrick Huisman, who started from the first row, was able to keep up with the Frenchman, finishing in second place five seconds behind. His younger brother Duncan snatched 6th place, topping off the weekend for the Huisman family.

The personable VIP driver, Allan McNish from Dumfries in Scottland, battled over the entire distance with reigning Carrera Cup Champion Harald Grohs (D, Manthey Racing). Said the Formula 1 test driver after his race: "Harald and I had a fabulous and fair battle. It was a shame I finished playing in the sand, while Harald made it to 9th place. but I enjoyed every lap in the Porsche." Former Motorcycle World Champion Kevin Schwantz (USA), starting with his traditional number 34, commented: "First I had way too much wheel-spin at the start and lost three places. Then there was so much turbulence around me with spinning Porsches I throttled off. Then I tried to attack which was too tough on my tyres. All in all I think I should get another chance on a familiar track, and it would be great to have air conditioning!" Kevin finished his race 13th.

Oliver Mathei (D, Manthey Racing) gave a breathtaking performance fighting his way from the back of the pack to an imressive fifth position after being shunted by Juergen von Gartzen (D, Oberbayern Motorsport). Von Gartzen, last year's runner up, took 3rd still holding on to his overall title chances. Twenty year old Patrick Simon (Porsche Zentrum Koblenz) from Germany once again demonstrated his fine driving talent ending up fourth. The fast track obviously suited Horst Farnbacher (Zepter Racing Team), Joerg Bergmeister (Porsche Zentrum Koblenz), and Danny Pfeil (Kadach Tuning) all from Germany, who grabbed seventh, eighth, and tenth places respectively.

Top ten results:

Pos     Driver                  Team                            Time
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 1      Emmanuel Collard/F      JMB Competition             30:35.463
 2      Patrick Huisman/NL      Oberbayern Motorsport         + 5.173
 3      Juergen von Gartzen/D   Oberbayern Motorsport          11.525
 4      Patrick Simon/D         Porsche Zentrum Koblenz        15.664
 5      Oliver Mathai/D         Manthey Racing                 15.989
 6      Duncan Huisman/NL       Porsche Zentrum Koblenz        20.737
 7      Horst Farnbacher/D      Zepter Racing Team             23.155
 8      Joerg Bergmeister/D     Porsche Zentrum Koblenz        23.725
 9      Harald Grohs/D          Manthey Racing                 25.366
10      Danny Pfeil/D           Kadach Tuning                  26.780

CHAMPIONSHIP:

Pos     Driver                  Pts
-----------------------------------
 1      Collard/F               108
 2      von Gartzen/D            82
 3      Malcher/F                68
        Mathai/D                 68
 5      P. Huisman/NL            56
 6      Kelleners/D              45
 7      Grohs/D                  33
 8      Patrick Simon/D          31
        Farnbacher/D             31
10      Becker/D                 23