Fifer Rory's 'excellent' Porsche doubleposted in POR01 | 05 | 2011
KIRKCALDY'S RORY BUTCHER continued his excellent debut season in the Porsche Carrera Cup Pro-Am1 Championship when he notched two podium finishes for St Cyrus-based sportscar team Celtic Speed in the latest double-header at Thruxton.
The 24-year-old, in his rookie season contesting the UK's most competitive series with Celtic Speed, returned from Hampshire delighted with his weekend.
"It was an excellent outing for me," Butcher, son of Knockhill owner Derek Butcher, admitted. "I scored two second-place finishes in Pro-Am1 and finished seventh overall in the first race, my best overall finish of the year in a field of 23 cars."
Butcher's pace throughout the weekend was impressive; the Fifer qualified seventh, just 0.058secs behind multiple Porsche champion Tim Harvey in sixth.
"Yes, everything really clicked this weekend," Butcher continued. "I got a bit of help from ex-British Touring Car Championship racer Jonny Adam from Kirkcaldy in the build-up to the race, and that really helped.
"The first race was excellent. I got away from the line perfectly and quickly settled in to a good pace. I knew I had to look after my tyres because Thruxton — the fastest circuit in the UK — is notorious for causing punctures.
"I pushed harder towards the end of the race and was delighted to be second in class and seventh overall, my best finish of the year."
In the second race of the day, Butcher started from eighth but was up to seventh by the time he got through the first corner. As the 21-lap race on the 2.4-mile circuit progressed he rapidly caught the Porsche of Harvey, but any hopes of finishing sixth disappeared in a split second.
"I was really pushing Tim hard," Butcher said, "but I made a mistake when I lost concentration for a split second as we approached the chicane on lap 14. I flicked down an extra gear, spun the rear wheels and was pitched into a spin.
"Thankfully I managed to keep the car going and rejoined the race, and though I'd slipped back from seventh to 11th overall, I was still second in the Pro-Am1 Championship, which is my main objective for this year."
There was further success for Celtic Speed when Edinburgh's George Brewster, who was forced to retire in the opening race after his car suffered a puncture, won the Pro-Am2 class in the second race to extend his lead in the championship.
"The first race was definitely disappointing and frustrating," Brewster, driving his J&E Shepherd-backed Porsche 911, explained. "I was comfortably ahead of the rest of the Pro-Am2 field and had set the fastest lap of the race when the car suffered a left-rear puncture.
"I managed to get back to the pits, but we decided as we'd lost too much ground we'd save the new tyres for the second race. Thankfully everything held together in the second race and it was great to finish the day with another fastest lap and a win." It was a view backed by Celtic Speed team boss Tommy Dreelan.
"It's been a fantastic weekend for the team," Dreelan, who finished third in the opening Pro-Am2 race, admitted. "Rory's qualifying pace was brilliant and his race-performances showed he is a real star-in-the-making.
"Of course his spin in the second race was disappointing, but it's an easy mistake to make with these cars. And George recovered very well from the disappointment of the first race to take another win in his class. Overall an excellent weekend."
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Jim McGill