Plant edges closer to top rookie honours

Richard Plant moved closer to claiming top rookie honours in the 2011 Porsche Carrera Cup GB series after securing seventh place in the penultimate race of the season at Silverstone. 

In a nervy affair that also included a pulsating clash for the title, Plant remained firmly focussed on targeting points rather than involving himself in the fracas ahead. 

After a low key qualifying session for Plant and his Team Parker squad, the McDonalds-backed racer made a steady getaway from tenth on the grid. Plant eyed his opportunity on lap two by passing Rory Butcher at Brooklands Corner and he immediately put pressure on team-mate Euan Hankey and fellow rookie Ben Hetherington ahead of him. 

Meanwhile the race at the head of the field was building into a nail biting climax. Porsche Supercup star Nick Tandy led the race and was immediately followed by the three title protagonists. Stephen Jelley had fought his way up to fourth behind the SAS/Redline pairing of James Sutton and Michael Meadows and the trio were covered by around a second after Sutton had been held up by a slowing backmarker. 

Further back and a cautious Plant came extremely close to passing Hetherington on a number of occasions, but wisely thought better of any risky moves that could have potentially ended his challenge. He eventually saw a safe opportunity in the second half of the race and emerged ahead of Hetherington on the run down to Luffield. 

No sooner had Plant made his move that Jelley attacked Meadows for third at Maggotts. The gap closed in a split second and contact was made before Jelley had a chance to brake. Jelley was tipped into a half spin and it quickly became clear and this his radiator had also split. With water pouring from his car, Plant was at one point held up by the slippery surface at Luffield. He eventually passed the helpless Jelley, who crawled back to the pits and into retirement. 

Plant had now closed to within a few positions of his nearest championship challengers - Sam Tordoff and Jonas Gelzinis, who were running in fourth and fifth places respectively. While this meant his championship advantage would be cut slightly, the result represented a healthy return after a challenging start to the weekend. 

Conscious of his place in the overall standings, Plant settled for position to claim a well earned seventh place at the finish. "I am pretty happy with that," said Plant. "The moment with Jelley was really worrying. He dropped fluid all over my windscreen and I couldn't see anything. I tried to use the wipers but it just made it worse. I lost touch with Euan a little there and realised it was safer to take the points. I know what I need to do later - let's hope we can achieve our goals."