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Australian international racer Alex Davison endured an "average" weekend at his least favourite circuit to finish ninth in round 2 of the Porsche Carrera Cup at the Nürburgring today. But the 21-year-old Melbourne driver, who dominated the opening round of the German national series at Hockenheim two weeks ago, remains within grasp of the Carrera Cup series lead, in third place.
"It wasn't the best race for me today, but I've come away with some more points towards the series", said Alex. "I don't want to lose touch with the lead, so I'll really be pushing at the next round [Oschersleben, May 20]."
Davison, who finished 11th in the 2000 Porsche Carrera Cup series, is contesting the 2001 title again with the support of Porsche Cars Australia and Mobil Oil Australia. The Porsche Carrera Cup series is contested by 24 factory-built Porsche 911 GT3 Cup coupes, the 272 kW, lightweight version of Porsche's 911 GT3 road car.
Today, unlike at Hockenheim a fortnight ago, Davison didn't have the luxury of starting from the front of the pack. "I got a reasonable start from seventh on the grid, but at the first corner I was sandwiched between Marc Lieb (UPS Porsche-Junior team) and somebody else", he explained. "That put me back to 10th and I knew I'd have my work cut out for me.
"The race was a bit processional, as they tend to be at the Nürburgring because this isn't an easy track to pass on."
Alex maintained pressure on Jochen Land (Land Motorsport) until the local driver made an error, allowing Alex through to ninth place. The last half of the 18-lap race saw Alex's Team Hewlett-Packard/PZK Porsche 911 GT3 Cup coupe hamstrung by understeer, having lost the lower lip of its front spoiler on a kerb.
The spoiler lip's role has been made more critical by the tall 'Le Mans GT3R' rear wing now fitted to the Carrera Cup cars. "It's amazing how that 4cm-deep piece of plastic totally affects the balance of the car", said Alex. "There were witches' hats bolted to the ground at the Veedol chicane, to stop people from hopping over the kerbs, and that's where everyone was losing them."
Today's ninth place will be added to Alex's mixed memories of the 4.55km circuit in the Eifel mountains in western Germany. Last year, in fog and drizzling conditions, he was running strongly in third place when a rare spin relegated him to seventh.
"It's fair to say that the Nürburgring isn't my favourite track", Alex admits. "It's the sort of circuit where testing really pays off, and I didn't test here before this race. I tested at Hockenheim before round one, and Christian [Menzel] tested here at the Nürburgring last week, so maybe that says something."
Davison's final qualifying session on Saturday had established him in seventh place on the grid, with a time of 1:14.134s. He was in the thick of a very tight bunch: behind poleman, Timo Bernhard (UPS Porsche-Junior Team, 1:44.538s), grid positions two through to eight were covered by little more than two-tenths of a second!
With his Hewlett-Packard/Porsche Centre Koblenz team-mate Christian Menzel starting from second spot on the grid, Alex had pronounced himself "content, but not really happy" with seventh on Saturday afternoon.
"It's not a very easy track to pass on", he added. "It's hard to outbrake the fast guys, because it's a bit bumpy at a few corners and the ABS starts to cut in, which can run you wide. I'll be pushing hard to get up to the front, but I'm also mindful that it's only round two, and you don't get any points if you're off playing in the dirt!"
On Sunday, in what Alex described as "typical Nürburgring weather" (3 degrees, windy, heavy overcast), it was team-mate Menzel who made the most of the start, with veteran Roland Asch (Warsteiner Carsport) briefly holding second, until passed by Timo Bernhard (UPS Porsche-Junior Team). At one-third distance, Bernhard pushed past Menzel, whose front spoiler lip was another victim of the infamous Veedol chicane.
Alex Davison holds third place in the Carrera Cup points table on 27 points, behind Timo Bernhard (34 points) and Christian Menzel (36 points). A race win is worth 20 points.
Alex is looking forward to Oschersleben on May 20. "It's a shame that we won't get to do any testing there beforehand, but I know the circuit and I like it a lot more than [the Nürburgring]. It won't take me as long to get into the groove there."
Results Carrera Cup Rd. 2, Nürburgring (GP circuit), May 6, 2001
1. Timo Bernhard (UPS Porsche-Junior Team), 18 laps 31:59.093s
2. Christian Menzel (Team Hewlett-Packard/PZK), +3.379 seconds
3. Roland Asch (Warsteiner Carsport), 7.045
4. Sascha Maassen (Tolimit Motorsport), 9.814
5. Jörg Bergmeister (Farnbacher Racing), 10.703
6. Marc Lieb (UPS Porsche-Junior Team), 12.675
7. Alexander Grau (PZM-Team Valier), 17.337
8. Tim Bergmeister (Land Motorsport), 18.116
9. Alex Davison (Team Hewlett-Packard/PZK), 21.112
10. Frank Schmickler (Tolimit Motorsport), 21.314
Porsche Carrera Cup 2001 race calendar / Alex Davison result
April 22 Hockenheim (short circuit) / 1st
May 6 Nürburgring / 9th
May 20 Oschersleben
June 17 Sachsenring
July 8 Norisring
August 12 Lausitzring
August 26 Nürburgring
September 9 A1-Ring (Austria)
October 7 Hockenheim (long circuit)
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