Butcher just misses podiumposted in POR21 | 04 | 2013
FIFER RORY BUTCHER narrowly missed out on a podium finish in the latest round of the Porsche Carrera Cup at Donington, despite starting the race from 11th on the grid in his Celtic Speed racer (see more official photos of Rory in action at Donington).
The 25-year-old from Kirkcaldy, who controversially received a six-place grid penalty from the race stewards at the previous round at Brands Hatch, then battled with a broken roller in the second race.
"To be honest, I don't think I got the best out of the car in qualifying," Butcher admitted. "I qualified fifth-fastest, but with the grid penalty, that put me back to 11th.
"The car was really good, but unfortunately I really didn't hook a lap up.
"I got a good start, made up a few places in the opening laps, got up to fifth and then just got my head down.
"We had a nine-second gap to the leader on lap six, and by the end of the race 17 laps later I'd managed to get that down to under 5s.
"It also really gave me a chance to get to know the circuit, and in the end I almost got a podium: I crossed the line just two-tenths behind Dean Stoneman and had to settle for fourth.
"Then in race two, I was looking for more of the same because I was full of confidence after the opening race.
"Got another great start, driving round the outside of Stoneman at Turn 1. He's pretty sharp, and he got the cutback on me coming out of Coppice on lap one.
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"I then set about chasing Daniel Lloyd down, and managed to get past him, again into Turn 1.
"But then, two or three laps after that, I heard a bang coming from the car. The rear rollbar had snapped.
"That meant there was no support for the rear suspension, which meant the car became very tricky to drive.
"I did my best and managed to hold Lloyd off for the next few laps: I only lost about three-tenths a lap on my times.
"Ahead of me I could see Stoneman and Jonas Gelzinis were battling, and when Gelzinis made a mistake and went on the grass, I made a move to get passed him and get a podium.
"He was slow up the hill and I went to the outside, but there just wasn't the same level of grip as there was on the racing line and I lost traction and spun on to the grass.
"Thankfully though, despite seeing the big tyre wall coming towards me quickly, I managed to stop the car and get back into the race, though it dropped me back a few places.
"It's a disappointing feeling when the car's spinning off the road, but we didn't damage it. I rejoined in eighth and managed to get a couple of places back," the Scotcars-backed racer explained.
"It just shows though that we have a great set-up on the car. Even when the roller broke, which is a significant part of the car in terms of handling, we weren't far off the pace.
"Hopefully we'll start getting the extra wee bit of luck when we head to Thruxton for the next rounds in a fortnight."
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Jim McGill
Photo: Malcolm Griffiths