If you had told me in June that I would finish third in the championship and have three wins in the final six races, I would have been delighted. But it does show the depth of talent in the Celtic Speed team and the determination to succeed.
by Rory Butcher
If you had told me in June that I would finish third in the championship and have three wins in the final six races, I would have been delighted. But it does show the depth of talent in the Celtic Speed team and the determination to succeed.
We have all worked incredibly hard this year. There have been some big lows, but we have fought back to finish on the podium ten times over the final thirteen races and enjoyed some massive highs. The weekend at Brands Hatch was another high – another win which clinched my best ever finish in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB standings.
Practice had been wet on Friday and we finished the day fifth quickest, but Saturday was to bring dry weather for qualifying which would shake things up completely.
I felt good and just attacked it, knowing it was my the final opportunity of the year to perform in qualifying. I just hustled the car round and pulled together two good laps which secured second place on the grid for both races just behind series champion Michael Meadows. I was delighted to see the lap times flash up because I had been right on the edge and it is a circuit which you have to really commit and take risks. To me, that was half the job done as I knew what I needed to do points wise and I had Dean Stoneman and Daniel Lloyd behind me.
When we woke up on Sunday, we could be forgiven for thinking we needed boats instead of cars. The rain was torrential and the Porsches were the first cars out on a very wet track.
The conditions were awful. I hadn’t been that fast in practice in the wet, but I got a flier off the start and got round Michael Meadows at Paddock Bend. He was then fighting in the pack and I was able to build a gap over the first five laps. At one point I was over twelve seconds clear. I just had to concentrate on one corner at a time and bring the car home, but there was so much standing water and the car was aquaplaning and spinning the rear wheels all over the place. I had a scare when I got stuck in fourth gear with two laps to go and I feared that was the race over, but I managed to knock the gearstick out of gear and it seemed to clear itself. I lost a chunk of time to Gelzinas who was chasing in second but we held the result with seven seconds to spare!
The win virtually clinched third place in the championship. I knew all I needed to do was finish, even if Lloyd won and got fastest lap in race two.
I lined up on the front row for race two, but Poleman Meadows knew he just had to finish to clinch the title so he started from the pitlane to avoid any trouble at the start. As the red lights went out I bogged down off the line allowing Lloyd and Stoneman to sneak past at the first corner. I tried to get the cut back on Stoneman on the exit of turn one and clipped the back of his car. It ripped off a panel by the front wheel and sent off alarm bells in my head. I was worried that I had damaged the radiator which would have ended my race so I spent the next five laps virtually staring at the temperature gauge. All seemed okay so I continued as normal and did what I needed to do and eased the car home for a second podium finish. Third place in the championship was confirmed and we had a reason to celebrate after a long, hard season.
I was so pleased for the team. We knew we had the ability to put in performances like that, we just had to keep our chins up and battle through the bad luck. That was what we did and we can now really party at the awards night in November.
I couldn’t have done it without huge support and I thank everyone who has helped me and Celtic Speed. I believe I truly have the best sponsors in the country and really get a sense that each and every one of you really want me to succeed. The success we have achieved in the past few seasons has a lot to do with support I recieve from my backers.
Now it is time for a rest, to recharge the batteries and plan for 2014. It promises to be another rollercoaster ride.
Once again, I’d like to say a big thank you to Celtic Speeds Team Principal Tommy Dreelan and the following companies for their continued and loyal support;
Advantec Aberdeen Ltd
Agrii
Angel Wax
Caledonia Print
Dalkeith Transport
Harley Hepburn Accountants
21 Hospitality Group
Houseman Drylining
Intrafusion Website Design and Development
John Young Signs
J Gilmour Painter and Decorators Kirkcaldy
Knockhill Racing Circuit
McDonald Engineers
Mind And Body Studio
Production Glassfibre
Scotcars
Short Term Finance
William Waugh Ltd
William Johnston and Company
© Celtic Speed 2026
