King left deflated by punctures at Thruxton
Motorsport: Harry's pace on quickest circuit goes unrewarded after two retirements
Holypor t’s Harry King was left to wonder what might have been after a frustrating weekend on track at Thruxton during the fifth meeting of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB season.
The Team Parker Racing driver headed to Thruxton, the fastest circuit on the calendar, seeking to strengthen his lead in the driver’s championship.
But, despite showing great speed both in qualifying and in the two races, Porsche’s GB Junior Driver failed to pick up any more points after punctures led to retirements.
In testing on Friday, King set a fastest lap time that was a full second clear of his nearest rival.
That gave the Holyport driver great hope of adding to his six race wins this season, and, although not quite as quick in qualifying, King was the only driver able to go under the 1.13 barrier with a lap of 1.12.847, breaking the qualifying lap record by more than half a second.
But his great speed wasn’t matched by great fortune. In the first of Sunday’s races, King charged 12 seconds clear of the field before his surge to victory was ended in heart-breaking fashion by a rear left puncture, forcing him into the pits with only two laps remaining.
King then weaved his way through the field in the second race, moving past leader Ross Wylie into first place on lap 10 before he suffered a second puncture which again forced him to retire. However, his strong form from earlier in the season means he retains a seven-point lead in the standings heading to Silverstone next weekend.
"It’s been a disappointing weekend in terms of the end results, although our pace has been undeniable," he said.
"In both qualifying and the races, we’ve really laid down a marker this weekend and the car has been absolutely fantastic. I have to give huge thanks to the team once again for doing a brilliant job, and I think we were nailed on for a double win had things not gone against us on race day.
"Days like today are just part of motorsport and things sometimes happen that are outside your control. We can’t dwell on it, and with Silverstone only a week away, we have the chance to rebound quickly from this weekend and look to strengthen our advantage."