Dorlin gets late Porsche deal – and wins
British GT4 frontrunner James Dorlin has agreed a late deal to race in the new Porsche Sprint Challenge GB series this year – and was rewarded with a double win in the inaugural event at Snetterton last weekend.
The 21-year-old was part of Mclaren’s Driver Development Programme in British GT last year, winning the GT4 class once alongside Josh Smith. But the pair suffered a lot of bad luck – including being incorrectly penalised during the Oulton Park round – preventing them from launching a title bid.
Dorlin has now switched to the new Porsche series for the 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport machine after joining the In2racing squad. Despite driving a brand-new car that had only been tested in the wet on Friday, Dorlin was still able to take a double victory in Norfolk after qualifying on pole.
“The car arrived on Wednesday night, so we wrapped it Thursday and it got to the point where the guys had to shoot off to the track and I had to tow the car myself on Thursday night!” said Dorlin, who was the 2018 Renault UK Clio Cup runner-up. “To come away with pole and two wins after that, you can’t ask for much more really!
“The weather on Friday didn’t help either – it was too wet for slicks and too dry for wets – so it was tricky to get any proper running. It’s a testament to Porsche that the car was fine straight out of the box.
“It was something we wanted to do [Sprint Challenge] but with all the uncertainty around coronavirus, we didn’t know what was happening. Between us, the team and our new sponsor that has come on board, ASTA Tools, we decided it would be the right thing to do. It’s a new series from Porsche, it’s a great car and looks to be a successful championship moving forward, so it was something we were keen to be part of. We a put a lot of work in to make it happen, and I’m glad we did!”
Dorlin qualified on pole by two tenths over Rob Boston Racing’s Tom Jackson. He lost out to Jackson at the start of the opener, but Jackson was handed a 10-second falsestart penalty, allowing Dorlin to win. He then led throughout race two.