NEW PORSCHE SERIES A SHINING LIGHT IN THE RAIN
Getting a new championship off the ground is never easy, and the coronavirus pandemic that has blighted 2020 has made that task even harder. Full credit, therefore, to the organisers of the Porsche Sprint Challenge GB, which attracted what has to be regarded in the current circumstances as a healthy 14-car grid for its second round at Donington Park last weekend.
The new-for-2020 series for both Pro and Amateur racers has certainly caught the attention of some high-profile names, in terms of not only drivers but teams too. Former Porsche Carrera Cup competitor Tom Jackson is on the grid, as is James Dorlin, the 2014 Junior Saloon Car champion and a Clio Cup and British
GT4 race winner. Leading teams include In2 Racing and Redline Racing.
“You can’t go wrong with Porsche,” says former British GT4 driver Alex Toth-jones, who jumped into the series after losing his British GT3 Beechdean drive due to the global health crisis.
“I don’t see it as a backwards step, it’s more of a sideways step as it’s basically GT4 sprint racing. The lower grids are not because of the new car, it’s due to COVID, and next year will see the grids get bigger. It’s a nice car, a good car to drive and it’s especially good for the Ams.
“I think it’s great, it fills a gap for people coming out of single-seaters or junior championships instead of going into Carrera Cup, which is a big jump. It fills a gap that needed to be filled.
“Porsche support is second to none, the way they run the championship is incredible and it shows at times like this, when it’s hard to run a championship.”
Both 25-minute races were held in Sunday’s wet conditions, which only served to make the racing more entertaining.
In the opening contest, Jackson claimed a lights-to-flag victory, admitting that his only concern in the whole race had been his average start, but behind there was plenty of action. Dorlin, who had started fourth, charged through. He had set up his car to perform better in the second half of the race, but it came on song too late to challenge Jackson.
Archie Hamilton kept out of trouble and on the track to finish third, just ahead of Ethan Hawkey and Theo Edgerton – former Ginetta Junior runner Edgerton had briefly got as high as second before taking to the Old Hairpin gravel.
If Jackson had everything his own way in the opening race, there was no chance of that being repeated in the second as Dorlin pressured him throughout. He forced Jackson into taking defensive lines for the majority of the race, and then Dorlin made his move at the start of the penultimate lap, holding a wide line before cutting back underneath his rival on the exit of Redgate to take the lead.
A small mistake from Jackson at the Old Hairpin on the final tour assured Dorlin of victory, only for him to be handed a fivesecond penalty for exceeding track limits. That dropped Dorlin back behind Jackson, as Hamilton completed the podium.