King goes through the gears Down Under
Harry King maintained his impressive record at the famous Bathurst circuit after helping the Manthey EMA team to Pro-Am class victory in the Bathurst 12 Hours.
King made his return to Australian soil having scored a stunning clean sweep of wins with the EMA Racing squad in the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia event at the New South Wales circuit back in October.
The talented Briton was named a part of a three-strong line-up in the #911 Porsche 911 GT3 R, being entered into the Pro-Am class under the 'The Bend Manthey EMA' name thanks to a partnership with The Bend Motorsport Park and running in iconic Shell V-Power colours.
Partnered with fellow 12 Hour debutant Alessio Picariello and local racer Yasser Shahin, King showed impressive pace across the various free practice sessions, headlined by going second quickest overall in session five.
During a rollercoaster 12-hour race, which saw the drivers take it in turns to get behind the steering wheel, the team managed claim victory in their class and finished ninth overall.
With time running out, Picariello passed Whincup for second spot and then claimed the class lead with less than 20 minutes to go when Ross Gunn was forced to pit and serve a penalty, with the Belgian racer staying out front to the finish to cap a fine recovery from the earlier dramas and secure the class victory and ninth overall.
It ensured a double success for the Manthey EMA squad as it also grabbed overall victory with the #912 entry, and means King scored another Bathurst victory to add to his successes at the circuit last year.
"Getting the chance to return to Bathurst as part of the Manthey EMA team, and particularly in the Porsche GT3 R, was a fantastic experience," King said afterwards.
"The event itself turned out to be a real rollercoaster of emotions, and I didn’t think it was possible to feel so high and so low in the space of a single race.
“We showed fantastic pace throughout but when Yasser was hit off into the gravel and we were left to deal with pretty big damage to the rear of the car, it looked like any chance of taking the win was gone.
"However, we never gave up and fought hard as a team, which allowed us to battle our way back to the front.
“To take the class win is absolutely brilliant and this is a race that
I’ll never, ever forget."