Ben Barker’s successful start to his 2014 racing season, continued into round one of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup last weekend at Barcelona. The only Briton partaking in Porsche’s premier one make championship took his first podium in the series, during his first weekend with the VERVA Lechner Racing squad.
After an enlightening pre-season testing period, Barker began the weekend in the Spanish sunshine in fine style, with a third position from Friday’s free- practice session. This was an even more positive result bearing in mind the Cambridge native had been largely focused on race set-up during a long distance run in this session
Qualifying though, did not truly reflect the former Porsche Carrera Cup of Great Britain driver’s full potential. A frustrating session left him a mere two –tenths off pole position, however with such a fiercely competitive field competing for honours; this left him on row four of the grid.
“I was not confidant enough on the brakes and that is what cost me the time,” Barker admitted. In the end though, his positioning on the grid would prove largely irrelevant.
Barcelona has a reputation as a somewhat difficult circuit on which to overtake, so it was clear the VERVA Lechner Racing man was set for a difficult race. However, he did benefit from the miss-fortune of several drivers’ ahead of him who suffered drive shaft problems, leading to a delayed start.
Making the most of this opportunity, as the race got underway, he made two fantastic around the outside overtaking manoeuvres at turn one and the daunting turn nine. Speaking of the latter move, the Brit said “It was a bit hairy but it came off, around the outside isn’t the place you necessarily want to pass there.”
Barker would retain his third position to the flag and now feels more enthused than ever, for the rest of the Supercup season. “I am delighted to have got the season off to such a strong start with my new team and I would like to thank them for all their hard work to be ready- I am really looking forward to the rest of the year now,” he concluded.
The next round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup is on the tight and twisty circuit of Monte Carlo next weekend. After such a fantastic start to the season, the Briton will want to carry this momentum forward towards the rest of his campaign.
