I’m busy preparing for the next GT Cup Championship races at the end of the month (29-30 Jul) and it means re-visiting Silverstone where earlier this month, I fulfilled a lifetime’s ambition.
I competed in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race supporting the iconic British Formula One Grand Prix with major support from multiple, prestigious Scottish companies.
I was a very, very proud man!
My Richardson Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car was sponsored by Scotland’s oldest working distillery, The Glenturret, based in Perthshire, who also supports me in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB this year.
I also got onboard Glasgow-based Tunnock’s for this race plus my other usual partners, AL-2 Teknik UK, PyroDry and Carronbridge Sawmill, all three from my hometown of Thornhill.
I was inside the top-20 in quali and finished in the top-16 in the 14-lap race featuring 32 identical Porsche cars. I was actually the best-placed British driver with no prior Supercup experience, having outpaced many Supercup regulars in both time trials and the race. But as silly as it may sound, the weekend was all about having fun and not so much the race result.
The weekend was a whirlwind with so much adrenaline pumping through my body – it was an incredible experience. I’ve never witnessed anything like the atmosphere before. There was a lot of emotion on the grid on raceday with my family, sponsors and friends with me. It’s an event I’ll treasure for the rest of my life. And it was a good race result, my pace was strong, it’s a fiercely competitive championship. It was a one-off Supercup appearance but competing in front of half a million over the three days has made me want more.
So when I get to Silverstone to race with Paul Bailey, it’s going to bring all of these fantastic memories flooding back. We’ll start the latest GT Cup races still leading the series outright along with the GTO category having taken another two class wins earlier this month (1 July).
We were making our series debut in a Lamborghini Huracan at Oulton Park having already raced a Brabham BT62 Competition and Mercedes AMG GT3 this season! I’d previously raced a Huracan in March 2021 scoring two British GT Championship class podiums.
I didn’t get to drive in the opening race in which Paul claimed a class win for both of us with seventh place overall. The race, staged in fast changing weather conditions, was abandoned and not re-started after just two laps following an accident.
It was strange to ‘win’ the first race without actually stepping into the Lamborghini. With the second race being shortened, I didn’t get much of an opportunity to make up many places but we were happy with sixth place overall. So, the aim is obviously another two class wins on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.
In the Porsche GB series, I took my regular Glenturret Porsche to victory in the opening race at Oulton Park last month (17-18 Jun). I finished fourth in the second race and will head to my “home” Knockhill track in August still second in the Pro-Am category.
It was fantastic to be back on the pace at Oulton and winning again although I was very disappointed with the outcome of the second race as another victory was definitely achievable before I was unceremoniously hit.
In Race 1, I snatched the class lead heading in to the first corner. It was then a case of controlling the race and managing the gap to the car behind which gave me a few taps going into the hairpin which kept me on my toes.
The same car hit me five or six times on the opening lap of Race 2 and then after a Safety Car period, hit me good and proper, causing me to lose places and damage to my car. It was disappointing and there’s no need to be that aggressive. Anyway, it’s a case of now looking ahead to the upcoming GT Cup and Porsche races. Come and say hi if you’re at either.
