Redline Racing are welcoming an exciting new recruit to the team for the 2019 Porsche Carrera Cup GB, with teenage talent Jack McCarthy signing with the Teeside squad as he makes his debut in the fastest one-make championship in the UK. The eighteen year old has established himself as one of the brightest young talents in the British Touring Car Championship support paddock over the last two years, making his mark in the ultra-competitive Renault UK Clio Cup. A former European and British karting champion, McCarthy made a sensational start in the Clio Cup in 2017 as he qualified on the front row on his debut and secured a pair of outright podium finishes and five ‘Graduates Cup’ class wins in his maiden campaign. McCarthy continued to excel in the tin-top series last season with two pole positions and six further top three results including a superb breakthrough victory at Rockingham, which guided him to a second consecutive top eight championship finish. The Bromley based racer will now make the transition to GT racing for the first time in the Carrera Cup GB and he has already started getting to grips with his new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car during some productive winter test days. McCarthy enters the championship with support from Shandon Spa & Hotel, Taylor Made Joinery and SAS International. This rekindles a successful partnership between Redline and SAS, with the 2011 and 2012 Carrera Cup GB titles being won in SAS supported machines. Simon Leonard – Team Boss: “We are delighted to be welcoming Jack McCarthy to Redline Racing as he makes his debut in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. Jack has shown in the last two seasons that he’s a hugely exciting prospect and he has the potential to be a star in this championship. “The transition to the Carrera Cup GB will present Jack with plenty of challenges, but we are looking forward to working alongside him and believe we can help him to develop into a front-runner and get him in contention for podium finishes in his first campaign.” Jack McCarthy: “I’m looking forward to the new season and stepping up to what I consider to be one of the premium classes of racing. I’m excited to be part of the Redline Racing team and I’m hoping their vast experience in the series will help me to learn and develop as a driver. “I’ve had three days of testing in the new car so far and it is clear my first year will be a tremendous learning curve as I adjust to the extra power, increased weight, the change from front to rear wheel drive and the general handling, as it is very different to a Renault Clio. “My main goal is to adjust as quickly as possible to the new car, maximise our track time and finish as many races as possible. If I finished the season in the middle of the pack I’d be happy, but I can’t deny challenging for the Rookie Class title and getting on the overall podium would be fantastic.” McCarthy joins George Gamble and Seb Perez in Redline Racing’s line-up this season and when the trio take to the grid for the opening rounds at Brands Hatch in April, the team will reach the milestone of having run no less than sixty different drivers in the Carrera Cup GB. The 2019 season will be contested over sixteen races, with seven race weekends across the UK with the British Touring Car Championship as well as the opportunity to compete on the support bill of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Silverstone.
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.