Redline Racing currently top of the standings in the Pro Am, Rookie and Entrants standings in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB after a hugely successful outing in the second meeting of the season at Donington Park this past weekend (27/28 April). The most successful team in Carrera Cup GB history, Redline Racing added three more class victories to their tally in Leicestershire as Jack McCarthy secured a breakthrough pair of Pro Am wins, while new recruit for the weekend John Ferguson secured a maiden Am class success. The Teeside squad headed to Donington Park with a formidable record at the circuit, having had a driver finish on the overall podium in each of the previous sixteen Porsche Carrera Cup GB races there, a run that stretched back a decade. Amigos Tequila Beer backed duo George Gamble and Seb Perez hoped they could continue that run at their home event after each stepping onto the podium at Brands Hatch three weeks ago, and Gamble put himself in a great position to do so in qualifying on Saturday. In tricky conditions, the Nottingham racer excelled and a scintillating lap time saw him miss out on pole position by just three thousandths of a second. Perez came home fifth overall, while McCarthy and Ferguson both ended the session second quickest in their respective classes. Gamble started the opening race that afternoon in superb style, storming around the outside at the first corner to take the race lead. While he unfortunately lost a place soon after, a battling display saw him fend off a number of challenges to take second place overall. Reigning Pro Am champion Perez enjoyed a positive run over the first half of the race and put himself firmly in podium contention as he grabbed fourth on lap 11, however on the next tour he slid wide down the Craner Curves and made heavy contact with the barriers. McCarthy starred in his SAS International and Shandon Hotel & Spa backed Porsche. Initially slipping to third, he fought back to the class lead by the end of lap six and went on to climb up to sixth overall on his way to a maiden Pro Am win and a second Rookie success. Ferguson meanwhile enjoyed a fantastic battle for the Am class podium places in the closing stages of the race and emerged in second. He went one better in race two, quickly grabbing the class lead and holding it through to the flag for a first win in the Carrera Cup GB. In front of the live ITV4 television cameras on Sunday afternoon, McCarthy made it two Redline drivers on the top step of the podium. Starting from the reversed grid pole position, the Kent racer led the Pro Am division from start-to-finish to make it a double win. A fantastic effort from the Redline Racing mechanics on Saturday evening ensured that Perez’s car was as good as new for the second encounter and he repaid their efforts with a hard fought sixth place finish, two spots behind his Amigos stablemate Gamble. The weekend’s results leave Gamble and Perez third and fifth in the Pro standings respectively after the first two meetings of the year. McCarthy has risen to the top of the Pro Am and Rookie points, Ferguson is second in Am, while Redline maintain their lead in the Entrants competition. Simon Leonard – Team Boss: “We’re delighted to see three of our four Porsche Carrera Cup GB drivers stand on the podium at Donington Park and were it not for an unfortunate moment for Seb [Perez], we’re confident he could have made it a clean sweep. “George [Gamble] put in a tremendous lap in qualifying and was unlucky to miss out on pole position. While he naturally would have loved the race win in the opener, coming away with second and fourth place finishes gives him a solid haul of points to cap off a strong start to the year. “Jack [McCarthy] was an absolute star this weekend. He was immediately at the top of the Pro Am timesheets and richly deserved his two class victories, while the reversed grid pole position gave him a great opportunity to learn from racing wheel-to-wheel with the best drivers in the series. “The team put in a brilliant job to get Seb’s car turned around for race two and he fought back well, while it was a fantastic weekend for John [Ferguson]. We were pleased to welcome him to the team and he put in a top performance in his first meeting with us.” The Porsche Carrera Cup GB now heads into a seven week break before the championship returns to action at Croft in North Yorkshire on 15/16 June.
Image from Dan Bathie/Porsche GB.