Will Martin has superbly extended his record to four consecutive podium finishes in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB courtesy of an eye-catching double top three at Silverstone (26/27 September). Less than four days on from his first top three start, race win and double-podium at Thruxton, the 17-year-old rising star had very high expectations for this weekend at 'Home of British Motor Racing'. Martin was able to set competitive lap times across Friday's two free practice sessions, despite cold and blustery conditions, plus a pair of slow punctures, hampering his programme. On Saturday morning, the East Sussex racer was able to challenge for pole position during an incredibly competitive qualifying session. In the end, the Proceed Group driver had to settle for fourth place, just 0.114 tenths off pole. Martin started the first race that evening with high hopes, knowing that his Richardson Racing Porsche 911 GT3 was in good shape to challenge for a top three finishing position. The MT Drains backed racer kept his composure off the line and moved into third place, immediately putting the pressure on MacLeod in second position and setting the fastest lap of the race in the early stages. Despite a safety car interruption, he was able to keep the pressure on his opponent all the way through and got past on the last lap to finish in second place. Martin started race two on Sunday afternoon from fourth position on the reverse grid, however this time he unfortunately dropped back one place in his Trenchlines Utilities backed machine. He fought back though and got fourth place on the seventh lap, before beginning to hunt down the leading trio. With nine laps to go, he made his move going into Brooklands corner to take third place. Managing to pull out a gap from the pack behind, the rookie talent held position to the finish to complete another sweep of podium finishes. Martin is now up to sixth position in the drivers’ standings heading into the final two rounds of the 2020 season at Snetterton (24/25 October) and Brands Hatch (14/15 November). Will Martin: “After last weekend at Thruxton, both mine and the team’s targets had changed for sure. We were now looking at making the podium more regularly, rather than just consistently scoring points. “Friday went okay but it wasn’t plain sailing. The car still felt good and I knew that we would have good pace for qualifying and the races. At that point, I was just hoping we weren’t going to start seeing a puncture filled weekend like we did at Thruxton. Fortunately, we didn’t. “Saturday started off really well. In qualifying we were competitive and it was fantastic to be in the fight for pole position. In the end though, we just didn’t quite have enough pace and we missed out by the smallest of margins. “Starting from fourth wasn’t concerning though as I knew we could race from there and challenge the guys in the top three. The first race started well, I made a great launch off the line to jump into third place and was immediately able to put the pressure on those in front. The whole race I just tried to force MacLeod into a mistake, but he was tough to pass. However, on the last lap, I got him. “The start of race two was good, not great as I did lose a position on the opening lap. I just kept my head down and waited for the right opportunity. I was then able to move up to third, and I tried to hunt down the top two but there wasn’t enough time left in the race. "This weekend shows that Thruxton wasn't just a flash in the pan. It’s great to see that we have the pace and that we can now make the most of it. We’ve all worked so hard and I’m confident that we can continue to progress up the championship standings. I’m really happy with this weekend.”
Image from Dan Bathie / Porsche GB.