Jack McCarthy has secured a third Pro Am class win of his maiden Porsche Carrera Cup GB season so far.
With a sensational performance on the big stage at Silverstone, as the series supported the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The sixth meeting of the season provided the Carrera Cup GB field with a rare opportunity to compete on the full Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. For McCarthy it was his first time racing on the circuit, with only a single test day on the layout under his belt from the start of the year.
Two free practice sessions on Friday provided the Shandon Hotel, SAS International, TMJ Interiors and Integra supported driver with the chance to get re-acquainted with the 3.66 mile circuit again and work on the set-up for his Redline Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.
After making steady improvements with his lap times on Friday, it unfortunately wouldn’t go McCarthy’s way in qualifying on Saturday. Unable to quite piece together an ideal lap, a best effort of 2m 05.166s put him fifth quickest in the Pro Am ranks.
The Kent racer headed into the opening race of the meeting that afternoon confident of strong race pace in his Porsche though, and he proved to be correct. A great start to proceedings saw him pick up two positions on the first lap to settle into third.
Immediately settling into a good rhythm, McCarthy quickly found himself in a close fought three way battle over second place in class. In the unenviable position of having to try and attack for position and defend his at the same time, the 19 year old put in an impressive display.
A determined and composed performance to the chequered flag ensured he maintained third in class for a hard-earned podium result. That put him in the same position on the grid for Sunday’s race and the Bromley based driver made another fast start.
Moving up to second on lap two, McCarthy then benefitted from a moment for the driver ahead to assume the race lead before the end of the next tour. Edging clear of his class rivals from there, he got himself into some entertaining battles with Pro class competitors.
After some impressive wheel-to-wheel racing, McCarthy came home in eighth overall as the class winner. That result means he remains in the top three in the Pro Am standings and second in the Rookie points with four races remaining this season.
Speaking after the weekend, McCarthy said:”With only one pre-season test around the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, back when I was focusing on learning the car rather than the track, it was a real learning curve for me this weekend but I’m pleased with my progress and to get a win at the end was fantastic.
“It was a case of me going quicker each lap across free practice and qualifying. Unfortunately it didn’t come quick enough for me to get a great grid position, but we knew our race pace would be stronger and that certainly proved to be the case.
“It was a good race between the Pro Am’s in the opener, with some close competition and I’m pleased to have picked up the podium. That filled me with confidence for race two and I was able to make some crucial early progress and get the lead.
“The Redline Racing car was feeling fantastic and I was able to mix it with the Pro drivers, which I enjoyed. Overall, it’s a good points haul from the weekend and keeps us in contention for the Pro Am and Rookie titles heading into the final two meetings of the season.”
Images courtesy of www.pspimages.co.uk