Tonbridge’s Esmee Hawkey enjoyed another successful outing in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB last weekend as she claimed two podium finishes in the Pro-Am category to move into third place in the early championship standings.
Just a week after completing the final three-day test session ahead of her W Series debut, Esmee had to quickly reacclimatise from a single-seater mindset to the powerful Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car used in the Carrera Cup.
Difficult conditions on a cold, wet, and windy Saturday morning made qualifying tricky around Donington Park and the 21-year old admitted she didn’t perform to her best in the session but soon made up for it in the first race of the weekend that afternoon. Making her way past Am and fellow Pro-Am competitors, she pressured the experienced Karl Leonard into an error and swooped past to claim third place.
She started race two well on Sunday but quickly realised she was struggling with tyre temperatures. After a Safety Car period, Esmee smartly calculated it would be her best opportunity to make further ground and grabbed second place in Pro-Am, holding the position to the flag to cap an excellent weekend’s work.
Esmee is next in action on May 3/4 as she makes history as one of just 18 drivers selected to compete in the W Series at Hockenheim, the home of the German Grand Prix, with coverage free-to-air in high-definition on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. Her next appearance in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB will be at Croft in Yorkshire on June 14-16, where fans can watch both races live via the Porsche UK website and on ITV4 and ITV Hub online.
Speaking after the weekends racing, Hawkey said: “It’s been quite a tricky weekend. Jumping from an F3 car into the Carrera Cup car is a big challenge but something that I will have to do throughout the year so I need to practice and get my head around it, and it will make me a better driver overall.
“Qualifying was wet and I haven’t had much running in the wet and haven’t found the perfect set up for me but I raced well in the rain at Knockhill last year so I was hoping for a good result but it dried out a little so I didn’t qualify too well.
“I had a good start in race one and passed some of the Am and Pro-Am drivers and had a good battle with Karl Leonard – he likes to block! But I kept the pressure on, and he made a mistake and I got past to finish third and take home some silverware.
“I didn’t start race two well and lost places while I struggled to get my tyre temperatures up. I made a lunge after the Safety Car came out and managed to finish second. We were quick and consistent and catching on to the back of the Pro drivers. I was hoping for a few more laps to try to catch Jack [McCarthy] but I am happy with second place. I am happy coming away with two trophies and points and we can look forward to Croft.”
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