Kent’s Motorbase Performance made a highly-celebrated return to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB podium at the weekend, with Dan Vaughan taking his maiden Pro-Am class win at Donington Park.
After securing pole position in the #55 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car on only his second competitive race weekend, the Carrera Cup rookie delivered a commanding lights to flag drive in the weekend’s opening race, crossing the line in P6 overall and 1st in class with an impressive 5 second lead over his nearest rival.
Having just missed out on the reversed grid draw for round 4, the 21-year-old endured a more challenging second race starting from 6th with early contact dropping him down the order. The A E Graphics-backed driver managed to work his way back through the field before tangling with fellow newcomer Collingbourne as the duo wrestled for the top Pro-Am spot with the outcome resulting in a P11 finish, 4th in class.
Vaughan’s notable pace and race-craft was clearly on display throughout the weekend and the results from the Leicestershire track have rocketed the rookie into 2nd place in the Pro-Am Championship standings as the Porsche Carrera Cup GB grid prepares to head to Monza, Italy for the next instalment on May 11/12.
Team Principal David Bartrum: “Saturday was about as good as it gets! Dan had a brilliant qualifying session to grab the Pro-Am pole and then to convert that into a class win on only his 2nd weekend was superb. The boys gave him a great car and the podium was the perfect reward for their efforts.
“Race 2 was more fraught and delivered a little more drama, but Dan has clearly shown that he has the pace and potential to challenge for wins and the weekend has given him the right frame of mind heading into the next race at Monza.”
Dan Vaughan #55: “Donington Park was a bit of a mixed weekend for us. Qualifying on pole in such tricky conditions was a massive boost for us. I really didn’t expect to win on Saturday to be honest. I knew that if it was wet we had a good chance, but then once it dried off the conditions were quite tricky so it was massive boost with our tyre strategy and pace paying off.
“It felt really good to get my first podium and class win and it was a great reward for the team for all of their hard work. We’ve made a big step forward with our race pace this weekend, a couple of silly mistakes took the shine off Sunday a little but there are lots of positives to take to Monza. I can’t wait.”
Photo credits: Carrera Cup GB and Dan Bathie