Team Parker Racing enjoyed a successful visit to Oulton Park in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB as it not only claimed four victories across all classes but leads the Pro, Pro-Am, Am, Rookie, and Teams’ championships as well.
There was celebration for Justin Armstrong on Saturday as he raced to a maiden Am class victory, something he has worked extremely hard for. There was also Sunday success for Kiern Jewiss from pole position, meaning he leads the overall and Rookie standings, and Ryan Ratcliffe, who tops the Pro-Am Championship.
In the opening race of the weekend there was a close battle at the front of the field as Kiern and reigning champion Harry King battled for podium places, but a host of post-race penalties and stewards’ decisions eventually meant the pair were classified fifth and sixth, respectively.
Behind them Ryan put pressure on Micah Stanley for the Pro-Am win, but was just unable to get past, having an enjoyable tussle regardless, while in Am, Justin Armstrong secured his popular win, fending off team-mate Justin Sherwood throughout the contest.
On Sunday Kiern had a largely untroubled run from pole to the flag, while Harry managed to make up two places in another close battle but couldn’t quite get onto the podium. Ryan withstood late pressure for his Pro-Am success, while Justin Armstrong looked set to make it two wins from two, but a small error caused him to run wide, handing the victory to championship leader Justin Sherwood.
The Porsche Carrera Cup GB competitors will be back on track for a test day at Knockhill on Wednesday, August 11th, before the next rounds of the season at the Scottish venue that weekend, August 14/15.
Kiern Jewiss
G1 – 4, R1 – 5
G2 – 1, R2 – 1
Championship: 1 (45 points)
Rookie Championship: 1 (98 points)
“There wasn’t much in qualifying but fourth wasn’t too bad as it was my first time driving the car in the rain, so I knew it was going to be tough. I struggled with the balance in the race and a bit of contact from Harry made me go backwards.
“It wasn’t easy in race two. I managed it as best I could from the start and had more pace, so I built a gap, they started closing back up again, but I had a bit more to push and get more of a gap. I could see they were having a battle so I chilled out when the tyres went off to leave myself something at the end if they caught me. It was a good weekend and a good result, so we need to keep pushing on.”
Harry King
G1 – 7, R1 – 6
G2 – 6, R2 – 4
Championship: 6 (30 points)
“It’s difficult adjusting between both cars this year so Friday is my time to learn. I got a grasp on the car and was feeling confident. It was a difficult qualifying in the mixed conditions and I wasn’t feeling comfortable with the car. We made great progress during the race, crossing the line third, but after judicials we ended up dropping back to sixth and missed out on the reverse grid pole.
“I knew it would be difficult to come from that far back in race two and I had a good race with Dan, a fair, clean race which was nice, but by the time I went past him our tyre pressures had skyrocketed, so to make further progress was tough. I got a bit of a squeeze trying to pass Will Martin but fourth considering where we started the race was good and we had to work hard for it.”
Ryan Ratcliffe
G1 – 3, R1 – 2
G2 – 2, R2 – 1
Pro-Am Championship: 1 (55 points)
“I hadn’t driven the car in the wet this year so during practice I didn’t feel too confident, but when I came in and saw I was fifth overall I realised I was doing a good job. I wasn’t over-driving and the car was in the sweet spot. Qualifying was good and in the first run I had a second on the other Pro-Am runners, but I got unlucky on the second set of tyres as I had yellow flags.
I really enjoyed the first race. I was pushing Micah [Stanley] and think I had the pace, but I was trying too hard in the end, locked up going into the chicane, and got pickup on the tyres, so the car was unstable under turn in for Druids and I almost lost it. I was over-driving and thought I would take the points and back off, knowing I would be starting in a good place for race two.
I enjoyed race two. I got Micah off the line and claimed the lead. I had a really good race, but three laps before the end I dropped a wheel on the grass and nearly went around. I lost all my advantage and then it was a case of defending for two laps. It was good to come away with a win and we’re still in the lead in the championship, which is good. It’s another good result for the team.
Justin Sherwood
G1 – 2, R1 – 2
G2 – 2, R2 – 1
Am Championship: 1 (65 points)
“I struggled a bit in qualifying. The first run was good, but I struggled to get the best out of the change we made for the second run, though second in class was alright. I had to defend off the start for race one and had a great battle with Justin from then onwards.
“I didn’t get a bad start for race two, but Justin got a better one and a couple of the Pro-Am guys jumped me through the first couple of corners. After the Safety Car restart Jake [Rattenbury] and Josh [Caygill] got a run on me out of the hairpin and into Knickerbrook. The race then settled down and I was hoping to close on Justin towards the end of the race and sort it out over the final few laps, but then unfortunately he ran wide at the hairpin and allowed me through. I’d already got a bit of a gap to Josh Stanton, so it was just a case of bring it home and claim the points. It was great for Team Parker Racing taking first in each class.”
Justin Armstrong
G1 – 1, R1 – 1
G2 – 1, R2 – 3
Am Championship: 2 (53 points)
“Saturday went as well as could be expected. I managed to get pole despite not thinking I had done it, making a small improvement on the final lap. Justin pushed me hard all the way during the opening race. It was fair and clean, and we were both strong in different places, but I managed to hold on for the win.
“Race two was good but I made a mistake. I made a really good start, jumped some of the Pro-Ams, and made sure I had some cars between Justin and I, to give me a chance of clawing some points back. I locked the rears going into the hairpin then the grass dragged me off and by the time I re-joined everyone had got past. I am really pleased with the pace and a few more laps and I think I would have got second. Justin drives great so you can’t give him a gap and expect to close it back up, but well done to the team for a great weekend.”
Team Parker Racing
Entrant Championship: 1 (172 points)
Source. Torque
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