Tough start for King at Austria's Red Bull Ring

Credit: Porsche Motorsport

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Holyport’s Harry King lost ground in a tough start to his latest Mobil 1 Porsche Supercup race at the Red Bull Ring in Austria but battled hard to finish fourth and keep his championship challenge on track.

Those points moved the BWT Lechner Racing driver up to fourth in the championship standings and, on a circuit where he had shown good pace previously in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, King enjoyed a solid start to the weekend.

A fourth best time in the free practice was bettered in qualifying as he cut more than half a second off his time to line up second on the grid for the main race. It was also his first front row start in the series, with his fastest lap just 0.071secs behind teammate Dylan Pereira as BWT Lechner locked out the front row for its home race.

However, King got off to a poor start and slipped behind defending champion Larry Ten Voorde and Laurin Heinrich, and a wild moment towards the end of the first lap saw him sustain damage to the front splitter of his car.

The resultant loss of downforce made the rest of the race a bit of a handful for King as he attempted to tame his ill-handling car. He managed to settle into a rhythm before a clash between Klein and Ten Voorde provided him with the chance to make up place, something he gratefully accepted as he made it up to fourth.

Despite the damage done to his car, King also set the fourth fastest lap of the race, with the points scored allowing him to maintain his fourth place in the standings ahead of the next event at Paul Ricard later this month.

“The weekend started well in practice and I was pleased to follow it up with a strong run in qualifying,” he said. “To give the team a 1-2 on the grid for its home race was fantastic, but unfortunately I didn’t quite maximise my starting position when the lights went out, which left me vulnerable in the run to turn one.

“Losing the front splitter at the end of lap one meant I had to change my approach as it is such an important part of the aerodynamics on these cars, and it was really damage limitation from that point on.

“To still come fourth in those circumstances is incredible and whilst it’s not a result I’m happy with, I’m pleased with the pace we showed this weekend – and it isn’t often that you’ll finish fourth on a bad day in a series as difficult as the Mobil 1 Porsche Supercup. Half way through the season, we’re in a solid place in the standings and I feel I’m in a good environment with a team that is giving me fantastic support. I’m looking forward to going to Paul Ricard in a few weeks and fighting at the front.”