The Comline Richardson Racing team produced a fine weekend on track as the Porsche Carrera Cup GB travelled to Brands Hatch for the second round of the campaign, with the team securing a first win with the new 992-spec version of the Porsche GT3 Cup car.
The team headed for the famous Kent circuit eager to bounce back from a challenging start to the campaign at Donington Park last month, where drivers Will Martin and Jack Bartholomew had to settle for a single top ten finish apiece from the opening weekend of the year.
Pre-event testing saw Will narrowly miss out on the quickest time having lapped just 0.066s off the pace in the #10 car, with Jack just outside the top ten despite his lap being only three-tenths of a second off the pace.
Come qualifying on Saturday afternoon, the pair were on fine form, with Will improving on his Friday time by more than half a second to grab pole position for the second time.
Jack’s improvement was even more impressive, as he lapped nearly a full second quicker than he had done in testing to put the #89 entry fifth on the grid – allowing him to break into the top ten in qualifying for the first time.
The opening race of the weekend on Sunday morning kicked off with rain in the air, with both drivers able to hold their positions when the lights went out.
Will had established a handy lead at the front with Jack sitting in sixth when the rain started to fall, with Jack making up a spot into fifth when a car ahead spun shortly before the action was halted due to the worsening conditions.
Cars returned to the pits to be fitted with wet tyres before the action resumed over a shortened distance of five minutes, with Will fending off the challenge of Kiern Jewiss to grab his first win of the campaign.
Jack meanwhile nipped ahead of Hugo Ellis into fourth on the first lap after the restart, and was able to keep Gus Burton at bay to secure his best finish of the season to date – and things got better post-race when a penalty for Matthew Graham saw him promoted into third overall.
The grid for race two would see Jack starting from fourth spot with Will directly behind in sixth, and the pair faced with the most challenging weather conditions of the weekend as the rain intensified.
Moving up into fourth on the opening lap of the race, Will fought hard to get into the podium places with a move on Theo Edgerton and then grabbed second from Adam Smalley after a late caution period to secure a second podium of the weekend.
Although Jack would find the going more difficult than in race one, he fought hard to bring his car to the finish in eighth spot as the third best rookie and maintain his run of points scores.
At the end of the weekend, Will now sits fourth in the championship standings with Jack in seventh, with Comline Richardson Racing moving to the head of the Entrants’ Championship ahead of the next round at Oulton Park in early June.
Will Martin, #10 Comline Richardson Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, said:
“We had a different mindset coming here and we worked hard to put things right after Donington Park. We were quick in practice, put the car on pole and then won race one so it was a perfect start and then P2 in the final race was a great way to end what has been one of our best ever weekends.
“It’s been tricky with the weather as it was and we had to just stay out of trouble and keep it tidy. It’s important that we have bounced back so quickly from round one and got a win under our belt, and it’s given the whole team a boost. W,e are back where we should be.”
Jack Bartholomew, #89 Comline Richardson Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, said:
“It’s been a great weekend for the whole team and we have put our mark on the championship as Donington wasn’t where we wanted to be. We went back to basics and came here ready to attack, and for us to have three podiums from four is great for the whole team.
“On a personal level, I’m pleased to put some serious points on the board this weekend and I want to try and push forwards now to get more podiums and fight for that first win. To get some silverware this early in the season gives me confidence to know I can deliver the results, and although race two was more difficult, it is always a pleasure to race these cars. I can certainly use what I learned this weekend to help me move forwards.”