Richardson Racing enjoyed another strong weekend in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB as the series headed to Snetterton for the penultimate race weekend of the year.
The Corby-based team made the trip to Norfolk seeking to maintain an impressive run of results prior to the ‘mid-season break’, where rising star Will Martin had taken four successive podium finishes – including a maiden win at his home circuit of Thruxton.
Tenth quickest in tricky mixed weather conditions during Friday testing, Will was then forced to contend with fading light and low track temperatures for qualifying late on Saturday afternoon and once again ended up tenth on the times.
Whilst that result was lower than the talented teenager had hoped for, it left Will well placed to fight his way forwards in the two races as he looked to cement his top six championship position.
The first of the two races on Sunday would be held in challenging damp conditions after overnight rain, but they only served to give Will the chance to shine with one of the drives of the race in the #10 car.
Avoiding a stalled car ahead when the lights went out, Will moved up to eighth spot on the opening lap and then dived up the inside of Ross Wylie into Williams on lap two to take seventh. Chasing down Scott McKenna for sixth, Will made a stunning move around the outside at Palmer to secure the place and then quickly closed in on the fight for fourth between Mark Kimber and Sam MacLeod.
Having caught the squabbling pair, Will made a brave move around the outside at turn one to take fifth from Kimber and then cleared MacLeod on the run to Brundle later in the lap to move into the top four.
Pushing hard through the closing laps, Will would halve the gap to third placed Matty Graham ahead but had to settle for fourth place at the finish.
The reverse grid draw put Will on pole position for the second race of the weekend and he was able to maintain the lead through lap one before being overhauled by championship leader Harry King at Agostini on lap two.
Unfortunately, Will found the going more difficult than he had earlier in the day and would slip back down the order as the race went on – his hopes of a podium finish not helped by on-track contact that affected the handling of his car.
Will would ultimately cross the line in sixth spot for a solid points finish that leaves him sixth in the standings heading into the Brands Hatch finale next month.
“It’s been a tricky weekend and we had work to do after qualifying,” he said. “The conditions on track for race one were tough but I managed to find the grip where others didn’t to come through the field well.
“I’ve always loved those conditions and it was a case of just growing a pair and finding unorthodox lines that worked! To come from tenth on the grid to take fourth was a really good result and set us up well for race two.
“Unfortunately the car wasn’t quite there in race two and there was also some contact that affected the handling and we just couldn’t hold on at the front of the pack. We’ve scored some good points across the weekend though and can go to Brands Hatch looking to end the year on a high.”