Double Podium For Octane Finance-Backed Harry King at Snetterton

Octane Finance-backed racer Harry King kicked off his defence of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB with a brace of podium finishes as the 2021 season got underway at Snetterton.

Harry romped to the title last season in his first year in the series with Team Parker Racing, with the Porsche GB Junior Driver returning for a second season alongside an exciting new programme in the F1-supporting Mobil 1 Porsche Supercup.

Prior to the Snetterton weekend, Harry had already taken part in two race meetings in Europe, taking two wins in two starts at the Red Bull Ring in Austria during a guest outing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, and then picking up an impressive top ten finish in the Supercup season opener on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Returning to British soil and getting back behind the wheel of his title-winning car, Harry was on the pace in pre-event testing even though red flags during the Friday sessions prevented him from showing his true speed compared to his rivals.

Confidence was high however going into qualifying before an unfortuate mechanical issue on the car prevented him from setting a time at the quickest point in the session, leaving him to start race one back in sixth spot.

Hard work from the team ensured the car was ready for race day and Harry wasted little time in making up places when the action kicked off in race one, working his way through into the podium places by the end of the fifth lap.

With the leading runners all lapping at similar pace, Harry held third through to the finish before a penalty for one of the two cars ahead moved him up into P2.

Fifth on the grid for race two - which featured a reverse grid - Harry was a man on a mission on the opening lap as he rocketed through to second place and a fine move on Lewis Plato then moved him into the lead on lap two.

Harry would lead the race right through to the finish but with just two laps to go, notice came through that he would have five seconds added to his race time for exceeding track limits. That penalty meant that, although he crossed the line first, he would end up classified third in the final results.

"Obviously I wanted to start the defence of my title with a win this weekend, but the rules are the rules and unfortunately we lost out," he said. "We are on the back foot after the issue in qualifying as I'm sure we would have been at the front of the grid otherwise, and credit to the team for working hard to get the car sorted for race day.

"We showed our pace in both races in what were very tough conditions on track with the high temperatures, and two podium finishes isn't a bad way to start the year. I am however more determined that ever to go to Brands Hatch in a few weeks and get back onto the top step!

"This weekend has shown how competitive Carrera Cup GB is going to be this season and I fully expect the times to be very close at Brands with such a short lap, but I'm confident that we will go there and be fighting at the front."