PORSCHE GB JUNIOR HARPER LAYS DOWN MARKER AFTER DOMINANT OULTON PARK CARRERA CUP GB QUALIFYING

18-year-old Porsche GB 2018 / 2019 Junior Dan Harper (JTR) took the sixth pole position of his Porsche Carrera Cup GB career at Oulton Park. Harper was involved in a hard-fought battle for a front row starting spot with George Gamble (Amigos Redline Racing), Lewis Plato (Motorbase Performance) and returnee Tom Wrigley (Rob Boston Racing). The top Rookie was Tom Roche (Rob Boston Racing) who qualified an impressive fourth, but championship contender Josh Webster (Team Parker Racing) will be a driver to watch at the start of round seven as he starts from the third row of the grid.

In dry and sunny conditions, Junior Harper made the most of the sweet spot JTR has seemingly found around Oulton Park’s Island circuit – the result comes almost exactly one year after Wrigley took a similarly dominant pole position in Cheshire with JTR. Last year’s pole sitter, Wrigley, was on the pace immediately, keeping his name at the top of the timesheet throughout the session. Fellow returnee Will Bratt (IN2 Racing) also showed good pace steadily improving throughout the course of the session, he will start today’s race from the fourth row of the grid. Ultimately, less than one second covers Bratt in P8 to Junior Harper on pole.

Esmee Hawkey (GT Marques) put in a strong performance to qualify ahead of her category rivals Karl Leonard (Team Parker Racing) and Rookie Jack McCarthy (Redline Racing). Newcomer Adam Hatfield (Valluga Racing) acquitted himself well to finished his first Porsche Carrera Cup GB qualifying session 0.229 secs behind category rival McCarthy. Am category championship leader Justin Sherwood (Team Parker Racing) continued his good form to qualify ahead of Peter Kyle-Henney (IN2 Racing) and Rookie John Ferguson (Redline Racing).

Following the 2019 Carrera Cup GB race format, Junior Harper has already earned two championship points with his pole position, and the top qualifiers in their respective categories – Hawkey and Sherwood – also receive two points each. The grid for tomorrow’s second race will be decided immediately following race one. The overall winner will draw a number between four and six at random, deciding whether the first four, five or six competitors will have their grid positions reversed. The remaining drivers will form the grid for race two according to their finishing positions in race one, any driver who records a DNF in race one will start race two behind the last finisher in their category.

Round seven will take place at 16:00 today with live coverage available online at www.porsche.co.uk/MotorsportLive – while round eight will take place tomorrow, Sunday 30 June at 15:30. Both races feature a standing start and are scheduled to last for a duration of 18 laps. The challenging Oulton Park Island circuit always delivers close, exciting racing, with overtaking opportunities made not offered – who will shine in Cheshire?

Source. Porsche