Archie Hamilton returned to racing in rounds one and two of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at the weekend (June 11-13), taking a fourth-place finish in the Pro-Am category in the opening race at Snetterton to get his campaign started.
Saturday saw Archie take to the track in qualifying to put the car in 3rd position in class, and 13th place overall, ahead of Sunday’s opening race. However, an unfortunate grid place penalty for going too fast under a yellow flag during his quickest lap saw Hamilton shuffled back to 5th place in the category and 15th place overall. A strong race start and consistent race pace saw Hamilton finish 4th in class and 14th ovearll under the scorching 25°C Norfolk sun.
The result meant he lined up fourth in the Pro-Am Championship class for Race 2 on Sunday, and saw him gain track position by the end of lap two, running in 3rd. Archie was able to find great race pace throughout the 14-lap battle, driving amongst both Pro-Am and Pro drivers however, a small racing error saw him fall down the field midway through the race to 6th in class and 18th overall. From there, with only a handful of laps remaining, Archie crossed the line in 6th place in the Pro-Am category, disappointed not to have held onto a first podium in class.#
The result of both the races combined means Archie sits fifth in the Pro-Am championship standings with 8 points and plenty to still play for. Archie will be back in action in the series over the weekend of June 26-27, racing in support of the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.
Archie Hamilton
“We found great pace in qualifying and managed to put the car in 3rd ahead of Sunday’s first race, which we were all pleased with given that I had not tested the car before Wednesday! However, we unfortunately got a grid penalty for doing our fastest lap in Qualifying under yellow flags, which I just did not see at the time.
“It’s annoying but unfortunately that’s racing and there’s nothing we could do about it. The race plan for race one was to just work our way forward to gain a good starting position for the next race. The second race, I was running in 3rd and battling well with the top 10 and for the win in class, however a small error meant I fell down the field to finish in 6th.
“We were happy with the pace I showed throughout and lots we can build on going forward. We were able to take a good bunch of points away from this weekend and I look forward to Brands Hatch in two weeks’ time.”
“I want to say a big thank you to my sponsors UFI Filters and 20ten Creative.”