Eden Race Drive enjoyed a fantastic start to its Porsche Carrera Cup GB campaign at the weekend (April 27/28), with an impressive performance capped by victory for Will Martin.
The team lined up its strong five-car entry, featuring Will, Josh Malin, and Harry Foster in Pro, with Oli White and Will Aspin in Pro-Am, and undertook a pair of practice sessions on Thursday in preparation for the weekend.
With just one qualifying session on Saturday afternoon, there were good performances as Will Martin finished third quickest on his GB return, with Josh and Harry sixth and seventh in class. In Pro-Am Oli finished second and Will Aspin fifth, despite having no pre-season testing.
On Sunday there was heavy rain for most of the morning causing delays to the schedule. Once it had dried up in the afternoon, everyone opted for slick tyres ready to begin the first and what would be the only race of the day for the Porsches.
Whilst lining up on the grid Will Aspin unfortunately had an issue with his car, having to start from the pit lane and sadly, pushing to catch up on the opening lap, went off and retired. Oli had a great start, making up some positions in the first couple of corners but sadly came together with another car down the Craner Curves. He was able to carry on, albeit mud splattered, but was down in 20th place overall.
Towards the front, Will Martin and Josh were running fourth and fifth as the Safety Car was called on track and, when racing resumed, Will was caught up in a scary looking incident as he battled for second place. Thankfully, he emerged unscathed and then took advantage of an error by the leader to sweep into first place, which he would not relinquish to the flag. After another Safety Car period Josh was battling for a podium but ultimately finished fifth while Harry fought his way into the top 10.
However, all eyes were on Will’s incredible victory on his return and on the team’s debut, a remarkable feat in such a competitive series. Everyone is now looking forward to racing on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit for the second weekend of the season, over May 10-12.
Will Martin – #10 (Pro)
G1 – 3, R1 – 1
Championship: 1 (13 points)
“It was a really good race; we had a cracking start but then we ended up losing a position and dropping back down. After that we settled in and the move [for second] came together itself. It was a bit tight into turn one, side by side, and I took advantage by squeezing up the inside. There was a little bit of contact, but it was very hard for that to be avoidable. After that it was just about controlling the pace and keeping it clean. I ended up losing my splitter due to the contact, but apart from that, it was a very clean race.”
Harry Foster – #16 (Pro)
G1 – 8, R1 – 8
Championship: 9 (1 point)
“I had a bit of a bad start as I didn’t anticipate how much grip there would be so, I got a poor first phase off the line. After that, I found myself on the back foot as I was always in the wrong position and dropped back to P15. I had strong pace, made some good moves to get some positions back, and kept my nose clean. Unfortunately, three or four laps before the end I hit the tyre stack and lost my splitter, so I was in defence mode from the car behind. However, we finished P8 in class, so there are some positives.”
Josh Malin – #90 (Pro)
G1 – 7, R1 – 5
Championship: 5 (4 points)
“I had a decent start coming off the line and decided to hold back a little bit because I wasn’t sure what the front tyres were like. Thankfully, that was the best decision because I was able to go tight and nip in front of a number of people which got me up to fifth. Before the first Safety Car I must have hit the tyre stacks and lost my front splitter.
“The pace is ultimately there, and I think had I not lost my front splitter I would have been down the road or at least catching up to Will. The team have been wonderful this weekend, I’ve settled in well, and the vibe has been great. All in all, I’m quite pleased and hopefully we can carry this momentum forward into the second round.”
Will Aspin – #24 (Pro-Am)
G1 – 5, R1 – DNF
Pro-Am Championship: 9 (0 points)
“In qualifying we were two tenths off the top ten overall and second in Pro-Am, but I made a small mistake coming out of the chicane which cost me those couple of tenths. It was unfortunate on Sunday as when we went to the grid, my car started overheating. We’re not sure why, but I was pushed into the pit lane, filled it up with coolant and water, and went out on stone cold tyres on a damp track. I pushed and with a bit of steering angle it just sent me off. It’s my mistake and I’ve learned from it and I’d rather it happened now than at the end of the year.
“The team did a very, very good job with Will Martin, getting him the win, and we know we can be there too. We have enough to challenge for the championship and that’s my expectation, as well as fighting with the Pros for overall podiums, so I will work extremely hard to make that happen.”
Oliver White – #94 (Pro-Am)
G1 – 2, R1 – 5
Pro-Am Championship: 5 (4 points)
“I had a good start and I made up a position or two but unfortunately, I had contract with another car. We ended up colliding and going off into the gravel and because of that I lost my front splitter, which really affected me for the rest of the race. Thanks to everyone at Eden Race Drive for their hard work and I’m looking forward to Brands Hatch.”
