Parker Revs Motorsport had a challenging trip to Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium for the 300th Porsche Supercup race in the series history, with wet weather and Safety Cars disrupting the weekend.

After Harry King returned from his Porsche Carrera Cup GB commitments last time out, the team fielded three cars, with Dutch star Loek Hartog joining full season driver Garry Findlay in the line up, to take on the longest circuit on the 2021 calendar.

In the only dry session of the weekend on Friday, the team’s speed was evident as Loek topped the times for much of the running, finishing third quickest, while Harry was 13th and Garry 20th after rival teams set times on new tyres in the closing stages.

The conditions made it tough in qualifying as the rain eased a little during the opening 15 minutes but, returning with increased intensity, there was no chance for competitors to improve their lap times, with Harry lining up 11th, Loek 17th, and Garry 21st.

Harry made a good start, while Loek and Garry managed to avoid a spinning car at La Source, before the entire field held its breath as leader Larry Ten Voorde was sent into a spin across the top of the blind crest at Radillon.

Harry did well to capitalise after the incident, moving up to sixth, before taking fifth with an excellent move around the outside of Les Combes and was sitting close to the podium positions with plenty of laps left to run. Sadly, he then lost a spot and as Morris Schuring got alongside at Courbe Paul Frere, there was contact between the pair which sent Harry off into a spin and tumbling down the order before he recovered to cross the line in 18th.

Behind him, Loek was locked in a battle with series front-runners Ten Voorde and Tio Ellinas, finishing 11th, while Garry had to fight his way through the field after serving a drive-through penalty for a minor technical infringement. Fighting through some of the slower cars, he had to avoid more spinning machines during a chaotic race to come home 23rd, as the final laps of the race were beset by a pair of Safety Car periods as cars required retrieving from the side of the circuit.

The team will be back in action in just one week’s time as the championship heads to Zandvoort in the Netherlands where Loek will be cheered on by a capacity crowd on home soil.

Harry King, #17, Pro
G – 11, R – 18

“The conditions added another learning curve as I jumped back into the 992 GT3 Cup car, so I was a bit rusty on Friday and it was my first time at Spa as well, so I had lots to learn and take in.It’s also a long circuit, so you don’t get many laps. Despite a lack of track time and knowledge, as well as the conditions, P11 in qualifying wasn’t too bad, though me being me, I wasn’t satisfied with it.

“In the wet we had a great car and I felt very comfortable with it. It’s the first time I’ve clicked with it and felt happy with what was beneath me and my driving, I was reading what the car was doing and gelling with it. We got up to fifth and I knew the car was going to come into its own at the end of the race, so I just had to hold position for another two laps and wait for the car to come to me, but unfortunately contact from a guest driver ended our race early. Luckily, we dodged the barriers and avoided major damage, but it was a bit of a kick in the teeth really considering we’d put in so much hard work. It would have been a bit of a fairy-tale to come back and get a podium. It hurts a bit now, but I’ll try and get over it and get ready for Zandvoort in five days’ time.”

Garry Findlay, #18, Pro
G – 22, R – 23

“Practice in the dry wasn’t too bad, Harry and I were within a tenth of each other but some of the other drivers put on new rubber at the end and went faster. We were in the top ten when everyone was on the same programme, as it were. In qualifying I missed the peak of the tyre as it came on quickly, which I wasn’t expecting. It just boils down to knowledge and extracting the best out of the tyres, so it was disappointing but an improvement from Hungary.

“The drive through in the race ended our day before it had begun really, though the pace was really good. Stuart was telling me at some points I was fastest on track, but I couldn’t use that speed because I was catching slower cars at the back and trying to come through but it was good for me to drive the car in the wet and we made a step up on the car setup as well.

“It’s frustrating but you take the good out of the bad and it’s all knowledge for me. I am happy with the speed, especially in the wet, as it started to click in the race. Zandvoort will be a new circuit for me so I will try and learn as much as possible between now and practice, to gain knowledge and hopefully we can build off what we’ve learned this weekend.”

Loek Hartog, #36, Pro
G – 17, R – 11

“It was a tough weekend with challenging weather conditions which didn’t make it easy and made it more of a gamble for everyone. I wasn’t satisfied with qualifying as it put us on the back foot for the race and as we saw with Harry the car is capable of challenging for a podium, so we improved and learned a lot and I'm happy with the progress.

“In the race it was about avoiding all the risks, but it feels a bit frustrating to leave the circuit in 11th, though we will see with any post-race penalties, and I am now looking forward to my home race next weekend at Zandvoort.”

Photos hoch zwei