Will Aspin has Porsche title in sights after tricky weekend in Portugal
Young racer Will Aspin remains bullish about his title chances in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe, despite a tricky visit to Algarve International Circuit last weekend (February 11/12).
The 18-year-old went into the undulating Portuguese venue, near Portimão, with a win and second place to his name after the opening rounds at Valencia but had to battle back from adversity to claim valuable points in the standings.
After showing good speed during Saturday’s test sessions, Will fell afoul of track limits excursions in practice which then hampered qualifying, meaning he would start seventh in the Pro-Am class for both races later that afternoon.
Heading towards the first corner, Primeira, at the start of the opening 30-minute contest, Will checked up to avoid a spinning car ahead, but contact from behind sent him into teammate Ryan Ratcliffe, eliminating both before a full lap had been completed.
Aiming to bounce back in race two, he again had to avoid a turn one incident and lost time, before charging back through the field. Latching onto the rear of Ratcliffe’s machine, the pair enjoyed a close battle with Lin Hodenius, crossing the line just four tenths of a second apart at the flag.
The final rounds of the inaugural Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe take place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya over February 24/25, where a strong weekend could vault Will back into top spot in the championship standings.
Will Aspin
Pro-Am Championship: 3 (58 points)
“It was an interesting weekend, but we didn't show our full potential and should have been a lot higher up than we were. In free practice one, we had a fair bit of track limits, which caused us to have three, five second stop-go penalties, so I had to come out of the pit lane, then come in, come out, come in, and then go out and then come back in. There were bits of the car’s setup that we didn't quite nail, but I think it was just down to me not picking up the lap properly.
“The first race, going into turn one, there was a spin in front of me, I had to brake, and we concertinaed into each other. That was just unfortunate because there's nothing you can do in that situation. The second race, we avoided another collision but that meant I dropped back a few places. I fought my way back up behind Ryan [Ratcliffe], and had a really, really good battle with him. It was a fun race and good experience trying different setups for the car. Really, that is what we're there for, learning for the Carrera Cup GB.
“I'm really, really excited for Barcelona. I think we'll be quick, and it will be nice to finish off the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe with a good result and hopefully winning the championship. That's my aim and I don't see why it can't happen. It'll be tough because we had a bad weekend this time out, but as we proved in Valencia, as a team we can win both races. I'm sure we'll be able to put it all together and be in with a chance.”