Donington Park – a ‘Mixed Emotions’ Weekend for Gus Burton

The weekend started so well, with Gus qualifying P1 – Pole position for his first ever Porsche Carrera Cup race.  The race started well, with Gus leading for 20 of the 23 laps.  Then he unluckily picked up a slow puncture and it became difficult.  A lock up followed, and he was overtaken by three other drivers in the last 3 laps but managed to hold on to 4th place.  P4 on his first outing and with a slow puncture was very acceptable.  By the time the car was back in Parc Ferme the tyre was flat.  On reviewing the data, the puncture was actually received before a corner, so it must have been a loose gravel or similar.  So unlucky.

But things seemed to get better as the 4-Ball was pulled from the hat for Race 2.  This meant reverse grid for the top 4 places, meaning Gus, who had come 4th in the first race, now had Pole for the second race.  Things were certainly looking up – but on lap 4 there was another lock up with the same wheel as race 1 and he just managed to keep the car on the track.  Losing 2 positions immediately, he struggled with a flat spot and when being passed just before the chicane later in the lap (to become 4th again) his view was not perfect, and he caught the chicane barrier on the right side – spinning out.  Out of the race – damaged car.

Not the best weekend – but we are all looking forward to Brands Hatch on 14th & 15th May.