Double podium for Duckhams Yuasa Racing cements championship position ahead of summer break

Jacob Tofts and the Duckhams Yuasa Racing team celebrated a double podium finish as the Porsche Carrera Cup GB visited Snetterton in Norfolk for rounds five and six of the championship.

After claiming his first Pro-Am class victory last time out, Jacob came into the weekend having only just been released from hospital, where he had been battling an infection. Travelling straight to Snetterton, he joined the rest of the grid for the official test session, but the day was focused more on ensuring Jacob was fit enough to drive rather than outright performance. While he was happy to race, it did mean he was behind the rest in terms of weekend preparation, something that would ultimately influence his qualifying performance.

While others benefitted from completing new tyre runs during the test, Jacob was unable to maximise his running. As a result, he headed into Saturday’s two qualifying sessions lacking the preparation of many of his rivals, leaving him out of position compared to his performances during the opening two weekends of the season.

Digging deep in race one, Jacob made the most of the situation with a superb start, passing Stephen Jelley into Agostini Hairpin to move into second place. Not content to settle, he immediately began hunting down class leader Ollie Jackson. Within three laps he was right on the leader’s tail and never allowed the gap to grow beyond half a second. Applying relentless pressure, he nearly forced an error when Jackson locked up and ran wide at Oggies. Unfortunately, while pushing hard in pursuit of the lead, Jacob incurred a track limits penalty, dropping him to third in the final classification.

Making another strong start in race two, the Duckhams Yuasa Racing machine held second place during the opening laps, while doing an excellent job of keeping race one winner Jackson behind him. By lap six, Jacob had created some breathing room after passing Sid Smith, but by then the gap to class leader Jelley proved too large to overcome. He therefore had to settle for second place and the valuable championship points that came with it.

Jacob now sits third in the championship standings, ten points clear of fourth place and just ten points away from the championship lead as the series heads into its nine-week summer break.

Jacob Tofts

G1 - 3, R1 - 3
G2 - 2, R2 - 2
 
Championship: 3 (42 points)

At the start of the week, I was in hospital because I’d been dealing with an infection for the last four weeks, so I’ve been a bit unwell. I came out of hospital on Tuesday, and although we did the test on Wednesday, it was really more about making sure I was okay to drive rather than it being a productive test day. In that sense, I’ve definitely been on the back foot this weekend.

So, the aim of this weekend was to score some solid points because I feel like we should be at the front and fighting for wins. We should have had a better qualifying, but that was the knock-on effect from the test day. The first race was very good though — the pace was very strong, and we finished second on the road. Unfortunately, we got a track limits penalty, which was a bit frustrating.

It was a very good end to the weekend. I think that was the maximum we could have achieved. Setting the fastest lap in class and being only a tenth off the fastest lap overall showed that. So, I was very happy with our pace, and I think we’re in a good place going into the summer break.

We know what we need to work on, and we’ll keep building and improving. It’s just the small details and making sure we’re putting everything together — not only in qualifying, but by being consistent in the races as well. I’m very happy with our first three weekends of the year, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.