Successful weekend for Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Redline in Carrera Cup at Knockhill

Duckhams Yuasa Racing enjoyed a successful visit to Knockhill in Scotland at the weekend (July 30/31) as Adam Smalley claimed a podium and remains firmly in the championship hunt, while Oliver White had his most successful Porsche Carrera Cup GB results so far.

There was hard luck for both drivers during Saturday’s qualifying session as Adam, the Porsche GB Junior Driver, was on course for pole position when a red flag was shown just as he was about to cross the line, meaning he had to settle for fourth, while Oliver was also hampered by stoppages when he was on fast laps.

The opening race of the weekend was quickly halted as a slow starting Matty Graham was collected as the pack came over the blind crest at the start finish line, eliminating five cars, though thankfully no one was seriously hurt in the incident.

At the restart, Adam held firm with his fourth position, as he and Oliver ran on older tyres, hoping to maximise the second contest with fresher rubber, meaning they didn’t quite have the pace and grip to challenge on the tight and undulating 1.3-mile circuit.

Both drivers enjoyed a positive race two, with Adam having a strong start and leading the race to the chequered flag, despite the best attentions of fellow title rival Will Martin behind. Unfortunately for the Lancastrian, he was handed a five second time penalty for track limits infringements, putting him into second position. Oliver made forward progress, finishing seventh, but wasn’t quite able to find a way past Theo Edgerton ahead of him.

After the long summer break, Duckhams Yuasa Racing with Redline is back in two weeks’ time as the Porsche Carrera Cup GB heads to Snetterton over the weekend of August 13/14.

Adam Smalley, #21

Round 1 - Grid: 4, Race: 4

Round 2 - Grid: 2, Race: 2

Championship: 3 (55 points)

Qualifying was frustrating, because we set the fastest lap, but literally 50 meters before crossing the line the red flag came out, so we got that taken off us and started fourth when we should have been on pole. In race one we tried a different strategy to other people, we were on older tyres than everyone else, saving them for race two. The main thing is that Matty [Graham] and everyone was alright.

Race two was really good and I led from start to finish but had a frustrating end with a track limits penalty. I had a good start, and my starts have been decent all weekend, which has been a struggle in the past, so I'm glad we've got to the bottom of that. We were the two quickest cars out there. I would say he [Will Martin] had a little bit of an edge, pushing it as hard as possible. Our rears went off quite quick, so we were struggling a little bit towards the end with grip.

Around Knockhill it's different to every other circuit we go to, as there are no pressure sensors, so the marshals radio it in. Everyone was going through the gravel, but the issue was that because I'm the front car the dust was being kicked up and it doesn't matter if the next car goes through it, as they won't see it. I had to go off on one lap to avoid an Am driver, and I think [Will] Martin went off as many times as I did, but they picked up on me being the lead car. It is what it is. That's racing, I've learned the hard way, and we go on to the next one. At the end of the day its P2 and if that's a bad result, it's not a bad day at the office.

Oliver White, #2

Round 1 - Grid: 9, Race: 8

Round 2 - Grid: 8, Race: 7

Championship: 12 (2 points)

Practice was really positive, and I was right at the sharp end, which was good, very close to the pace. I was second in the first practice and fifth in the second session, so we've been quick all weekend. Our qualifying was a little bit frustrating because of all the red flags, but I still had my best position the year, which was P6, though unfortunately I lost that lap because of a yellow flag infringement. I was having issues getting the tyres up to temperature and I would just get them in the window to set a quick lap and then the red flags came out and ruined it, so it was frustrating.

I started race one in P9 and ended up finishing P8. It was a chaotic race with the big crash, but thankfully all the drivers are okay. In terms of the race, I just lacked a little bit of pace compared to some of the other guys, but we saved our new tyres for later on. It's very tough to overtake at Knockhill because the cars are so wide and the track is narrow, so you need the driver in front to mistake to have a chance but it's still an enjoyable track to drive.

Race two went well, I had a good start and I stayed in the same positions the first lap or two. Then the guys ahead of me had a little battle, which allowed me to get up the inside of Charles Rainford exiting turn two, so I gained a position there. Then the race kind of stabilised and I wasn't able to make any more progress. Still, seventh is the best results to date, and I'm happy with getting some decent points.