Despite a weekend filled with heavy rain and massive crashes, 21-year-old Kiwi driver Brock Gilchrist held on for some great results and amazing racing moments in the Porsche Carrera Cup at Bangsaen, Thailand.
Qualifying:
Gilchrist’s first fast lap in qualifying put him in 5th position, but he soon dropped to 6th after Amer Harris Jefry took provisional pole, having been behind in the outlap. He climbed back up to 4th position after a quicker second lap, before going into the pits.
When the drivers were all pitted halfway through the session, Gilchrist was in 7th position, 1.440 seconds behind Championship leader Dylan Pereira, who held the provisional pole.
In the final flying laps, Pereira held onto the lead and secured the pole position with a fastest lap time of 1:34.392.
Gilchrist made up to 6th place with some fast final laps, finishing 1.299 seconds behind Pereira.
Race 1:
Rain fell on the track just before the race started, making it wet and slippery for the start of the race. Combined with the narrow walls and tight corners, it was a difficult race for passing and maneuvering around other cars.
The first few turns saw multiple cars sliding around corners, but they all managed to keep in control and avoid collisions with other competitors or the wall.
Gilchrist had a good start, pushing up to sit beside the two cars ahead of him coming into turn 1, before being squeezed just behind them to avoid the wall.
Lap 3 saw some rain starting to sprinkle down, concerning teams and prompting some to start preparing wet tyres. No drivers decided to pit, though, as it would make it nearly impossible to catch up during the 14-lap race if they fell behind.
After falling behind at the start, Gilchrist closed the gap behind Enzo Trulli and passed him on the inside while along the straight, securing 5th position around the next corner.
Jefry and Bao Jinlong had been right behind Gilchrist for multiple laps, but the pass gave him the chance to get ahead of them and into clear air.
On lap 10, heavy rain suddenly started falling, causing teams to prepare a wet tyre change despite only having 4 laps left. The water quickly started pooling on the track, causing issues, and two drivers were sent off.
A lock-up for Xu Zhefeng saw him unable to make a turn, instead going straight through the runoff and into the wall, prompting the safety car to be deployed as his car had to be rescued from the barriers.
Jinlong was leading the pro-am class before he also came off, narrowly breaking in time to avoid colliding with the barriers. He was unable to reverse for over a lap, dropping down to the back of the field, but eventually got moving and made it to the pits on his own.
After two laps under the safety car, the race was red-flagged due to the hazardous conditions, particularly since all the cars were running on slick tyres.
Teams prepared the wet tyres for the two laps they would resume after the cars returned to the pit lane, before the race was quickly called off due to the forecast not looking likely to improve soon.
Race 2:
Race 2 started with chaos as a collision on the formation lap resulted in it being red-flagged for a lengthy period.
Dylan Yip ran into the rear of Rodrigo Dias Almeida, seriously damaging both cars and smashing the left front of Yip’s Porsche. The impact caused parts to fly across the road, and neither driver could return to the pits, so they had to have their cars recovered by the crew.
Every time Jacky Wu used the throttle, his car would cut out, causing him to crash into a wall and end his race prematurely.
When the race eventually started under safety car, Gilchrist immediately got the jump on Enzo Trulli and squeezed past him after racing side by side. This put the Kiwi into second position after Yip and Dias Almeida’s earlier crash put him into 3rd for the race start.
The remainder of the race continued without issue as cars avoided more crashes while struggling to find opportunities to pass on the tight track.
Pereira increased his lead at the front after qualifying on pole to secure the win, taking the weekend’s street cup as well after coming 1st in both races.
Gilchrist kept Trulli behind him and held on to the second step of the podium, with his outstanding performance also earning him second in the overall street cup.
Pereira has extended his lead in the championship after earning both of the weekend’s wins, while Gilchrist has moved up in the standings into 4th place.
The next race weekend will be held at the Mandalika International Circuit in Lombok, Indonesia, on August 22 – 24.
Header Image: Brock Gilchrist
