The old English saying about waiting for a bus came true for George King and Team Virage co-driver Bernardo Pinheiro as they claimed a second win in two rounds to cement the vice-champion position in the 2023 Ligier European Series standings at Portimao.
Having toiled for nearly two seasons in pursuit of the top step — and suffered a fair amount of misfortune along the way — King and Pinheiro finally broke through at the penultimate round of the 2023 campaign at Spa-Francorchamps, but still needed another strong showing to ensure they finished second overall as the series came to a close in Portugal.
Extreme weather conditions added to the tension throughout the weekend and, when the #60 Team Virage crew came out on top, they were made to work hard for their success after gearbox woes for Pinheiro in qualifying restricted the local favourite to fifth on the grid. Taking the start in very wet conditions, the Portuguese driver focused on keeping the car on track and battling through the spray, eventually handing the car to King in fourth position, setting up another impressive performance from the Briton.
Picking up from where his team-mate had left off, King fairly surged through the cars ahead of him, taking over in top spot even before the conditions finally began to change for the better. However, with the emerging dry line proving detrimental to his wet-weather tyres, the 22-year-old was forced to move off the ideal line in order to cool down the rubber whenever the opportunity arose. Despite this, King continued to extend a massive gap over the second-placed car and was able to manage the #60 to its second win of the season.
"This was a very well-deserved win and, with it being Bernardo’s home race, it was very special for us both," King commented. "The conditions made things tough, but we were able to adapt and bring the car home in front — and in one piece!"
There was one further test of the drivers' mettle after the chequered flag and podium ceremonies were complete, however… and one King would have preferred to have taken place in the height of summer.
"Although it was cold, we had to do the end of season ritual: if you win, you have to jump into the pool here at the Autodromo do Algarve," he grinned. "It was great until the adrenaline wore off and then I was freezing — and still had to do the post-race interview in a dripping wet racesuit!"
Water had been the theme of the weekend, with inclement conditions plaguing the event from the very first session. Having not tested at Portimao this season — unlike some of his rivals — a semi-dry single practice session made it tougher for King to gauge the circuit before qualifying, but the Briton came good in the timed session, looking set for pole position before the changing conditions limited him to the outside of the front row for race one on Saturday. Another 'mega' start — aided in part by lining up on the usual racing line — helped propel King into an immediate lead, only for the driver's eagerness to work against him as his stint on the first fully dry track of the weekend wore on.
"I got an amazing start and was leading by T1 and then for the first lap, but pushing too hard on tyres that were not ready for it made the car difficult to drive and I fell back some places," he explained. "The team and I had opted to go a bit lower on pressures to save the tyre for the stint so Bernardo has some good rubber later on and, once everything was up to temperature, I was setting fastest laps. By the end of my stint, I was fastest on track but the damage had been done and I handed over to Bernardo from P3."
Underlining the pace of the #60 Ligier JS P4, however, Pinheiro pushed hard to bring the car back up the order, setting the fastest lap of the race as he reclaimed second overall, completing a Team Virage 1-2 at the chequered flag.
"All in all, it has been an amazing season," King reflected. "It’s hard not to think about how things could have turned out without the outside factors hindering some of our results, but thanks to Team Virage for allowing me to race as part of their championship-winning operation, and to Bernardo for trusting me as his team-mate. The team were amazing all year and I can definitely say I’m a better driver now than I was at the beginning of the year. Thanks too to my sponsors, supporters and, especially, to my coach, James Winslow, for all his help, for getting me this far into my career and for all the help he does at the track and behind the scenes!"
Despite the Ligier European Series wrapping up at Portimao, King's season is far from done, as he continues his pursuit of the Ultimate Cup Series title with Team Virage at Magny-Cours, in central France, over the weekend of 27-29 October.
