{"id":375,"date":"2023-11-01T11:23:13","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T11:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/?p=375"},"modified":"2023-11-13T11:23:55","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T11:23:55","slug":"magny-cours-win-keeps-king-in-title-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/?p=375","title":{"rendered":"MAGNY-COURS WIN KEEPS KING IN TITLE FIGHT"},"content":{"rendered":"

George King<\/span><\/span>'s run of late-season success continued <\/span><\/span>in France <\/span><\/span>as he jumped straight from sealing a second straight Ligier European Series victory to the top step of the podium in the Ultimate Cup.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

B<\/span><\/span>oosted by an invitation to test Team Virage's LMP3 machine in the official European Le Mans Series rookie test session that followed the LES weekend at Portimao, King flew straight to France to continue his UCS title bid, but found that the poor weather that had blighted his time in Portugal was headed in the same direction. <\/span><\/span>Having never previously been to the Magny-Cours facility, and with limited simulator training before the race weekend, the persistent rain was not going to make the 22-year old's task any easier, despite spending the hours after arriving <\/span><\/span>studying data and <\/span><\/span>watching<\/span><\/span> video <\/span><\/span>footage of previous events.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

King need not have worried as, despite his inexperience, he set the fastest time in the first pre-race test session, but that was where his preparations virtually ground to a halt as a series of unfortunate incidents hampered any further attempt at useful track time <\/span><\/span>in the following day's official practice<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"<\/i><\/span><\/span>I<\/i><\/span><\/span> was<\/i><\/span><\/span> comfortable driving in the rain, mainly because I'm British <\/i><\/span><\/span>but<\/i><\/span><\/span> also from <\/i><\/span><\/span>having driven<\/i><\/span><\/span> in mostly wet conditions in Portimao <\/i><\/span><\/span>the weekend before,\"<\/i><\/span><\/span> the Briton noted with a smile. <\/span><\/span>\"<\/i><\/span><\/span>The first day <\/i><\/span><\/span>at Magny-Cours <\/i><\/span><\/span>was wet and <\/i><\/span><\/span>I<\/i><\/span><\/span> set the fastest time in th<\/i><\/span><\/span>os<\/i><\/span><\/span>e conditions <\/i><\/span><\/span>\u2014 and, when [team-mate] <\/i><\/span><\/span>Manuel <\/i><\/span><\/span>[Espirito Santo] <\/i><\/span><\/span>arrived for the afternoon sessions, we were very close in lap times, which was a big positive.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"<\/span><\/span>Friday<\/span><\/span>'s <\/span><\/span>official practice sessions <\/span><\/span>were planned so that I'd be first <\/span><\/span>out in the car for the <\/span><\/span>opening<\/span><\/span> session, when it was still wet, <\/span><\/span>and then jump back in at the end, when the track was due to dry up, to give me a chance to drive the car in those conditions too. However, <\/span><\/span>as <\/span><\/span>I<\/span><\/span> jumped into the car to finish the session, <\/span><\/span>the<\/span><\/span> red flag came out and <\/span><\/span>everything<\/span><\/span> stopped, <\/span><\/span>meaning that I<\/span><\/span> missed out on crucial dry laps.<\/span><\/span>\"<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Even in Friday's 'after dark' session, staged to replicate the conditions drivers would face in Saturday's night race, King's luck refused to hold, as Team Virage's third driver, Viacheslav Gutak, flat-spotted the tyres on the #14 Ligier, forcing King to acclimatise on a different set when he got back behind the wheel.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"The plan was for <\/i><\/span><\/span>Slav <\/i><\/span><\/span>to <\/i><\/span><\/span>start the session, allowing me to drive on a dry track on warm tyres and in good condition<\/i><\/span><\/span>s<\/i><\/span><\/span>,<\/i><\/span><\/span>\"<\/i><\/span><\/span> he noted. <\/span><\/span>\"H<\/i><\/span><\/span>owever, <\/i><\/span><\/span>with <\/i><\/span><\/span>the team not predicting to change tyres <\/i><\/span><\/span>until<\/i><\/span><\/span> later <\/i><\/span><\/span>in the session<\/i><\/span><\/span>, they had no<\/i><\/span><\/span>ne<\/i><\/span><\/span> in the oven ready for a quick swap, so <\/i><\/span><\/span>I had to<\/i><\/span><\/span> jump in for <\/i><\/span><\/span>the<\/i><\/span><\/span> first time on a dry track and slicks <\/i><\/span><\/span>with <\/i><\/span><\/span>stone-cold tyres <\/i><\/span><\/span>with <\/i><\/span><\/span>super low pressures. <\/i><\/span><\/span>Understandably<\/i><\/span><\/span>, <\/i><\/span><\/span>because it was at night in October, it took several laps for them to get up to the right temperature and I only got around three laps to really push when the tyres were at their optimum, which wasn't ideal, even though I was able to set some purple sector times before having to hand over to Manuel.\"<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When King returned to the cockpit after his co-drivers had finished their runs, <\/span><\/span>another red flag <\/span><\/span>brought the session to a halt after just two laps, severely limiting his dry laps before qualifying the following morning. As it happened, the timed session dawned wet and the Briton again went fastest during his time on track, before his team-mates consolidated his efforts.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"I<\/i><\/span><\/span> got pole in my stint by 1.3 seconds, which <\/i><\/span><\/span>I<\/i><\/span><\/span> was <\/i><\/span><\/span>obviously <\/i><\/span><\/span>very happy about,<\/i><\/span><\/span>\"<\/i><\/span><\/span> King confirmed. <\/span><\/span>\"<\/i><\/span><\/span>Slav went out in the second stint on wet tyres <\/i><\/span><\/span>but, <\/i><\/span><\/span>towards the end, it started to dry and other cars got the better of the conditions <\/i><\/span><\/span>to<\/i><\/span><\/span> set better times. Manuel was in for the third session and <\/i><\/span><\/span>also <\/i><\/span><\/span>went <\/i><\/span><\/span>fastest,<\/i><\/span><\/span> which <\/i><\/span><\/span>p<\/i><\/span><\/span>ut us on <\/i><\/span><\/span>p<\/i><\/span><\/span>ole <\/i><\/span><\/span>position<\/i><\/span><\/span> overall.<\/i><\/span><\/span>\"<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

King was first in the car when the race got underway later that day \u2014 and, typically, it <\/span><\/span>started to spit <\/span><\/span>with <\/span><\/span>rain <\/span><\/span>as he set off <\/span><\/span>on the formation lap. <\/span><\/span>Fortunately, the precipitation was<\/span><\/span> not enough to change the <\/span><\/span>level of <\/span><\/span>grip <\/span><\/span>available to the #14 Team Virage car, but may have caused King's rivals to overthink the conditions as he fairly rocketed away from the field and built a substantial advantage before the end of his stint.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"I'm <\/i><\/span><\/span>not sure if <\/i><\/span><\/span>the rain<\/i><\/span><\/span> psyched anyone out, <\/i><\/span><\/span>but I <\/i><\/span><\/span>got a mega start into turn one and <\/i><\/span><\/span>had <\/i><\/span><\/span>pulled a <\/i><\/span><\/span>five-<\/i><\/span><\/span>car gap by <\/i><\/span><\/span>turn three,\"<\/i><\/span><\/span> he recounted. <\/span><\/span>\"<\/i><\/span><\/span>After that, it was <\/i><\/span><\/span>all <\/i><\/span><\/span>about fuel saving <\/i><\/span><\/span>while<\/i><\/span><\/span> pushing to try and gain a<\/i><\/span><\/span>s<\/i><\/span><\/span> big <\/i><\/span><\/span>a <\/i><\/span><\/span>gap <\/i><\/span><\/span>as possible <\/i><\/span><\/span>to the other team, <\/i><\/span><\/span>most of whom<\/i><\/span><\/span> <\/i>had<\/i><\/span><\/span> shorter time penalties <\/i><\/span><\/span>dur<\/i><\/span><\/span>in<\/i><\/span><\/span>g<\/i><\/span><\/span> the pit-stop<\/i><\/span><\/span>s<\/i><\/span><\/span> due to them running a bronze <\/i><\/span><\/span>category<\/i><\/span><\/span> <\/i>d<\/i><\/span><\/span>river in the<\/i><\/span><\/span>ir<\/i><\/span><\/span> car<\/i><\/span><\/span>s. W<\/i><\/span><\/span>e <\/i><\/span><\/span>have to remain stationary for two minutes more as a<\/i><\/span><\/span> full <\/i><\/span><\/span>'<\/i><\/span><\/span>silver<\/i><\/span><\/span>'<\/i><\/span><\/span> line-up, <\/i><\/span><\/span>which makes it<\/i><\/span><\/span> <\/i>much<\/i><\/span><\/span> hard to win.<\/i><\/span><\/span>\"<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Despite having to try and save fuel to make the strategy pay off, King <\/span><\/span>pulled a 50-second lead <\/span><\/span>over Virage's<\/span><\/span> main competitor, <\/span><\/span>allowing the<\/span><\/span> team <\/span><\/span>to <\/span><\/span>pit <\/span><\/span>for<\/span><\/span> a mandatory stop <\/span><\/span>to cover <\/span><\/span>a <\/span><\/span>potential<\/span><\/span> safety car <\/span><\/span>appearance that would<\/span><\/span> reduce that gap <\/span><\/span>back to just a few<\/span><\/span> seconds. <\/span><\/span>It proved to be the right decision as, just as King exited the pit-lane, <\/span><\/span>the safety car <\/span><\/span>was<\/i><\/span><\/span> called, <\/span><\/span>preventing anyone else from making a <\/span><\/span>mandatory stop. <\/span><\/span>Having refuelled, the Briton was able to push hard from the resta<\/span><\/span>rt and, even though he had rejoined at the back of the pack, fought his way back to first position before handing over to Gutak.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Despite<\/span><\/span> an <\/span><\/span>unfortunate spin <\/span><\/span>that <\/span><\/span>cost the #14 <\/span><\/span>valuable<\/span><\/span> seconds, <\/span><\/span>Gutak got his head down and drove through the rest of his stint, ensuring <\/span><\/span>the car remained firmly in contention as Espirito Santo took the wheel for the <\/span><\/span>run the chequered flag<\/span><\/span>, although the Portuguese ace would have to make up places as the pit-stop penalties took effect, handing Team Virage's main rival <\/span><\/span>a 30-second lead. <\/span><\/span>The ELMS veteran pushed hard to close the gap, latching onto the tail of the #27 machine in just 17 laps despite having to fight through traffic and, once again, his efforts set up a nail-biting finish.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"<\/i><\/span><\/span>Manuel pushed like hell to catch up, which was a mammoth effort,<\/i><\/span><\/span>\"<\/i><\/span><\/span> King said. <\/span><\/span>\"Again,<\/i><\/span><\/span> it came down to the last lap to decide the winner, <\/i><\/span><\/span>and M<\/i><\/span><\/span>anuel set the <\/i><\/span><\/span>#<\/i><\/span><\/span>27 up <\/i><\/span><\/span>with<\/i><\/span><\/span> a move into T6, <\/i><\/span><\/span>the<\/i><\/span><\/span> high-speed chicane <\/i><\/span><\/span>by getting<\/i><\/span><\/span> a good exit out of the hairpin before. <\/i><\/span><\/span>He <\/i><\/span><\/span>was alongside the <\/i><\/span><\/span>#<\/i><\/span><\/span>27 heading into the chicane <\/i><\/span><\/span>but wasn't left enough<\/i><\/span><\/span> space and con<\/i><\/span><\/span>t<\/i><\/span><\/span>act was made, sending both cars off <\/i><\/span><\/span>the road. Fortunately,<\/i><\/span><\/span> our car ending <\/i><\/span><\/span>up<\/i><\/span><\/span> better <\/i><\/span><\/span>off and was still<\/i><\/span><\/span> heading straight, and <\/i><\/span><\/span>Manuel<\/i><\/span><\/span> continued to win the race.<\/i><\/span><\/span>\"<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Victory \u2014 the #14 car's third from five races in the UCS this season \u2014 keeps King at the top of both the overall and LMP3 class standings with one round remaining, at Paul Ricard, later this month.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"It was another great result for the team \u2014 and for our championship hopes,\"<\/i><\/span><\/span> King confirmed. <\/span><\/span>\"E<\/i><\/span><\/span>veryone was ecstatic in the garage. <\/i><\/span><\/span>Thanks <\/i><\/span><\/span>o the team, <\/i><\/span><\/span>to<\/i><\/span><\/span> Slav and Manuel <\/i><\/span><\/span>and to everyone who supports us, be they sponsors or spectators. One round to go \u2014 let's hope it's not quite as dramatic as the last couple!\"<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

King returns to action in round <\/span><\/span>six<\/span><\/span> of the <\/span><\/span>Ultimate Cup<\/span><\/span> Series at <\/span><\/span>Paul Ricard<\/span><\/span> in <\/span><\/span>the south of France<\/span><\/span> over the weekend of 24-<\/span><\/span>26<\/span><\/span> Nov<\/span><\/span>ember.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

George King's run of late-season success continued in France as he jumped straight from sealing a second straight Ligier European Series victory to the top step of the podium in the Ultimate Cup. Boosted by an invitation to test Team Virage's LMP3 machine in the official European Le Mans Series rookie test session that followed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":380,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4],"tags":[28,6,26,31,40,38,29,30,39],"class_list":["post-375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-race-report","tag-28","tag-george-king","tag-ligier","tag-lmp3","tag-magny-cours","tag-race-win","tag-team-virage","tag-ultimate-cup-series","tag-victory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=375"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":382,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375\/revisions\/382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}