{"id":489,"date":"2025-05-12T13:12:42","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T13:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/?p=489"},"modified":"2025-05-12T13:12:42","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T13:12:42","slug":"mixed-emotions-despite-top-fives-in-sydney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/?p=489","title":{"rendered":"MIXED EMOTIONS DESPITE TOP FIVES IN SYDNEY"},"content":{"rendered":"

Far from being \u2018up the Creek without a paddle\u2019, <\/span><\/span>Briti<\/span><\/span>ain\u2019s <\/span><\/span>George King made an<\/span><\/span>other strong impression on the <\/span><\/span>GTWC Australia <\/span><\/span>paddock at Sydney Motorsport Park as he helped his Tigani Motorsport team to a brace of top five finishes in round two of the 2025 season<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Buoyed by a strong showing on his series debut a month earlier, <\/span><\/span>King <\/span><\/span>showed that he was adapting quickly to his new Mercedes-AMG GT3 mount, but was again confronted by a venue new to him, as will be the case for the entirety of his first season \u2018down under\u2019. A track walk with driver coach James Winslow, a veteran \u2014 and champion \u2014 of multiple Australian series over the years, provided vital clues to tackling the Eastern Creek layout, allowing King to focus on driving the #55 Mercedes for the first time in wet conditions.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Two of the three one-hour sessions allotted to the GTWC field on the official practice were subject to changeable weather, but provided King with valuable laps in the rain without the pressure of competition. Handed the keys at the start of each session, the Briton was allowed to build up his knowledge of both the car and circuit before handing over to team-mate Sergio Pires for the drier second half of each hour.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe practice day was on-and-off rain <\/i><\/span><\/span>throughout<\/i><\/span><\/span>, with the first two sessions <\/i><\/span><\/span>really being<\/i><\/span><\/span> affected by the weather,\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/span> King confirmed. <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/i><\/span><\/span>FP1 was good fun, finding the limits of the car <\/i><\/span><\/span>i<\/i><\/span><\/span>n the wet, <\/i><\/span><\/span>but having <\/i><\/span><\/span>my first <\/i><\/span><\/span>run in<\/i><\/span><\/span> a GT car in the wet, and on a new circuit, was a big task. <\/i><\/span><\/span>Despite that, I posted the fifth-<\/i><\/span><\/span>fastest lap of the session, which I was happy with, <\/i><\/span><\/span>especially<\/i><\/span><\/span> considering it started drying <\/i><\/span><\/span>out<\/i><\/span><\/span> <\/i>after my run<\/i><\/span><\/span>. <\/i><\/span><\/span>W<\/i><\/span><\/span>ith the circuit being so hilly, some parts dry faster than other<\/i><\/span><\/span>s<\/i><\/span><\/span>, so it made it hard to <\/i><\/span><\/span>determine when to<\/i><\/span><\/span> swap from wet<\/i><\/span><\/span>s<\/i><\/span><\/span> to <\/i><\/span><\/span>slicks. With the car handling badly on <\/i><\/span><\/span>hot wet tyres <\/i><\/span><\/span>\u2014 and Sergio already sitting amongst the fastest drivers on track \u2014 the team sent me <\/i><\/span><\/span>out on slicks <\/i><\/span><\/span>in order <\/i><\/span><\/span>not <\/i><\/span><\/span>to<\/i><\/span><\/span> waste <\/i><\/span><\/span>valuable<\/i><\/span><\/span> track time and <\/i><\/span><\/span>allow me to continue <\/i><\/span><\/span>to learn the <\/i><\/span><\/span>circuit. To then put in the third-fastest lap <\/i><\/span><\/span>of FP2 <\/i><\/span><\/span>against the likes of <\/i><\/span><\/span>Broc Feeney, Jaxson Evans <\/i><\/span><\/span>and<\/i><\/span><\/span> Thomas Randle <\/i><\/span><\/span>was really encouraging, especially as I was running<\/i><\/span><\/span> on older slick tyres <\/i><\/span><\/span>than most.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Confident in his pace ahead of qualifying, King was to be frustrated in the timed session, as a red flag was shown to halt the action just as he was <\/span><\/span>lapping half a second faster than<\/span><\/span> his <\/span><\/span>previous <\/span><\/span>best time of the day. The torment was then amplified when the stewards decided not to restart the session, leaving King sitting on his slower lap time and the #55 entry lower in the starting order than it deserved to be.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s opening race proved to be just as eventful for the 24-year-old, <\/span><\/span>who was blocked<\/span><\/span> during the mandatory pit-stops <\/span><\/span>and emerged into<\/span><\/span> the thick of the fight with some of the best young drivers in Australia.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cQualifying was frustrating as I knew we should've started higher up, but Sergio had an amazing stint <\/i><\/span><\/span>[to start the race], <\/i><\/span><\/span>getting up into P2,\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/span> King noted. <\/span><\/span>\u201cW<\/i><\/span><\/span>e w<\/i><\/span><\/span>ere<\/i><\/span><\/span> looking extremely good to be leading the race <\/i><\/span><\/span>but, for some reason, <\/i><\/span><\/span>our sister car was pushed back into <\/i><\/span><\/span>ours<\/i><\/span><\/span> as I was trying to <\/i><\/span><\/span>leave<\/i><\/span><\/span> the pits which cost us <\/i><\/span><\/span>an extra seven s<\/i><\/span><\/span>econds! <\/i><\/span><\/span>I still thought I was leading the race due to coming out with all <\/i><\/span><\/span>of the pro drivers right on my tail <\/i><\/span><\/span>but, somehow, one of <\/i><\/span><\/span>the Ferrari<\/i><\/span><\/span>s had got<\/i><\/span><\/span> out a whole 20 seconds in front of us...<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom there on, <\/i><\/span><\/span>I was defending my <\/i><\/span><\/span>seco<\/i><\/span><\/span>nd position, holding off Feeney and Randle <\/i><\/span><\/span>\u2014 both of whom had recently raced at the<\/i><\/span><\/span> circuit in <\/i><\/span><\/span>V8 <\/i><\/span><\/span>Supercars <\/i><\/span><\/span>\u2014 until,<\/i><\/span><\/span> with <\/i><\/span><\/span>four<\/i><\/span><\/span> minutes to go, Randle finally managed to slip past. <\/i><\/span><\/span>Then,<\/i><\/span><\/span> later in the lap, Sydney <\/i><\/span><\/span>M<\/i><\/span><\/span>otorsport <\/i><\/span><\/span>P<\/i><\/span><\/span>ark bit me, <\/i><\/span><\/span>as I hit<\/i><\/span><\/span> a bump <\/i><\/span><\/span>in<\/i><\/span><\/span> T1 a fraction wrong <\/i><\/span><\/span>and it<\/i><\/span><\/span> picked up the front of <\/i><\/span><\/span>the car<\/i><\/span><\/span> and caused <\/i><\/span><\/span>it<\/i><\/span><\/span> to understeer towards the exit <\/i><\/span><\/span>ke<\/i><\/span><\/span>rb <\/i><\/span><\/span>\u2014 <\/i><\/span><\/span>at 240kph! <\/i><\/span><\/span>H<\/i><\/span><\/span>aving to lift a fraction <\/i><\/span><\/span>in order not to<\/i><\/span><\/span> go completely off the track, I lost all momentum <\/i><\/span><\/span>heading <\/i><\/span><\/span>into T2 and lost <\/i><\/span><\/span>two<\/i><\/span><\/span> more places. <\/i><\/span><\/span>Despite h<\/i><\/span><\/span>anging on to the <\/i><\/span><\/span>cars in front<\/i><\/span><\/span> and trying to <\/i><\/span><\/span>get<\/i><\/span><\/span> the positions back, <\/i><\/span><\/span>we eventually <\/i><\/span><\/span>finish<\/i><\/span><\/span>ed<\/i><\/span><\/span> in P5, <\/i><\/span><\/span>which was <\/i><\/span><\/span>especially <\/i><\/span><\/span>frustrating<\/i><\/span><\/span> as I was one of the fastest drivers on average lap time<\/i><\/span><\/span>.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Race <\/span><\/span>two proved to be slightly better in terms of the result, with Pires<\/span><\/span> climb<\/span><\/span>ing <\/span><\/span>back through the pack <\/span><\/span>to claim an eventual fourth place<\/span><\/span> after <\/span><\/span>King<\/span><\/span> had <\/span><\/span>suffered with pace-limiting t<\/span><\/span>yre <\/span><\/span>problems throughout his<\/span><\/span> stint, <\/span><\/span>but left<\/span><\/span> the Briton with conflicting emotions at the culmination of the weekend.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019<\/i><\/span><\/span>m <\/i><\/span><\/span>both <\/i><\/span><\/span>happy <\/i><\/span><\/span>and <\/i><\/span><\/span>annoyed with the weekend,\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/span> King admitted. <\/span><\/span>\u201cI <\/i><\/span><\/span>learned <\/i><\/span><\/span>a lot<\/i><\/span><\/span> and <\/i><\/span><\/span>gained valuable <\/i><\/span><\/span>experiences <\/i><\/span><\/span>as<\/i><\/span><\/span> going against the best is teaching me new things every time <\/i><\/span><\/span>I<\/i><\/span><\/span> go out on track, which <\/i><\/span><\/span>I<\/i><\/span><\/span> am enjoying. I was extremely happy with my driving and <\/i><\/span><\/span>the <\/i><\/span><\/span>progress <\/i><\/span><\/span>I\u2019ve made<\/i><\/span><\/span>, holding off world-class talent <\/i><\/span><\/span>on<\/i><\/span><\/span> their home circuit for my whole stint, but <\/i><\/span><\/span>I<\/i><\/span><\/span> can\u2019t help but be <\/i><\/span><\/span>frustrat<\/i><\/span><\/span>ed at how <\/i><\/span><\/span>I<\/i><\/span><\/span> lost the positions <\/i><\/span><\/span>in race one.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m forever learning in this car and championship, and it is only my second GT race meeting, with everything being brand new, so I shouldn\u2019t knock myself down too hard. But I\u2019m always aiming higher and wanting more. It\u2019s still early in the season, so I\u2019ll keep looking forward.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Round t<\/span><\/span>hree<\/span><\/span> of the 2025 GTWC Australia powered by AWS takes place at <\/span><\/span>Queensland Raceway<\/span><\/span> over the weekend of <\/span><\/span>30<\/span><\/span> May \u2013 <\/span><\/span>1 June<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Far from being \u2018up the Creek without a paddle\u2019, Britiain\u2019s George King made another strong impression on the GTWC Australia paddock at Sydney Motorsport Park as he helped his Tigani Motorsport team to a brace of top five finishes in round two of the 2025 season. Buoyed by a strong showing on his series debut […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":494,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4],"tags":[64,6,59,66,65,57],"class_list":["post-489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-race-report","tag-eastern-creek","tag-george-king","tag-gtwc-australia","tag-mercedes-amg-gt3","tag-sydney-motorsport-park","tag-tigani-motorsport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489","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=489"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":495,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489\/revisions\/495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gkracing.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}