Challenging weekend for Coates in Scotland

Duckhams Yuasa Racing enjoyed another successful weekend of Porsche racing (August 15-17), taking victory in the Sprint Challenge GB and leaving joint-leaders in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. The team returned to double duty at Knockhill, in Scotland, with Max Coates competing in the Carrera Cup and Jacob Tofts in the Sprint Challenge.

Max produced a strong showing in the Carrera Cup GB session, placing fourth in Pro-Am. Jacob made an excellent start to race one, holding the lead from pole. Despite pressure in the early stages and some time lost while passing backmarkers, he drove confidently to claim a lights-to-flag victory.

Max gained a place on the opening lap of race one, moving into podium contention in Pro-Am. He held on until the latter stages, when fading tyre performance dropped him to fourth in class. Race two proved more difficult, as he nearly stalled at the start and fell to the back of the field. After a spin at the hairpin, he completed a solitary run to the finish. Despite the setback, Max departs Knockhill tied for the lead of the Pro-Am championship. 

Max now looks ahead to the Carrera Cup round on the Donington Park Grand Prix circuit in a fortnight, while both he and Jacob will be back in action at Silverstone in September for the penultimate meetings of their respective campaigns.

#71 Max Coates – Porsche Carrera Cup GB

Race 1: Grid – 12th, Result – 11th (4th in Pro-Am)

Race 2: Grid – 11th, Result – 15th (6th in Pro-Am)

Pro-Am Championship: 1st (78 points)

“It was a challenging weekend at Knockhill. I’ve not raced here in the Carrera Cup before, so we were learning as a team, even though I know the circuit from previous championships. Qualifying wasn’t our strongest and I ended up 12th, but the field was covered by less than a second, which shows how competitive it is. “In race one I made a great start, moved up to third in class, and was battling for second, but as the race went on the tyres dropped away and I slipped back to fourth. In race two we made some changes, and the car felt much improved. We were fastest in class, so I feel we’ve come away in a good position.”