Ross claims best start positions of the season and double “Rookie” wins
Ross Wylie enjoyed his best Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain combined results of the season when the Scotsman claimed two top-eight placings this weekend (20-21 May). Ross, aged 25 from Thornhill, netted sixth and eighth placings overall plus two “rookie” victories at the wheel of his Carronbridge Sawmill (Dumfries) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car at Oulton Park.
Starting the SlideSports prepared Porsche from the third row of the 21-car grid for the 25mins opening race on Saturday evening – the Dumfries driver’s best race start of the season – Ross went on to record sixth place, a position he held from green light to the finish in the 16-lap red-flag interrupted race around the 2.25-mile Cheshire course.
For race two on Sunday, it was another sixth place start for Wylie, Ross duly coming home eighth – losing places on the opening lap – and top Rookie for the second time over the weekend in the 12-lap race televised “live” on ITV. He now lies 11th in the overall standings and fourth in the Rookie division.
Wylie’s next scheduled race is another Britcar Endurance Championship event in the MJC Ltd Ferrari 458 GT at Silverstone on 24 June – Ross and co-driver Witt Gamski having won the previous race at Snetterton. Ross remains on the “reserve” list for the “invitation only” Porsche Carrera Cup race supporting the Le Mans 24 Hours on Saturday 17 June.
Ross Wylie (GB):
Age 25. Born & Lives Thornhill nr Dumfries, Scotland:
“I’m pleased about scoring two top-eights especially as we believe there is an issue with the car – a legacy from the opening Brands accident – which is affecting my dry-weather pace. Porsche will now look at it before the next event at the end of July and hopefully will get things sorted. The opening race on Saturday was pretty steady although I was very lucky on both starts to avoid spinning cars and come away unscathed. I ran sixth all the way through, which is a good confidence-building result considering the 911 isn’t totally right. I lost a place in Race 2 on my first-ever standing start but again, it was a pretty steady, undramatic race. There was a heavy rain shower just before qualifying on Saturday. It was the first time I’d ever driven the Porsche in the wet so I was happy with P6 and the handling imbalance isn’t so apparent or time costly in those conditions. Plaudits to SlideSports who picked up the Team of the Weekend Award.”