Rookie Class Podium For Charging McKenna At Snetterton

BRDC Rising Star Scott McKenna battled tricky conditions at Snetterton’s 300 circuit to grab a rookie class podium in the penultimate round of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB season.

The North Yorkshire youngster travelled down the country to Norfolk looking to threaten for a fourth overall podium finish of the season, and chase after his closest two rookie championship rivals to make it a three-way fight heading towards the season’s conclusion.

McKenna’s Redline Racing team worked hard to ensure his Porsche 911 Cup car was fit to fight after a brief gearbox scare in Friday testing, and the rookie entered Saturday hoping to place his car among the frontrunners once more.

Top-six pace was converted into qualifying late on Saturday afternoon as McKenna put in a lap good enough to seal a top-five starting spot, heading up row three for the first race on Sunday with a time just four tenths from pole position.

Overnight showers failed to relent, making for a damp surface for drivers to deal with the following morning as race day beckoned. Race one was declared wet, with all cars taking on wet Michelin tyres for the 13-lap contest.

Starting from fifth, McKenna battled the greasy and slippery conditions early on and held onto sixth spot in a pack of jostling 911s. The Ginetta GT5 Challenge champion lost out on two further spots, but soon found his pace in the final third of the race. With Mark Kimber the first in his sights, the flag came just moments too early as the Redline man narrowly missed out on seventh as he challenged on the run to the line.

Drier conditions thankfully greeted drivers for the second encounter of the day, and McKenna found his groove with a fine performance in the late 14-lapper.

A strong start moved the Teessider up from eighth place on the grid into the top six, where he set about his chase of the podium places in a train of cars formed behind Will Martin’s Porsche. Latching onto the tail of Lorcan Hanafin, a moment for Martin left him open to attack, McKenna slicing by at turn three with a decisive move to advance to fifth place.

Now in the rookie class podium positions, McKenna chased the duo ahead of him but came him a solid fifth on the road, picking up the points and a top three in the competitive rookie battle.

Those scores keep McKenna sitting fifth in the overall Carrera Cup GB standings, also remaining a comfortable third in the rookie standings with two races remaining and a gap of 22 points covering the three title contenders.

McKenna next heads to the Brands Hatch Indy circuit for the final pair of races on 14/15 November. Races will again be broadcast LIVE on ITV4 in support of the British Touring Car Championship.

Scott McKenna (#82 Redline Racing):
“Firstly, I want to thank Redline Racing for their support and efforts to get us back out on track during a tricky period for many of us in this very unique season.

“We arrived at Snetterton hoping to get back on it instantly and our pace in qualifying at least put us in and around the battles that we wanted to be a part of on Sunday.

“Weather wasn’t kind to any of us and we struggled in the first race with the conditions being as they were, so it was very tricky to make progress. However, we recovered a good result with a much stronger showing in the second race, which was much more like the performance I was expecting and we could push and move forward.

“We’re still in the running for good finish in the championship in our first year, so we’ll keep pushing and aim to end the year on a high at a great circuit next month.”

Snetterton also marked the 200th appearance for new sponsor SACRED Cafe on a Porsche, the company now working with Redline Racing.

Photo Credit: Dan Bathie/Porsche GB

McKenna Bags Second Porsche Podium At Oulton Park

Teesside’s BRDC Rising Star Scott McKenna grabbed his second podium finish of the season in the BTCC-supporting Porsche Carrera Cup GB championship at Oulton Park last weekend (22/23 August).

The North Yorkshire youngster shook off an unlucky outing at Brands Hatch two weeks prior with a determined display in the fifth and sixth races of the season at Oulton Park, held in difficult and changeable weather conditions.

The Redline Racing driver carried his Ice Driver experience from the frozen lakes of Norway over into the weekend in Cheshire, and looked to start strongly in Saturday’s qualifying session held in wet conditions.

Backed by sponsors including Eighty One Powerdrink and Rocket Medical, the 18-year-old started strongly by topping the times in the wettest conditions before times began to tumble in the final minutes, McKenna eventually grabbing seventh on the grid in a late flurry of changes.

A good start in the opening race of the weekend later that afternoon put the rapid Porsche rookie ahead of Ross Wylie into sixth place when the lights went out, chasing a three-car dice ahead of him for the final podium spot.

Fighting a damaged Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car and evading an incident ahead, McKenna came home sixth overall to narrowly miss out on another rookie class podium, something he aimed to put right in Sunday’s race.

In front of the ITV4 cameras alongside the British Touring Car Championship, a partially-reversed grid shifted McKenna’s #82 Porsche onto pole position for the 15-lap second race.

A strong start in wet conditions kept him ahead of team-mate Matty Graham, and for two laps McKenna held his nerve at the head of the field. Former champion Josh Webster moved ahead at Old Hall on lap three, but McKenna held his own by retaliating on the outside briefly when eventual winner Harry King attacked for second spot at Druids.

McKenna settled into a solid third spot, surviving a late safety car interruption to hang on and secure a hard-earned second podium finish of his rookie season in only six races, adding to his Donington rostrum visit in Round Two.

McKenna also took his third rookie cup win of the season to move to within 10 points of the class lead, sitting fifth in the overall Carrera Cup GB standings and only three points adrift of third place. The Stokesley man next heads to Knockhill in Fife this weekend (29/30 August) for the latest pair of races.

Sunday’s races will be broadcast LIVE on ITV2 in support of the British Touring Car Championship.

Scott McKenna (#82 Redline Racing):
“I’m absolutely buzzing to be back on the podium again. Brands Hatch left us a bit disappointed through no fault of our own, and on Sunday we showed what we could do and got back to how we felt at Donington.

“Through my work with Ice Driver I know what it’s like to drive a Porsche in tricky conditions, and we were on the limit trying to keep in the fight towards the end when it was so greasy. We had damage on Saturday which held us back, but the reverse grid gave us the chance to recover. We showed our pace during Sunday’s race and I’m delighted with the result.

“A massive thanks to the guys at Redline and all of those backing and supporting me, and we’ve got to kick on now and believe that we can be the ones to challenge for the top three again in Scotland which is a tight and exciting track to visit.”

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Photo Credits: Jakob Ebrey Photography

McKenna Closes On Ginetta Title With Snetterton Win In Front Of BTCC Crowd

North East racer Scott McKenna added another victory in front of the TV cameras as he closed in on the ultra-competitive Ginetta GT5 Challenge championship title at Snetterton.

The Yorkshireman made use of a fresh set of tyres to add his sixth win of the season in the first of two races at the Snetterton 300 circuit, in front of a packed crowd as the one-make series supported the British Touring Car Championship.
McKenna lay down an initial marker in qualifying by being the first driver to dip into the 2m06s bracket, sealing pole position for the first race which took place later that Saturday. The teenager was beaten away from the grid by a fast-starting Josh Malin, who again held the advantage on the restart after a multi-car shunt behind them resulted in a second-lap stoppage.
McKenna gave chase, and made his move at the start of the third lap to slide into the lead of the race, utilising fresher rubber to stretch his lead and add win number six of his season.
In front of the ITV4 cameras the following day, McKenna and four of his closest rivals put on an entertaining show for the flocking fans in Norfolk.
In the mix throughout from his front row start, McKenna climbed from fourth to second in the early laps after losing ground at first, and soon gave chase to leader Malin as he probed for a way by. A bold move around the outside of his Ginetta G40 rival at the high-speed first right-hander almost paid off, but he instead fell behind eventual winner Geri Nicosia after the latter nudged his way through in the latter stages.
McKenna kept in touch in the thrilling five-car squabble, slipping behind Adam Smalley to finish fifth on the final lap as all involved jostled it out for the podium spots.
A crucial points finish meant the Xentek Motorsport driver takes a 57-point championship lead into the final three races of the season, held at Donington Park on 14/15 September and supporting the British GT Championship.
Scott McKenna (#27 Xentek Motorsport):
“It was a risky, but smart overtake to win the opening race, and the car felt mega. The pace was good enough over a lap in the races. All cars change, whether it be track, tyre or air temperature, and all the rest of it can change the way the car feels. Some of those uncontrollable variables happened in the second race, and I’ve just got to work on those things that I can change myself to take advantage.
“A forceful overtake from a following driver meant I fell from second to fifth, but we’ve increased our championship lead over the weekend which is the important thing. We’ve not quite come away with two podiums, but our objective has been achieved, and now it’s in our hands to go and seize.
“It’s really, really good being inside the BTCC paddock this time. The crowd is so cool; seeing all the people there on the banks after you’ve finished the race – that’s really cool to see, and I hope it looked good on TV!”
You can watch highlights of Scott’s entertaining second race on ITV Player.