Arriving at the weekend off the back of a podium result in his first race activity of the year, Sam was looking for another strong opening to his second campaign. Running in the full Pro class, the new season was another step up in terms of a challenge, but overall pace looked good for the boldly liveried ‘red zebra’ #69 McLaren 720S GT3 as Sam prepared for the first of the weekend’s two qualifying sessions. He was pushing for a top-10 gridslot throughout the session, and among the front-runners in the Pro field, making improvements with each lap. As the session drew to a close, a late rush of times saw the order change further, with Sam securing an impressive P6 in class, just outside the overall top-10.

Sam took the start of Race 1 later that day, making a solid start as the field streamed through the opening sector of the Algarve circuit. After initially dropping a place, he recovered and held position while reeling in the group ahead. At the 15-minute mark, a well calculated move as he dropped down the hill into turn 1 set up the second half of the race for Chalie. Stopping ahead of the main class rivals put Charlie out earlier, on a clear track, and as the stops all played out, the #69 McLaren was running in the top-5. Strong pace then saw Charlie close in on, and quickly pass further competitors to move up into the podium positions with a series of quick laps. A final bold move in the closing stages would secure a very impressive P2 for the pairing to kickstart the season effort.

After a tight battle during the second qualifying session, Charlie would line-up on the front row for race 2, and firmly in contention. The young Brit took the start, and the battles commenced the moment the lights went out, with a chaotic entry into the first corner. Despite losing ground, Charlie quickly recovered and was chasing down third position, running firmly under the rear wing of the Audi ahead for the majority of the stint. The team took the decision to run longer, giving Charlie an opportunity to run some quicker laps without traffic as the pitstop window opened to minimise the effect of success penalty they would have to serve after the race 1 result. Sam took over, returning to the track in fifth place, and it was clear to see his pace was immediately quicker than that of the car ahead. He quickly closed the gap, and engaged in a determined battle looking for a way past, but remained patient as he looked for the best opportunity. Sure enough, the chance presented itself a couple of laps later, and Sam produced one of the overtakes of the weekend, as he made a move around the outside of turn 1 to claim P4 with little over 10 minutes to go. From here, he set off after the top-3 as the clock ticked down, putting a series of quicker laps to bring the gap down. At the line, he brought the red and black 720S GT3 home in an impressive P4, just three seconds off the podium.

“Another great weekend of battling for podium results, and it was a really great way to start our second campaign with Optimum. The car felt strong all weekend, Charlie did a great job in his stints, and it really feels like we are in the fight. There is always work to do to improve, but we know those areas to focus on, and we have some solid points on the board from this weekend. A great start to the season, so we just need to keep pushing and make sure we are still there when we get to the final rounds.”

The combined results of the opening weekend see Sam and Charlie sitting third in the championship, heading to Spa later next month to resume the title challenge.