News

Young Brit proves ‘King of the Mountain’ on Carrera Cup Australia debut with EMA Motorsport

A dream debut for young Brit Harry King, saw EMA Motorsport take a clean sweep of victories at the latest round of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia. Running alongside season regular, Garnet Patterson, the pair delivered strong, points-scoring results, but it was the 22-year-old debutant who stole the headlines with a front row qualifying, and three race victories to take the overall victory for the weekend.

Round 6 of the championship arrived at the Bathurst 1000 weekend, with a stellar grid assembled including no less than six Carrera Cup champions from across the world. With the Great Britain and Benelux titles to his name, Harry would face stiff opposition, but his pace was immediately clear at the wheel of the #19 GT3 Cup car across the Mountain in the opening sessions. An electric qualifying display put him on the front row of the bumper 30-car field, while Garnet was just outside the top-10.

Harry made a strong start to race 1, taking the lead before the first corner, and both EMA Motorsport entries were well clear of the chaotic scenes on the start/finish straight further back in the pack as the race got underway. After controlling the restart, Harry then led the pack away, while Garnet made up positions to move into the top-10. At the line, Harry completed his debut race in Australia, securing a first win of the weekend.

The result set the grid for the second race, and it was no less action-packed. Harry battled hard on the opening lap against his regular Carrera Cup Germany teammate, defending the lead, and holding his nerve to retain the position. From here, he didn’t look back, and broke free of the chasing pack, heading for a lights-to-flag victory. Garnet also battled hard through the field, and moved up the order once again, bringing the #74 Pilatus-backed entry home in P7.

The final race of the weekend delivered yet more close racing action across the field, but the young Brit delivered once again. Breaking clear of the main group, Harry headed the lead pair for the duration of the race, managing the gap to secure another victory, while Garnet also scored a third top-10 finish, crossing the line in P8.

Harry King, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup #19: “What an amazing feeling! To get one win alone, on Friday, was enough, but to follow it up with two more and take three wins at Bathurst, it is just incredible. I’m really grateful to EMA Motorsport for giving me the car and the tools to do the job, and we really proved our dominance in the final race, claiming the new lap record, so it really was pretty much every box ticked. I wasn’t really sure what to expect before arriving here at Bathurst, but this circuit is unbelievable, and it was a big challenge to learn it in just one free practice session, but we did it, and this weekend definitely goes down as a career highlight, for sure.”

The impressive string of results, against a world-class calibre field, marked the first victories for EMA Motorsport in the championship. Harry also became only the second British driver to claim a win the Australian series.

The focus for the team now shifts back to GT3 competition, and the battle for two championship titles. The DTM season finale takes place at Hockenheimring in just under two weeks, with Manthey EMA and driver Thomas Preining leading the charge for both the Teams’ and Drivers’ titles. Meanwhile, the Australian crew are focused on the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia effort, with testing and preparations ahead of the Adelaide finale next month.