Tore racing driver Neil Maclennan makes debut at GT Cup
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Neil Maclennan made a strong start to his maiden GT racing season by claiming two fourth placings plus a fifth in the opening rounds of the GT Cup Championship at Donington Park last weekend.
The 23-year-old from Tore lies sixth in the GTH category standings having made good, solid progress at the wheel of his Thornhill-based AL-2 Teknik UK supported Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport entered by Valluga.
Maclennan qualified fourth fastest for Saturday’s 25 minutes sprint race around Donington’s 1.98-mile National circuit before missing out on a podium finish by less than seven seconds with a strong fourth place.
In the Pit Stop race lasting 50 minutes later that day, Maclennan and co-driver Cameron Fenton, who is also new to GT racing, again netted fourth – this time a little over four seconds off a third-place finish.
Fenton started second on the grid in the GTH category courtesy of Maclennan’s second fastest race lap in the Sprint race but lost time on the opening lap dropping to 19th.
He pitted for the compulsory driver change with 20mins remaining placed 11th, Maclennan driving a mighty stint with his lap times improving as the race went on.
In the second endurance race on Sunday, Maclennan again did the second stint and brilliantly ran second before finally coming home fifth after the front tyres lost grip.
Speaking about his performance, Maclennan said he was happy with how he drove on his debut at the event: “I’m delighted with the way my first-ever GT races panned out – it was a very solid weekend for me,” said Maclennan.
“I learned a lot about the way the Porsche needs to be driven.
“I’ll head to the next races at Brands Hatch a lot more confident and know what to expect.
“The team did a great job with clean and tidy pit-stops in the Endurance races while Cameron, like me, learnt a great deal over the weekend.
“A podium looked possible in the second endurance race but we were running on the tyres that Cameron had qualified on earlier in the day and unfortunately, I ran out of grip in the closing stages.”
The next rounds are at Brands Hatch on Saturday, April 30 on Sunday, May 1.
