Daniel moves to the front in chase for title

Daniel moves to the front in chase for title

3 July 2019

ANNAHILT teenager Daniel Harper continues to scale new heights in the world of motor racing.

The 18 year-old driver  secured a sensational fourth win of the season so far at Oulton Park at the weekend to extend his championship advantage heading into the Porsche Carrera Cup GB’s summer break.

That victory means the 2018/19 Porsche junior driver has now taken a race win in four consecutive meetings, a feat last achieved in the Porsche 

Carrera Cup GB in 2016 and one that has only been done by two other drivers in the last eight years of the championship.

Oulton Park had already held fond memories for Harper as the scene of his maiden Porsche victory 12 months ago, and he immediately laid down a marker this time around as he topped the time sheets in both of Friday’s free practice sessions.

In the sweltering Cheshire sunshine, Harper stepped up to another level in qualifying on Saturday as he posted a new qualifying lap record, his blistering effort securing him a third pole position out of four so far this season.

The opening race of the weekend took place that afternoon and he got a magnificent launch off the line to lead the field through the first corner in his JTR machine. 

From there, he edged clear to build a two-second gap within the first six laps of the race.

Coping well with the added challenge of extremely high temperatures inside the cockpit of his Porsche, Harper produced a supreme performance to maintain his advantage and lead every lap en-route to victory, his third lights-to-flag success of the campaign.

Harper headed into race two on Sunday afternoon knowing he faced an uphill struggle.

The reverse grid draw put him fifth at the start and, with overtaking renowned to be difficult around the narrow circuit, his focus was on bringing the car home for a solid points haul.

A terrific launch off the line in his IFS Global Logistics-backed Porsche almost gained Harper a position heading into the first corner, but after having to concede on that occasion, he made fourth place his heading through the same bend a lap later.

That put the Annahilt racer right on the tail of title rival, Lewis Plato. 

Despite being visibly quicker than the car ahead throughout the race, Harper elected not to make a risky overtaking move and held fourth to the finish, with the added bonus of the fastest lap of the race to his name.

Harper now holds a 20-point lead at the top of the standings heading into the summer break, with the next rounds coming at Thruxton on August 17-18.

“It’s been another fantastic weekend,” he said afterwards. “I loved Oulton Park in the Porsche last year and it was the same again this time around. It’s such a fantastic circuit and you really get to have some fun behind the wheel when you’re pushing the limits on a quick lap,” he beamed.

“The high temperatures made it difficult through the weekend, in particular keeping concentration behind the wheel. It was particularly hot in qualifying, so I was delighted to have strung a lap together to get pole position by quite a good margin.”

Harper knew that a good start was important and that’s what he got.

“I knew that getting to the first corner in the lead was crucial in race one and fortunately I achieved it.

“From there, I got a two second gap quite quickly and then focused on maintaining that to the finish,” he said.