JAXON EVANS has commenced his international career by twice finishing on the podium in the opening round of Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland at the weekend.
Racing at the famous Hockenheim circuit for the first time, the 22-year-old Porsche Junior qualified third and second for the two races, respectively, before finishing third in each to commence his overseas campaign in style.
Race one was held in wet conditions on Saturday, with Evans taking advantage of a dryer line on his side of the grid to make a superb launch and jump to second by turn one.
However he was one of several drivers caught out by the greasy conditions and ran wide at the turn six hairpin on the opening lap, dropping to third.
Luca Rettenbacher then slipped by at the same place a lap later, Evans settling into fourth.
A crash on the start-finish straight saw the Safety Car called on the fourth lap with the field held under yellow for one lap.
Evans gained a spot on the restart, as Rettenbacher ran off the road at turn six while attempting a pass for second, while behind another incident saw the Safety Car called for a second time.
After the second, two-lap Safety Car period Evans restarted in third for the dash to the flag where he remained.
Unfortunately, Evans and fellow podium finisher Jap van Lagen were both excluded from the results post-race; Evans due to his car being fitted with a non-compliant part. The team has appealed the decision.
Regardless of the post-race decision, Evans said he was proud of his debut amidst the 31-car Carrera Cup Germany field – one that includes many of his Porsche Supercup rivals.
“To finish third at my debut race in the Carrera Cup is a super start to the season,” Evans said.
“I’m not really familiar with wet asphalt in Australia, so I found the first laps a bit tricky and I found myself in the run-off zone in lap one. But the track dried up quickly soon after.”
Held in much better conditions, Evans started the second race from the front row and challenged for the lead into turn one – though ultimately was pinched for room costing him momentum and second place in the process.
Settled into third, Evans pulled away from the cars behind to retain a comfortable margin on his way to his second podium appearance of the weekend.
“At first I was a bit disappointed that I could not defend second place. But the competition is high here, so third place feels good,” he said.
Evans attention will quickly turn to the opening round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, to be held this weekend (May 10-12) at the Catalunya circuit in Spain alongside the Spanish Grand Prix.
The second round of Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland will be held the following week (May 17-19) at the Autodrom Most circuit in the Czech Republic.
Campbell wins Spa Francorchamps 6-hour World Endurance Championship race
MATT CAMPBELL claimed the LMGTE-AM victory in the penultimate round of the FIA World Endurance Championship Super Season at Spa Francorchamps, while Porsche claimed an early victory in the LMGTE Manufacturers title.
In chaotic conditions that included snow, Campbell – a Porsche Young Professional – teamed with Christian Reid and Riccardo Pera to win for Dempsey Proton Racing.
It was the third-straight win for Campbell in the WEC and the fifth of the current ‘Super Season’, that concludes with the LeMans 24 Hours in June.
The result lifts Campbell and Reid to fourth in the LMGTE-Am drivers standings, despite their earlier exclusion from the Fuji round in Japan earlier this year.
“I’ve never experienced a race like this before. Sun, rain and snow made it extremely difficult in terms of strategy,” Campbell said.
“The team did a particularly great job in the tricky tyre choice. And my two teammates Chris and Riccardo drove an almost flawless race. As was the often the case this season, that was the key to success.”
Porsche, meanwhile, built an unassailable lead in the Manufacturers championship to claim the title with a round to spare.