It’s been a very active season for me in 2023. I started off doing some endurance racing and the Asian Le Mans Series, all while carrying out preparations for my Porsche campaign in the Carrera Cup Middle East, which went really well. We claimed a win in every race we entered, so the programme was looking very strong. The expectations for the European season were very high and I had everything I needed in terms of testing mileage, physical preparation, and all the ingredients to attack the Porsche Supercup season with the best approach possible.
We started off at Spa with the Carrera Cup Deutschland, which was my first race in the series. Going to Allied Racing – a brand-new team for me, with new mechanics and engineers – was a big undertaking, but we secured pole position in the wet conditions and followed it up with a race win, which was the best way we could have got that season under way. That proved all the preparations in the winter were paying off.
We had a strong season in Germany, scoring podiums in the majority of the races. And if we weren’t on the podium, we were either fourth or fifth. A couple of races where we had contact from a car behind ended up putting us out of contention. Such strong performances throughout the year and storming into it with a pole position and the race win definitely got everybody’s attention.
What would have been the Imola weekend to start the Porsche Supercup, where I was back with Lechner Racing, was quite bizarre, because those are the ones where you really want to perform and do a good job. You do everything to prepare in the week leading up, so to get a call from your team manager saying, ‘Don’t go to the airport just yet,’ was a bit odd.
But despite the floods meaning the Imola event was called off, it wasn’t long until we got going in the Supercup in Monaco. That was one of the highlights of the season, and of what hopefully will be a successful career. Nothing quite tops winning in Monaco, especially in such a competitive one-make series. I’m very proud of the achievement and to bring that home for the team.
I had to cancel my flight home on the Sunday from Monaco, but for a very good reason. The hardest thing was trying to get a suit organised in time for the dinner. It was already 1pm, and you only have a few hours to find a suit before you go to dinner with Prince Albert! Thankfully I managed to look the part and enjoyed a nice evening to celebrate the achievement.
Source: Autosport