George King returned to the cockpit of the Monza Garage Ligier JS P4 prototype at the glorious Spa-Francorchamps circuit over the weekend but nothing he could have dreamed about over the long summer break could prepare him for the frustration that lay ahead.
A podium regular, not only in the 2022 Ligier European Series but also championships he contested prior to stepping up this season, King has had to battle to keep his streak alive in recent rounds, but the trip to Belgium proved to be one too far for the #23 car he shares with Italy's Ronnie Valori as engine woes masked the talent behind the wheel.
With weather conditions suitably autumnal in the Ardennes, both free practice sessions yielded only sixth in class for the black-and-blue Monza Garage machine, and qualifying the following day was much the same, with sixth and fourth on the grid the result after a mighty effort from both drivers.
"We were just struggling to get the car up to speed as the engine is down on power," King explained. "With both practice sessions being cut short due to red flags, neither Ronnie or I managed more than eight laps before heading into qualifying, which wasn't the best preparation when you're chasing a problem on the car. I eventually qualified P6 — which sucks as I know I’m faster than that but being held back. Ronnie managed P4 once the car got a bit lighter on fuel and fresh rubber, which was obviously an improvement, but it was clear that the races were going to be tough on a circuit that requires a lot of power."
With light rain making track conditions unpredictable at the start of race one, contact in the prototype ranks shuffled the order and promoted King into an unexpected battle for the podium places in the early laps, holding down third place for the entirety of his stint as the circuit began to dry. Handing over to Valori mid-race, the team decided to stay on slick tyres while others around them opted for wets, but this proved to be a misjudgement as, one lap after the Italian took over, the rain returned with a vengeance and, once bunched up behind the safety car, the #23's chances of a good result were washed away.
"The whole track was damp and greasy, so it was a struggle to start with, but I managed to move up to P3 and stay there until we boxed and I handed over to Ronnie," King commented. "Staying on slicks wasn't too much of a concern as the pace was comparable to those on wets but, as soon as Ronnie had completed his first lap, the safety car came out, bunching everyone up, and then the heavens opened. At that stage, it was too late to make the change to wets as we would have lost all the work I had done and more.
"The safety car came in with one lap to go and, with the others on wet tyres in heavy rain, Ronnie was a sitting duck and we could only go backwards from there. Finishing P5 was frustrating of course but, in hindsight, it could have been worse — if we had pitted for wets during the safety car, there wouldn't have been time to catch the group, let along regain any positions, with just one lap of racing at the end."
Naturally disappointed at the outcome of the weekend's first race, King and Valori were determined to redeem themselves later that same day, especially from a spot on the second row of the grid. However, they were not to get the chance.
"Another random engine problem cropped up when we went to drive to the grid and, with little time to replace the part or fix it, we were forced out of the race before it had even started," King lamented. "This has to be one of — if not the — worst race meeting in my career so far, and the first time this year I go home without a trophy!"
Although the championship titles have been decided with a round to run, there is still work for King and Valori to do as they chase a place in the overall top three at the final round in Portugal next month.
"Of course, I'm annoyed and frustrated that we couldn't get better results from Spa, but we're still P3 in the championship which, with all the problems we’ve had this season, I’m pretty happy with," King concluded. "I also have to remind myself that this is my first 'proper' bash at a European championship, so I should be pretty happy with what I've achieved so far. Now, it's on to Portimao to try and seal P3 after what has been a very hard season of racing."
The sixth and final round of the 2022 Ligier European Series takes place at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal over the weekend of 14-15 October.
