Just one round on from his seasonal return to the Ultimate Cup Series at Portimao, George King was back in harness for the third event on the 2024 calendar, albeit with a different team and very different car.
The Briton claimed the 2023 UCS title with Team Virage — adding to his 2022 Gulf Radical Cup crown and multiple podium appearances en route to becoming vice-champion in the 2023 Ligier European Series — but has now made two 'gun-for-hire' appearances in the series, firstly with the renowned Graff Racing operation at Portimao (Portugal), where he acted as mentor to less experienced team-mates in the rebranded European Endurance Prototype Cup, and now at Hockenheim (Germany) where, with slightly more experienced colleagues, he got to try a Duqueine chassis for the first time, courtesy of a late call-up from his main 2023 rival, TS Corse.
King was to share the French machine with Australian ever-present Nathan Kumar and fellow round three new face Danial Frost, the Singaporean having raced alongside King's manager, James Winslow, in the opening event of the 2024 Asian Le Mans Series. Sharing the cockpit with Kumar during Thursday's pre-race test, King showed rapid acclimation to the Duqueine as he posted the fastest times when the circuit was wet, having been in the garage while the surface was at its dry best. He would then have to adapt again for Friday's lone practice session, where competitive times were not on the agenda as the #24 entry ran on rubber from the previous round in a bid to find used tyre pace and setup ahead of Sunday's main event.
All three drivers got the chance to try the car in dry conditions in Saturday morning's practice session where, despite jumping into the cockpit last of all and having to run on tyres that his teammates had already put through the mill, King again found himself able to set a pace that left the entire squad optimistic for race day. The speed was of no portent come qualifying, however, as a veritable monsoon swept across the region during to the session, creating extremely difficult driving conditions for all.
"I was in the car for the second part of qualifying and encountered probably the hardest conditions I’ve ever driven in," King admitted after the session. "I'd go as far as to say that it was borderline dangerous with the amount of spray and aquaplaning out there. Despite that, however, I still set a good enough time for P2 in class, less than a tenth off the P1 lap for our class. For sure, I had more performance in me, but it was impossible to see more than 100m in front of you. Trying to find track space was impossible, so you had to push through and try and set a time."
The weather subsequently deteriorated to the point that the organisers took the decision to cancel the third part of qualifying entirely, meaning that Frost never took to the track and leaving the #24 crew to rely on an average of the times set by the two drivers that managed to set a lap time. Kumar's lone completed lap between numerous red flags were sufficiently off the pace to leave the TS Corse car an unrepresentative 17th on the grid.
"Q3 being cancelled was a shame as we know Danial's times could’ve helped us move up the order a little bit," King lamented. "It is what it is, however, and the organisers would have had everyone's best interests at heart."
Kumar was back behind the wheel for the start of Sunday's four-hour race and drove sensibly to ensure that car remained competitive for when Frost climbed aboard, although the team hampered its strategy slightly by missing the first safety car pit-stop window. Hitting the second window helped get things back on track, with Frost taking over and keeping the #24 on the lead lap — and even appearing at the head of the order as other cars made their mandatory stops.
With Kumar needing to top up his minimum cockpit time, King had to wait until the final third of the race before making his first appearance, but took over with the Duqueine having lost vital time to its rivals. Although the #24 was still at the top of the leaderboard, everyone at TS Corse knew that it was a false dawn created by the randomness of safety cars and pit-stops, with King taking over in a net third position.
"The car was a handful to drive," the Briton reported later. "From being understeery and well-balanced all week, it moved to massive oversteer for the race. I have to admit that I was surprised by the dramatic change and had to really focus for my whole stint in order to keep it on the track. However, as other cars were strategically ahead of us, there was no point in fighting and risking damage to the car, even though I was one of the fastest LMP3s on track at the time. Simply considering the conditions and handling of the car, I just had to see it home."
After a tough hour-and-20-minutes of real-time 'drive to survive', King was able to take the chequered flag third in class, to claim his first podium of a year spent picking up sporadic drives as he works on a deal for 2025.
"Finishing on the podium capped a great week with a new team — even if they were my biggest rival last year!" King grinned. "It was a pleasure driving with Nathan and Danial, and share the track with good friends from Team Virage. It was even better racing against my coach for the last 30 minutes. Hopefully, this result will stand me in good stead for other races through the remainder of the year, even with planning for 2025 now well underway."
