Rising British sportscar star George King took advantage of another weekend of extreme weather, this time in the heart of France, to underline his pace behind the wheel of an LMP3 machine.
Rejoining the TS Corse team alongside Alim Geshev and Nathan Kumar, King had to contend with constantly changing conditions at Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours as he made another appearance in the European Endurance Prototype Cup that he won in 2023. The Essex native was again charged with honing the set-up of the trio’s Duqueine chassis — as he had on his first outing with TS Corse in round three at Hockenheim — but found the task made trickier by the continual switch between wet and dry conditions.
With Geshev never having driven in the wet before, the team was also keen to give the Emirati as much time to acclimatise to the conditions as possible, further limiting King’s efforts to ensure the car was as competitive as possible, but the Briton was pleased to find that the #24 machine was quick from the outset.
Although qualifying was the first session in which silver-rated King could bolt fresh tyres onto the green-and-yellow TS Corse entry, the 24-year-old wasted little time in emphasising his pace in prototype machinery, claiming a maiden LMP3 pole position at the head of the times in his session.
“The car was super fast all week,” King confirmed. “I was setting fastest laps and topping timing charts on old tyres in the sessions I was in, but the awkward weather — with some sessions wet and some dry — made it hard to dial in on the set-up. It was also important for the team to give Alim extra laps to get accustomed to the wet track as he would undoubtedly face the same conditions in the race. To then post the fastest time in my qualifying session was slightly unexpected but still a huge achievement, and testament to the TS Corse team for their work in helping to find the right set-up.”
As has been the case in several European Endurance Prototype Cup rounds this season, the weather gods refused to relent on raceday, and Geshev faced appalling conditions as he lined the #24 entry up for the start. Despite his inexperience, the LMP3 rookie drove well, ensuring that he kept out of trouble and brought the car back to the pits without damage at the end of his stint.
When King climbed on board, there was ground to make up on the leaders, but the Briton set about his task with relish. Almost immediately the fastest LMP3 runner on track, King was lapping up to a second faster than his rivals in awkwardly greasy conditions, and eventually set one of the race’s fastest laps, despite running on old tyres. When his time was up, however, the worst of the conditions had returned, forcing Geshev to again have to navigate a soaking wet track to ensure the TS Corse car got to the chequered flag.
“Finishing fifth in class was a great result, all things considered,” King commented. “It was ahead of where we started and the result of a great recovery drive, required due to the averaged qualifying times forcing us to start quite a way back in the pack. Of course, there’s a degree of regret that we couldn’t make it to the podium, especially as I believe we had a lineup with the potential to win the race, but with Alim having to overcome the worst of the weather — and a few unfortunately-timed safety cars — I’m definitely happy with the result.
“I’m also extremely happy with my own performance, as it stood shoulder-to-shoulder with some seasoned pros and gold-rated drivers. Putting in consistently rapid lap times and clawing back precious laps went a long way to helping secure that P5 spot, so I can be satisfied with another good showing that I hope will bode well for the future.”
King continues to pursue a full-time sports prototype campaign, either in Europe or America, in 2025.
