George King maintained his 100% domination of the 2021-22 Gulf Radical Cup series at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, winning all three races at the home of the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix.
After sweeping the board in each of the opening triple-headers at Dubai Autodrome, the Briton brought his unbeaten start to a new venue and proved that he was still the man to beat, despite having a stronger field in opposition. Pre-event practice may have given the other 16 drivers the slightest glimmer of hope as King played himself into the remodelled Yas Marina layout but, by the time qualifying rolled around, his bright yellow Team JWR SR3 XX was back on top, claiming pole position for both of the weekend's sprint races.
As he had in rounds one and two, King led from the front, converting his prime stating spot into an early advantage courtesy of another textbook getaway. Although there was early pressure from Team JWR team-mate Ian Loggie, King was able to extend the gap throughout the 13-lap event and, after Loggie was forced into retirement, came home 14 seconds clear of his nearest challenger.
It was a similar story in race two, with King largely untroubled out front while the pack squabbled in his wake. Easing away from Loggie with every lap, the youngster eventually crossed the line with an eight-second cushion to his team-mate, claiming an eighth win from as many races.
With two trips to the top step of the podium in his pocket, along with a new lap record for the Radical class, King naturally felt optimistic about completing another hat-trick in Saturday's endurance race and cemented his role as pre-race favourite with another pole position, this time half a second clear of Loggie, who would join him on the front row. The showpiece event would be more dramatic than any that had gone before, however, beginning with an interminable delay as circuit officials worked to repair barrier damage from the preceding Hankook 6 Hours race.
With limited options — which included postponing the GRC event to the following day — series organisers took the decision to keep as close to the original timetable as possible by running the endurance race on Yas Marina's alternative South Circuit, giving the drivers a brief 15-minute sighting session to get their bearings.
Unfazed by the switch of layout, King again made a good start, but twice had to fend off eager opponents into turn one as an early safety car appearance prevented his usual breakaway. The Briton knew that he needed to press on in the first half of the race as he was again carrying a 15-second 'success penalty' for winning the same race in round two. This time, however, there were insufficient laps to build the buffer he needed, but King still emerged at the head of the field after the pit-stop window had played out — only to be hit with an additional time penalty for misjudging how much time he needed to remain stationary in the pits.
Needing to build an even bigger gap over the field if he was to maintain his unbeaten streak, King produced a string of fast, consistent times and, aided by the intense racing behind him, was able to overcome the penalty — and more — as he crossed the line ten seconds clear after 47 laps.
"Another weekend, another three wins — even if we made it slightly harder for ourselves this time," King reflected. "It was fantastic to be able to come to Abu Dhabi and race on the Yas Marina circuit, but I didn't think I'd get to sample two different track layouts in the same day! Congratulations to the organisers for ensuring the round went off as smoothly as it did, and obviously to Team JWR and my sponsors, Goldcrest Oil and BCG Investments, for another perfect result. While I'm enjoying my success, however, I'm not taking anything for granted. The GRC field was stronger here this weekend, and I'm sure they'll be trying even harder to beat me next time."
King's success came hot on the heels of his first outing in a GT-class car, having joined mentor James Winslow, Radical rival Alex Bukhanstov and Andrew Gordon-Colebrooke in Century Racing's BMW M4 GT4 at the Dubai 24 Hours.
The quartet was running well, continually battling over first and second position, until the car sustained damage during the night hours, and eventually finished fourth in class, just missing out on a podium, although King was delighted to record the entry's fastest lap.
"It was great to get a first GT race under my belt after doing the 24 Hours in the touring car class last year, and we were clearly competitive throughout," King noted. "Unfortunately, one of my team-mates had an incident during the night, which cost us valuable time in the pits — and, ultimately, the shot at another top three finish."
King carries a 104-point advantage into round four of the Gulf Radical Cup, back at Dubai Autodrome, over the weekend of
4-6 February 2022.
