Reigning Champion Josh Stanton Secures Long-Awaited Pro-Am Podium at Knockhill
Evolution Security’s supported athlete, Josh Stanton, current Porsche Carrera Cup AM Champion, takes his first step onto the Pro-Am podium in front of the Evolution team at rounds 9 & 10 of the 2023 Porsche Carrera Cup at a wet and wild Knockhill.
Photography: Porsche Carrera Cup GB
With tumultuous weather conditions prevailing at the Fife circuit, Josh Stanton showed great pace and determination, scoring his first Pro-Am championship podium in an impressive weekend-long battle.
In free practice 1 leading up to the main races, Josh secured P7 in the JTR (Joe Tandy Racing) prepared 911 GT3. His best lap time of 49.301 seconds put the #95 car only 0.529 seconds behind the leader of the Pro-Am classification. Notably, Josh closed this gap even further in FP2, despite not going new on tyres, sitting only 0.21 seconds off the top spot.
As the weekend moved forward, so did Josh, displaying strong pace in a qualifying of conflicting weather conditions, kicking the races off from P4 on the grid.
As the lights went out for race 1, Stanton fought hard through the 30-minute race to cross the line in 3rd place in the competitive Pro-Am class. Setting a best lap time of 49.160 seconds early on on lap 5, Stanton was only 0.111 seconds adrift from the leader.
Sitting in the holding area for race 2, blue skies peeked through the clouds, however, in true Knockhill style, that didn’t promise dry conditions. The final race of the weekend posed a new set of challenges as the weather took a turn and the rain intensified, prompting a swift tyre change from slicks to wets by team JTR. Stanton kicked off race 2 from his previous finishing place (3rd). Unfortunately, after completing just 2 laps, he faced a DNF due to another car’s error.
Despite an unfortunate conclusion to the Knockhill rounds, Stanton is pleased with his first Pro-Am podium of the 2023 Porsche Carrera Cup. Josh Stanton and JTR sit 8th and 7th in the Pro-Am and Teams Championship standings, respectively.
Reflecting on the 7th event of the season, Josh looks forward to their upcoming rounds at Donington Park in 2 weeks’ time:
“I’m really happy to come away from Knockhill with P3 after some bad luck earlier in the year. It’s been a long time coming!
“Race 2 was gutting, to be taken out only 2 laps in. But we’ll focus on the positives that, thankfully, we didn’t suffer damage in the incident. The car is in good shape, and following our race 1 podium, we are motivated more than ever to succeed in rounds 11 and 12 at Donington.”
Josh’s season is supported by an impressive line-up of sponsors including Grayson Pace 59 (GP59), Evolution Security, Autobrite Direct, and Porsche Centre Tewkesbury, who have all been instrumental in his career to date.
“Thank you to JTR and Adam for a flawless car all weekend. And to the Evolution and GP59 crew - it always makes a good result more special when we can share it with those who are behind us all the way!”
The remaining Porsche Carrera Cup calendar includes Donington Park GP (26th & 27th August), Silverstone National (23rd & 24th September), with the season finale at Brands Hatch GP (7th & 8th October).
Photography: Porsche Carrera Cup GB