Ryan Hooker Takes Porsche Class Victory in Drama Filled FIA GT3 Event
Ryan Hooker (Upminster, Essex) travelled to Romania for the third and fourth rounds of the FIA GT3 Championship. Racing in the Trackspeed Racing Porsche 997 alongside David Ashburn, Ryan came away with further Porsche honours to add to those he won in the opening event two weeks earlier.
The Romanian event took place in the capital Bucharest on a street circuit formed around the imposing Parliament building. The bumpy and tight circuit suited the nimble Porsches but left little room for mistakes.
"It's a real driver's circuit" commented Ryan afterwards, "but very bumpy with little or no room for error. Quite a challenge."
After a confident qualifying session, which was interrupted by rainy spells and a number of stoppages following incidents, Ryan and David started Race One on Saturday afternoon in confident mood. Both the weekend's races lasted for one hour with each driver behind the wheel for 30minutes.
David made a strong start but the race was soon to be interrupted by one of the strangest incidents of the season when a dog wandered on to the track. Thankfully the four legged trespasser escaped unscathed but not before some very anxious moments as the worry of a serious accident crossed everyone's mind.
David came into the pitlane to hand over to Ryan, whilst on track the incidents racked up. Ryan praised the team's strategy and put in a comfortable final stint, though much of it was behind the safety car. He crossed the finishing line in 8th overall, earning his first Championship points of the year and the honour of being the first Porsche home which meant more silverware for the Trophy cabinet!
The second race which was held on Sunday saw no canine intruders but the constant problem of rain made conditions very tricky. Ryan started the race and made an excellent start soon gaining seven places and working his way to the top ten. An excellent driver changeover to David, when they changed the tyres at the same time, saw them come back onto track in a competitive position which David built on.
Once again incidents caused disruption and the safety car had to be employed but as the chequered flag fell David brought his and Ryan's #4 Porsche home in fourth overall, just shy of the podium but collecting more valuable Championship points.
"It was a good weekend" said Ryan, "and I think we did better than perhaps expected. The street circuit suited the Porsche and helped us close the gap on our competitors who have an aerodynamic advantage over us on the more flowing circuits. I think we could have won the second race but disruptions played their part.
"To come away with top Porsche honours in Race One was fantastic and along with fellow Trackspeed drivers I am at the top of the Porsche Manufacturers Cup Table which is very encouraging. It seems we are the only team to come back from this event without major damage to our cars so that is an achievement in itself!"
Ryan's next FIA GT3 race is at Monza, Italy in a months time.
The Romanian event took place in the capital Bucharest on a street circuit formed around the imposing Parliament building. The bumpy and tight circuit suited the nimble Porsches but left little room for mistakes. 
David came into the pitlane to hand over to Ryan, whilst on track the incidents racked up. Ryan praised the team's strategy and put in a comfortable final stint, though much of it was behind the safety car. He crossed the finishing line in 8th overall, earning his first Championship points of the year and the honour of being the first Porsche home which meant more silverware for the Trophy cabinet!
"It was a good weekend" said Ryan, "and I think we did better than perhaps expected. The street circuit suited the Porsche and helped us close the gap on our competitors who have an aerodynamic advantage over us on the more flowing circuits. I think we could have won the second race but disruptions played their part.