MSS KITS driver Tom Wrigley continued his fantastic start to the season in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB this past weekend (12/13 May) as he secured a sensational podium finish during his first ever visit to the world-famous Monza circuit in Italy.
After getting the chance to compete at Le Mans last June, this year the Carrera Cup GB’s overseas meeting took Wrigley to another one of the most historic race circuits in the world, with a superb performance seeing him excel around the “temple of speed.”
Wrigley travelled to Southern Europe with confidence high following a first podium finish of the season two weeks prior at Donington Park, and he immediately got to grips with the 3.6 mile Monza circuit during free practice on Friday, ending the second session a great third fastest overall.
Unfortunately the 25 year old would only be able to secure sixth on the grid during qualifying the following morning as he battled some early brake issues, however he was confident there was a lot more pace to come heading into the opening race that afternoon.
Wrigley managed to avoid a dramatic incident ahead at the first corner to swiftly rise to fourth place in his MSS KITS Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, a position he would go on to maintain as the action restarted following a lengthy safety car period.
Sticking to the tail of the two cars ahead, the Chirk-based racer would ramp up the pressure heading into the final ten minutes of the contest and his efforts were rewarded when a mistake from a driver ahead opened the door for him to grab third position.
With a clear gap behind, Wrigley would fortunately be able to nurse his JTR car home to the chequered flag as he started to feel the effects of a slow puncture, with his efforts rewarded by a superb second consecutive Carrera Cup GB podium finish.
The MSS KITS racer would go on to narrowly miss out on making it three-in-a-row during race two on Sunday morning. Lining up fourth on the reverse grid, he would initially get shuffled back over the course of a hectic first lap to settle in sixth place.
Following another early spell behind the safety car, Wrigley would begin to heap pressure on the drivers ahead as the race reached mid-distance, with his persistence rewarded as an incident ahead opened the door for him to move back into fourth place.
With a clear gap to the driver behind, Wrigley produced a composed drive to maintain the position through to the chequered flag to make it four consecutive top four finishes in the Carrera Cup GB, his best run of results in the championship so far.
Another great haul of championship points has moved Wrigley up to third in the overall standings ahead of a visit to his local circuit Oulton Park next, with the Cheshire venue hosting Rounds 7 and 8 over the weekend of 09/10 June.
Tom Wrigley: “It’s been another great weekend in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB with MSS KITS. The JTR team gave me a fantastic race car throughout the meeting and I’m delighted I could convert that pace into a second podium finish of the season.
“A few mistakes on my part cost us a better result in qualifying, but I knew there was a lot more to come and we showed that in the opening race. I enjoyed dicing it out with the two drivers ahead and I’m chuffed that I could come away with third place at the finish.
“I probably made the best start of my Carrera Cup GB career so far in race two but sadly got squeezed out and ended up losing ground. The circuit is difficult to overtake around, so it was a case of biding my time and picking up places where possible.
“Fourth place gave us another strong haul of championship points and I’m very happy to have moved up to third in the standings. We head to Oulton Park in confident mood and if I can get qualifying sorted, then we definitely have a car that’s quick enough to challenge for wins.”
