Reigning Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Vice Champion and former Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux and GB Champion Harry King made his Le Mans Prototype debut in Sepang with Pure Rxcing, sharing the cockpit with reigning FIA WEC LMGT3 Champion Aliaksandr Malykhin and Julien Andlauer in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The 24-year-old British driver has certainly made an impression in the ALMS paddock with his speed and tenacity, securing a podium finish in the first race of the season.
However, the results since then have not reflected the performance on track shown by the whole of the Pure Rxcing team and King is looking for that first ALMS win at the season finale in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
Q: The season started well with a podium in Sepang, and you’ve been competitive in all four races so far. How do you sum up the season so far from your point of view?
Harry King: “The pace in the car has been pretty much supreme every time it's hit the tarmac, particularly for the races, and we've just been caught out with the misfortunes of how the races develops. If I analyse my own performance, it's been quite good, particularly considering this is my first time racing in LMP2. I think I surpassed perhaps other people's expectations and possibly my own as well.
“But of course, it's not an individual sport, it's a team sport, and that's a new adaptation that I've got to make after many years of sprint racing. I'm thoroughly enjoying the new dynamic of this endurance racing; I’ve got real love and passion for it.”
Q: How does the LMP2 Oreca compare to the GT cars you’ve been racing up to now? What’s the main difference?
HK: “It's a big contrast. I come from a background of Porsche sprint racing, where you could muller the curbs and it's all about straightening up the corners, whereas here it's the complete opposite. You've got to keep the car as flat and as neutral as possible.
“I’ve got a great environment with great people around me to help bring me on and educate me in the right manner and every weekend is a learning weekend. I'm not satisfied, even after Sepang where we were quickest on averages. I am hungry for more and I think that's a good nature to have.”
Q: You've been used to driving on your own in sprint races. In endurance you've got two teammates, and you have to set the car up that suits all three of you. How are you finding that?
HK: “I have full trust in my teammates. A positive with me is that I can adapt relatively quickly to any kind of car, and if the car is not quite my liking, I'll drive around it. I think for an endurance race, that's probably not a bad positive to have.
“I'm actually quite enjoying sharing the pressure, sharing the environment, sharing the cockpit with other drivers.
“Even stuff like the driver changes, this is all particularly new territory for me. It's not unknown, but it's definitely new. Obviously, a tight cockpit like the LMP2 has definitely makes life a little bit more exciting, but it definitely helps when you got good environment and good people around you.”
Q: You’ve teamed up with FIA WEC LMGT3 and ALMS GT Champion Aliaksandr Malykhin, who is also making his LMP2 debut in the ALMS. How are you getting along with him?
HK: “Our friendship and our relationship goes back for maybe four or five years, since the very start of his motor sport career. He’s been hugely influential with my own performance and my own career to this date. Of course, he's followed his own separate path, and it's just nice at this point in my career that we can connect and reconnect again.
“You know what he's done in the years prior to this has been nothing short of incredible, considering the minimal years he has spent in motorsport. If you just spend 15 minutes with the guy you will see how analytical he is of his own performance, and how hungry and motivated he is, I think you'll definitely realize that this success isn't by luck or chance, this is through sheer hard work.”
Q: What are your thoughts on the track here at Yas Marina?
HK: “It's great, the hotel’s close by, so that makes life easy. The circuit iss a real pleasure to drive and definitely one of the highlights for me on the short Asian Le Mans Series calendar.
“To be honest, I've not done many laps as we speak right now, probably just about 10. So, it's definitely new. Sector 1 is quite exciting, but the biggest concern for me this weekend would be the traffic. If you approach it at the wrong time in Sector 3, you could be doing a superb job, and you can lose one or two seconds per lap. So that'll be interesting when you come up to the GT traffic.”
Q: With the championship pretty much out of reach, even though it’s not quite mathematically, what is the goal for the team this weekend? I would imagine it's that elusive win?
HK: “I don't think it's just one, I think we need to come here and accomplish two wins, to be honest. We'll work hard throughout the testing to try and optimise everything that we've got, but it's important not to underestimate the level of the drivers in the other cars and the level of the teams. We knew it was going to be difficult, but I definitely do think that perhaps we should have had better results than we've had by now, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles, as they say, That's motor sport, so just have to learn to accept it, keep your head up and keep pushing on.”
