King: “Hard Work Paid Off” With Seven x Seven Podium

Harry King says he is “delighted” to have delivered new Porsche SUPER GT team Seven x Seven Racing its first podium finish in last weekend’s Sugo round, the British driver saying the result demonstrates his commitment to the team has paid off.

Sharing the No. 666 Porsche 911 GT3 R with Tsubasa Kondo, King secured third place in the GT300 class in a red-flagged race behind the winning LM Corsa Lexus LC500 and the second-placed Kondo Racing Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.

It marks by far the best result so far for the newly-established team, which had not finished higher than eighth prior to Sugo, as well as the first podium finish for a Porsche entrant in the Japanese series since the opening round of the 2018 season at Okayama.

Looking back on the race, which hit the three-hour time limit after a major crash brought out the red flags and caused a one-hour delay, King credited the work the team did to get its Yokohama tires working on the new track surface for its success.

“We had to work hard not having tested at Sugo before,” King told Sportscar365. “We made some sacrifices on the setup to make the Yokohama tires work, which was a big challenge, but the performance was good at the end of the race.

“As we were one of the first cars to pit, it meant the tires were worn at the end, so I was a bit disappointed about the red flag, but in the end the pace was good enough that the red flag didn’t make much of a difference.

“I’m delighted to help give Seven x Seven its first podium. It feels like the hard work has paid off. I’ve spent a lot of time out here in Japan this year supporting the team, I have never been so invested in a team emotionally as am I here.

“It’s so rewarding to see them succeed and see the smiles on their faces. [Finishing on the podium] is nothing new for me but it’s a very special occasion for them and I’m happy to share it with them. It feels great.”

King added that he felt Sugo was a good match for the Porsche 911 GT3 R, which has struggled with straight line performance at other circuits this year.

“Less straights and more corners means you can make more difference as a driver,” he said. “The cars that would normally escape up the road on the straights at Fuji didn’t have anywhere to hide here. It was nice to have the opposite this weekend.”

Team director Kiyoto Fujinami, who was part of the team’s driver lineup for the opening two rounds of the season before stepping down to make way for King, expressed his satisfaction with the Sugo result, calling it a “must” considering the team’s potential.

He added that he feels the final round of the season at Motegi could offer Seven x Seven a chance to aim for its first victory owing to the suitability of the circuit.

“We’ve had a few chances so far, including the very first race and Suzuka, but we’ve not been able to put all the pieces together, partly because we’re still such a new team with a lot of young members,” Fujinami told Sportscar365.

“This weekend we managed to put it together, and the car worked well. Getting a podium felt like a must, so we’ve achieved our first goal, but now we have to aim even higher.

“It would be really great if we could win a race. Motegi should be a really good circuit for this car, so I want to keep this momentum and try our best to make it happen there.”

Fujinami would not be drawn on Seven x Seven’s driver lineup for the final two races of the season, including next month’s Autopolis round, but it is understood that King will be at the wheel of the No. 666 Porsche at both Autopolis and Motegi.