Jodie Sloss scores podium finish at Silverstone

At only her second time on the Silverstone GP circuit, Jodie Sloss continued her strong run in the Porsche Open Cup by shining in qualifying and claiming her third consecutive podium finish.

Photo by: Karen Yeomans | @karen_yeomans

Jodie Sloss continued her strong run of form in the Porsche Open Cup with a third consecutive podium finish in the championship. Driving on the legendary Silverstone Grand Prix circuit for Race Drive, Jodie qualified an impressive second for both races, before finishing third in the opening race of the weekend. Despite retiring from race two with mechanical issues, Sloss once again showed her speed despite her relative inexperience in the Porsche 911 cup car.

After scoring podium finishes in her first two Porsche Open Cup races at Oulton Park, Jodie was aiming to build upon this impressive debut weekend. Following a productive Friday test session, Sloss was looking for a strong qualifying result to give her the best track position ahead of two twenty-five minute races at Silverstone. Traffic management was key with over 50 Porsche’s on-track from different categories, adding to the challenge of setting a fast lap time. Nonetheless, Jodie excelled and with a brilliant lap in the closing stages of qualifying, she secured a front row starting position, lining up second for both races based on her fastest and second fastest times.

Starting race one from second on the grid, Jodie enjoyed a fantastic opening lap, holding the runner-up position while setting the fastest middle sector of any driver to display great skill on cold tyres. The top-three drivers began pulling out a gap over the rest of the field, with Sloss beginning to come under pressure from Dallas Carroll. By lap four, the leaders were already amongst lapped traffic which added a further challenge with the speed differential stark around the faster sections of the circuit.

On lap five, Jodie had cut to gap to leader Archie Hamilton to less than six tenths of a second and was looking for a way past as the race approached half-distance. One lap later, the top-three drivers were separated by less than two seconds to underline the close-fought nature of the Porsche Open Cup. Sloss dropped to third on lap seven, but was determined to make up time and began closing in on Carroll for second. Setting a number of fast sectors, Jodie recovered well and crossed the line in third to claim her third consecutive podium finish in the Porsche Open Cup.

Photo by: Karen Yeomans | @karen_yeomans

Courtesy of her second fastest time in qualifying, Jodie once again lined up on the front row of the grid for race two. A brilliant first lap saw positions changing multiple times as Sloss ended lap one in third. After dropping to fifth on lap two, a developing technical issue halted her progress forward.

Despite this setback, Jodie briefly closed in on the drivers ahead before retiring to the pits on lap ten to bring her race to a premature end. Although this retirement broke her run of podium results, Sloss was once again extremely competitive in just her second outing in the championship.

“Being only my second time racing on the Silverstone GP circuit, I certainly gained valuable experience and developed hugely as a driver", Sloss told us after the race weekend. "It was very rewarding to be starting on the front row after qualifying!”

Jodie once again showed excellent speed in the Porsche Open Cup, putting in two strong performances at the home of British motorsport. Qualifying was a particular highlight, out-pacing a number of more modern Porsche 911 cup cars, maximising her potential over a single lap. Gaining valuable traffic management experience in a pair of closely-contested races allowed Sloss to continue her development as a driver.

The next round of the Porsche Open Cup will take place on the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit as part of the Festival of Porsche on the 3rd September.