Keagan Masters took home a very admirable P4 and second highest Rookie finisher at Round 3 of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup over the weekend of 7-9 July. Held at Silverstone Circuit in the UK, the event also provided Masters with the title of ‘Fastest Rookie’ in the qualifiers, where he was placed seventh.
Home to the British Grand Prix, Silverstone’s reconfigured GT circuit has been described as: “Slower and more technical, with tighter turns on the back half of the track, compared to the historic GP configuration.” This provided Masters with yet another opportunity to push his limits and test his driving skills.
Masters managed to avoid and negotiate his way around an accident on Turn 1 of the race, promoting him to P4 at the outset. He maintained this position throughout the race, ending in P4, in a time that was a mere three seconds behind the race leader Alexander Fach.
“I was thrilled to have such a smooth race, with no incidents. This came off the back of two rather challenging rounds at Monaco and Spielberg, where luck was not on my side. Physically I was not in top form at Silverstone, as I was recovering from a bout of flu, but everything else was on my side and the P4 has given me the boost I needed to my confidence levels,” says Masters.
Masters explains that the lap times of the top four drivers were so close that it was very difficult to gain an advantage. “The temperature was quite high, so the brakes were overheating as soon as you tried to get closer to the driver in front of you. We all maintained the same positions throughout the race that we had moved into after Turn 1. It was very exciting for me to be so close in time to the leaders and is a great encouragement to pull out my A game for future races.”
Under the mentorship of ICAN Management, a South African company led by Mpho Elijah Gumbi, Masters is being primed to contend for the Rookie of the Year Award in the prestigious Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup series.
Preparation for races is strenuous, with not only multiple practice sessions in his vehicle, but further physical training to increase his fitness levels and response times, coupled with correct nutrition and psychological exercises to prepare him for the challenges of top-level motorsport.
“We are extremely proud of how Keagan approaches each race with an extremely focused mindset. He gives 100% in each race and quickly adapts his game plan to suit the track he is racing on. Part of this is accomplished pre-race through the extensive time he spends on the simulator, allowing him to hone his skills and carefully strategise each race,” says Gumbi.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a superb racing support system — from ICAN, to my sponsors and team managers, my technicians, and everyone else in between. Racing isn’t a solo sport — it’s all about everyone pulling together to reach predefined goals.”
Masters’ goal for the upcoming Round 4 in Budapest from 21 to 23 July, and Round 5 a week later in Belgium, is to improve his starting position coming out of the qualifiers, and to get into the first turn ahead of the pack. “I know I have it in me to stay ahead once I get into that position, so I am focused on starting strong, and finishing strong.”
Published by: Allyson Koekhoven
Picture Caption: A smooth race, with no incidents resulting in a P2 in the challenge for Rookie honors
Photography by: Porsche Mobil 1 supercup
MSA Publishes media releases from a host of different sources on our website as a service to the sport. It is not practically possible to vet/approve every release that is published. Some news items and articles are written by correspondents and do not necessarily represent MSA’s views.