Orange Racing by JMH made a fast start in the GT Winter Series with a podium and three top-six finishes at Portimao last weekend (17/18 January).

Simon Orange and Marcus Clutton began their second year of competition together with the squad’s McLaren 720S GT3, kicking off with five events in the GT Winter Series held across Portugal and Spain.

The #67 car, backed by Sale Sharks, William Hare, CorpAcq, BOL Foods, Parkway England, Smith Bros. and Shoppertainment, took to the grid at the picturesque Portimao circuit in the Algarve for their first meeting, participating in three races against strong GT3 opposition.

Both Orange and Clutton – race winners in the Winter Series last year – were unfazed by the challenge ahead, and battled against a mixture of wet and dry conditions across four days of on-track action.

After Qualifying ninth for the first 25-minute race of the weekend, Simon took the wheel of the Orange Racing by JMH McLaren in similarly tricky conditions. An exceptional recovery drive followed from him, passing the AF Motorsport Porsche swiftly and then dodging a spinning Engstler Motorsport Lamborghini at the hairpin to pick up two more places – the latter from a delayed AF Corse Ferrari.

Simon’s charge continued as he passed Branden Oxley’s Mercedes-AMG GT2, eventually taking the flag sixth in class after almost pipping the Ford Mustang of Massimiliano Cuccarese on the run to the chequered flag.

Clutton was in control for the second race on Sunday morning, again in greasy conditions. What followed was a mixed weather masterclass from Marcus, who clambered up the order from eighth on the safety car start to fifth place in just one lap with some exquisite and clinical overtaking. His comeback took him further up the order, surpassing the Mercedes-AMG of Moritz Wiskirchen for fourth before performing an excellently-timed cutback move to demote Alain Valente’s Mustang and confirm a podium finish with third position.

The finale was a 55-minute contest featuring a driver swap, with Simon taking the start. Both once again climbed the order from row four of the grid, and Clutton challenged the best lap times throughout the latter stages in his stint as the duo came home fifth by the flag to cap off a consistent opening weekend.

Jason Hughes, Team Manager: “We’re here to compete, so to come away with three solid results after playing a bit of catch-up from qualifying was a good start for us. Simon did a great job and Marcus showed his class in the second race especially with a mega drive through the pack to third, all in tough conditions, too. Hopefully we can celebrate with more silverware in Estoril.”

Marcus Clutton: “We certainly made up for Qualifying in the races! We made a bit of a wrong call there and we definitely made up for it. I said I needed to make up a few places and probably made up even more than first hoped, but that’s racing and it turned out great. It’s been really greasy out there; kerbs are wet and yet parts of the track are dry, so it’s about investigating and learning where the grip was and then making the overtaking moves along the way. That’s what we came here to do, it’s about picking up results to fight for the championship.”

The Orange Racing by JMH squad stays in Portugal this weekend for the second meeting of the Winter Series, as Orange and Clutton take on the historic Estoril circuit.