Displaying excellent pace throughout the race weekend, the 18-year-old made a strong impression around the streets of Nuremberg although left frustrated after an unavoidable incident in Sunday’s race brought a premature end to his race weekend.
Jack headed to Germany seeking to gain as much experience as possible from his street circuit debut. The Thunderhead-sponsored driver got his first taste of track-action in Friday’s free practice session. Unfortunately for Jack, his much-anticipated testing time was reduced from fifty to only eighteen minutes of track-time after a series of incidents involving other drivers.
Despite this, Manchester’s adaptability came to the fore as he quickly got to grips with the circuit and the following morning, Jack’s accelerated development was clear to see as he shaved almost a second of his best time in testing to qualify in 11th for race one, less than a tenth of a second outside the top ten and 12th for race two.
Race One Saturday
As the first race of the weekend got underway, Jack’s pace pointed to a positive weekend despite lining up as one of the least experienced drivers on the grid. The 18-year-old got off to a flying start and Jack moved up to 9th place with his sector times right up there with the field’s top six.
Unfortunately for Jack, his race chances were scuppered as he accrued a drive through-penalty for a jump start. Crossing the line ultimately in P13, Jack had gained more valuable points but more importantly, his pace showed he was capable of competing at the tight-end of the grid.