Richardson Racing stun in Ginetta finale

Grantham-based Richardson Racing brought the curtain down on its title winning campaign in the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup in stunning fashion at Brands Hatch, with a double victory and a stunning 1-2 finish.Running two cars in the premier G55 class for the first time, the team went into the final meeting of the year looking to celebrate the championship titles it wrapped up in the penultimate meeting of the year, and did so with a dominant showing that left its rivals trailing behind.On a weekend when he cemented a top four championship finish, Andrew Richardson produced one of the drives of the season to take second place in race two - despite starting from the back of the field and stalling at the start - while Huddersfield-based racer Mark Davies celebrated his first outing alongside Andrew in the G55 class with victory in both race one and race two.Andrew went into the weekend with confidence on a high on the back of his maiden victory in the series in the previous event at Silverstone.A challenging qualifying session saw him secure tenth on the grid for the opening race but he was soon on a move when the lights went out to climb to fourth place by just the third lap. However, power-steering pump failure would force him to retire to the pits and meant he was left at the back of the field for race two, which was held in wet conditions on Sunday morning.A stall at the start left Andrew trailing behind at the rear of the pack before he launched into an inspired charge back through the field. Working his way up to fifth place, Andrew then made one of the moves of the season on the penultimate lap as he went round the outside of Jake Hill at Paddock Hill Bend and then repeated the move around the outside of title contenders Tom Sharp and Carl Breeze at Druidsmaking up three places in just two corners. Pulling away from the chasing pack, he crossed the line second behind Mark to give the team a 1-2 finish.Running on old wet tyres for the third race, unlike many of his rivals who had switched to new rubber, Andrew then produced a solid drive to end his season with a fourth place finish that helped secure fourth spot in the championship standings.Im really happy with how the weekend went, especially as I was feeling under the weather, he said. Its a shame that I had to retire from race one as the car was really strong and Id got myself onto the battle for the lead before the power steering went but that isnt something we could control. However, race two was just phenomenal.When I stalled at the start, I could see them all just heading off to Paddock Hill ahead of me and didnt expect to come back to second. The car was absolutely brilliant and me and Mark were similar on the lap times throughout. The move to get second is one I want to see again on TV as I cant remember a lot about it, but to get a 1-2 for the team is fantastic.In race three, we were on used wets and could really have done with new tyres so fourth was a good result to end the season.Making the step up to the G55 class after wrapping up the G50 class crown at Silverstone, Mark was on the pace from the outsetdespite the fact that the team had only taken delivery of his car from Ginetta on Thursday evening.Marks first qualifying session with the car saw him stun the title contenders to take pole position and he then led from the front to secure a lights-to-flag victory in the opening ten lap race.Starting on pole again for race two, Mark lost position on the opening lap to title contender Carl Breeze but reclaimed top spot with a fine move at Paddock Hill Bend on lap six. Once out front, Mark pulled away from the chasing pack to take a second victory of the weekend.From sixth on the grid for race three, Marks hopes of another podium finish ended on lap one when he was forced onto the grass at Surtees and dropped well off the back of the field before a solid recovery saw him work his back up to tenth at the finish.Its been a really good weekend, he said. I said before that it would be good to get into the top five, so to have two victories is fantastic. The team got the set-up on the car just right and we had no problemsapart from when I was put on the grass in race three.Taking pole and winning race one was great and then the battle with Carl in race two was also good. He seemed to be struggling for traction and I could carry more speed in the corner so when I had the chance to cut back inside him through Paddock, I made sure I took it.This season was a chance for me to deal with some unfinished business in the G50 class and it was good to win the title. From the moment I got in the car it was clear that the team knew what they were doing in terms of set-up and we had a great season. Winning in the G55 this weekend is a great way to bring it to an end and Ive shown that we can be strong next year if we can put a deal together. Id say this year has been one of the best Ive had and this weekend has topped it off.The result in the second race made Richardson Racing the first team to take a 1-2 finish in the G55 class, ensuring it heads into the off-season on a high. The team has really proved a point this weekend to end the year strongly as we only took delivery of Marks car on Thursday and put a lot of work in to it to get the set-up right, Andrew reflected. Mark drove it brilliantly and to be the first team to get a 1-2 finish in the G55s has shown what we can do. As a team, we can now look forward to next year and building on the potential weve shown in 2012.Information on sponsorship opportunities with the Richardson Racing team for the 2013 season are available by e-mailing info@richardsonracing.co.uk


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