Tom Sharp is back at the head of the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup as the season heads to Rockingham with a new format for the race weekend.

When Tom Sharp was adding win after win to his CV at the start of the season, it looked as though the IDL-backed driver was unstoppable. After Thruxton on May 1, however, the championship went through a different phase as Sharp could only watch his rivals climb the top step of the podium and wonder why it wasn’t him. At Knockhill, though, he bounced back and took his seventh win of the season, while key rival Carl Breeze (TCR) suffered an engine cut-out gremlin in the final race of the weekend that left him on the sidelines. With races at Rockingham, Brands Hatch and Silverstone to go, Breeze is 18 points back and the championship is set for a thrilling finish.

While Sharp may not have been winning, he has done his best to score points and has been consistent throughout the season, while the hugely experienced Breeze can never be discounted, Nor can former Formula Ford champion Nathan Freke who has bagged five wins in his Century Motorsport-run car and he is hunting down Adam Morgan (Ciceley Motorsport) in the fight to be third. It is all to play for in the final all-action races.

But there is a twist this weekend. Instead of the usual three-race format, there are two races at the equivalent of 30 minutes. The second will include a mandatory pit stop in which the teams must change two wheels and tyres and acts as a precursor to the new Ginetta GT Winter Cup, Ginetta’s first endurance championship, in November.

While the new-for-2011 G55 model, with its 3.7-litre engine, has been the car to watch at the head of the field, the G50 still produces epic racing and the struggle to come out on top of the class is just as intense. Tom Ingram (Plans Motorsport) heads the title race, the Ginetta Junior graduate fending off Jody Fannin (Team Pyro) and Aaron Williamson (FML). On dropped scores, Ingram is 49 points ahead, but given how competitive the class has been this season, he certainly can’t relax.

Expect two more great races this weekend as Leeds’ best export is set to Rock!

Qualifying for the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup takes place on Saturday September 17th at 10:40. Race one is that afternoon at 16:55 lasting for 18 laps, while race two is the all-new pit stop race and the 18-lapper is at 15:20. You can see all Sunday’s action live on ITV4.