Michael Bentwood put in yet another strong drive for RJN Motorsport this weekend, helping to secure a credible fifth place finish in race one at Mondello Park.
Touring Car veteran Anthony Reid continued alongside Michael for the penultimate round of the British GT Championship at Mondello Park. Practise started well for both drivers, with Anthony and Michael placing the car in the top six overall. The race weekend was very different to the previous round at Silverstone, with two separate qualifying sessions for two separate 1-hour races.
“I had to qualify for the first race which I was starting,” said Michael. “Unfortunately my quickest lap was ruined by the red flags coming out which was a real shame as we had spent the first 5 minutes on pole. When we stopped during qualifying we were lying 2nd but my tyres were past there best. We were lucky to end up 5th on a 1min 42.732secs.”
Anthony Reid managed a time of 1min 42.404secs putting him third for Sunday's race start.
Race One saw Michael make a fantastic start from fifth on the grid. Neil Cunningham in the Embassy Racing Porsche left Michael enough of a gap to make a move into third position.
“At the start Neil Cunningham in the embassy Porsche went left leaving me a gap. I was right behind the Porsche of Mike Jordan making sure that no body else could get back in the gap,” said Michael. “Myself and Cunningham ran side by side for 2 corners but luckily I managed to come out on top.”
Michaels brave move around the outside of Cunningham made for a tough fight throughout the remainder of his stint. Despite being hounded by the faster Embassy Racing Porsche, which was being closely followed by the Ferrari and Mosler, Michael held on to third spot with the battle still ongoing when a full course caution came out.
Almost a third of the race was run under safety car conditions after the Team Tiger Marcos Mantis had gone off, so Michael took the opportunity to pit the Nissan 350Z from a superb third position after a dogged defence. "We were very close together on the track so I knew the pit stop would be vital… I came in as fast as I dared!" said Michael.
All eyes were on team-mate Anthony Reid after the driver change, but unfortunately for the team he was unable to hang on to the third place Michael had worked so hard for. Reid lost out to the Porsche of Ben Collins, only for the fighting duo to both lose out to Tim Mullen in the Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari. Anthony stayed in fifth spot for the remainder of the race.
Race two saw Anthony make a good start holding onto a strong 3rd position. As the race progressed the porches began to close-up behind Anthony but we were sadly denied any battling for position. The Nissan 350Z developed a misfire, a problem Michael and Anthony had already experienced with the car in the early morning warm-up. When Anthony radioed in during the race it became obvious RJN had a sick motor… retirement was inevitable.
The final race of the season will see a return to Silverstone Circuit, where at the previous round of the championship Michael and the team took their first podium of the year, finishing in third spot.
"The car has come along way since then [Silverstone],” Michael said. “I see no reason at all why we can't challenge for another podium, I am really looking forward to finishing the season on a high”.
Michael will be competing in the final British GT round at Silverstone International Circuit on the 8th & 9th October. To follow his progress please log onto www.michaelbentwood.com built by Racecar
