FREKE SIGNS OFF TITLE WINNING SEASON IN STYLE AT BRANDS GP
Newly crowned 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup Champion Nathan Freke concluded his outstanding season in winning style at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit yesterday afternoon, Sunday, 4th October, with his 15th victory of the campaign during the final race of the year.
Although heading into round 28 with the pressure of the title battle lifted from his shoulders, the Century Motorsport driver was nonetheless made to work incredibly hard for the win by Dynojet’s Frank Wrathall who mounted an impressive late race push and came within just 0.093 seconds of the victory.
Freke’s 2009 record certainly speaks for itself and along with his stunning total of 15 wins the 26-year-old secured seven other podium finishes on his way to a huge 125-point margin at the head of the driver standings in his first season of G50 Cup action. In addition, he never failed to finish a race.
Reflecting on a truly outstanding season, the champion commented: “It’s been fantastic and this weekend has just been the perfect end to the year for us. I knew the last race would be hard, Frank (Wrathall) did a great job and it was very tight at the finish. The start was good but I had a big slide through the back section which knocked my confidence a bit and so I slowed the pace a little.
“I could see Frank catching but I knew if I didn’t make any mistakes and drove a tight race, he wouldn’t be able to get past. In the end I managed to hold it to the line and I want to thank the team for doing such a fantastic job all year, the car was so consistent yet again. To end the season with a win is superb, looking back it really couldn’t have gone any better.”
At the start of this afternoon’s race, Freke led away from pole position but Wrathall was determined to try and get ahead early as he attempted to run around the outside of the 2009 champion at the fearsome Paddock Hill Bend. Freke held the lead though on the inside and started to pull marginally clear as Wrathall began to come under pressure from Tom Sharp and Fulvio Mussi.
Aiming to end the season on the biggest of highs, Freke set a new lap record on the third tour but this was later bettered by Mussi – the Yourracingcar.com driver marking his name in the record books with a stunning lap of 1m32.731 seconds (89.32mph) in the final third of the race.
As Freke continued to extend his lead, Wrathall struggled to shake off the attentions of Sharp and Mussi but as the race hit mid-distance the Vice-Champion’s car started to come into its own and he began to catch the leader while at the same time dropping his pursuers.
Further behind, Benji Hetherington held a solid and untroubled fifth place which he maintained to the chequered flag while sixth position was disputed by Chris Dittmann, ever-improving rookie Adam Morgan and Carl Breeze.
In the end, Morgan sealed the place with a good move into Paddock Hill Bend on lap 12 while back at the front the fight for the win came down to a last-lap dash with Wrathall almost glued to the rear of Freke’s Ginetta. With absolutely nothing separating the pair, Freke managed to defend well enough into Clearways to keep Wrathall behind to win by less than a 10th of a second.
Sharp sealed another podium, his fourth of the year, to add to his success in Saturday’s opening race with Mussi taking fourth. Ben Jackson, meanwhile, was the best of this weekend’s newcomers once again with a fine ninth place ahead of fellow G50 Cup rookie Stephen Tyldsley. The Chairman’s Cup victory went the way of Colin White, breaking Richard Sykes’ recent run of wins.
Speaking after the final round, 2009 Vice-Champion Wrathall said: “Obviously, Nathan’s such a good driver and there’s no shame at all to finish second in the championship to him. I was absolutely gutted not to win that race though, it was so close at the end but I just couldn’t quite get ahead. At the start we dropped back quite a lot and I think that cost me the win to tell the truth.
“I thought Nathan would just drive off into the distance but my car came on so strong towards the end, I upped the pace and pegged him back quite easily. I pushed really hard, I wanted the win so badly, and went grass-tracking at one point but he defended well into the last corner and there was nothing else I could do.”
Wrathall added: “It’s been a very consistent year for us and the team has been fantastic, hopefully we’ll go one better next year and win the championship – that’s the plan, to come back and win the G50 Cup. I feel I’ve really progressed and improved as a racing driver this year, it’s been good.”
Third placed finisher Sharp said: “You always want to go a couple better than third but I’m happy to be on the podium in the final round and spray the champagne! I’m not sure at the moment what we’ll do next year, it’s all depends on sponsors, but I want to stay on this package.”
Final 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup Championship Positions:Champion: Nathan Freke, 856pts; 2nd Frank Wrathall, 731pts; 3rd Carl Breeze, 629pts; 4th Fulvio Mussi, 502pts; 5th Tom Sharp, 468pts; 6th Christian Dick, 389pts
