Surrey teenager Tom Sharp made an outstanding start to the 2011 Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit yesterday, Saturday, 2nd April, by taking a dominant pole position and clean sweep of wins during the first ever races for the exquisite new Ginetta G55 race car.

The 19-year-old from Camberley, Surrey, delivered an outstanding performance throughout the day and as such holds an almost perfect score of 72 points – 12 ahead of his closest rival Adam Morgan who took a pair of great second places – heading into Sunday’s third round of the new campaign.

Sharp commented: “We had two tests to shake down the new car and luckily they were here at Brands so that’s been a help, plus it’s a track I love and I set the lap record last year in the G50. I feel I deserved these results today, it’s been a great start to the year for everyone at IDL.

“Ginetta has done a really good job with the G55, they’ve given us top-line machinery and so far the car has been great. It’s a long season ahead but it’s great to end the first day with two wins and a pole position.”

Along with the introduction of the new 3.7-litre, 370bhp Ginetta G55, the action was also notable for the return of 2009 G50 Cup title winner Nathan Freke – who in race two reignited his old battle with championship front-runner Carl Breeze, the latter having a thoroughly action-packed day.

Further to that, 2010 Ginetta Challenge Champion George Murrells got his Ginetta GT Supercup bid off to an impressive start with a maiden podium during the second encounter, backing up a fine top four finish from the first race.

In the G50 Class battle meanwhile, featuring last year’s car, Ginetta Junior graduate Jody Fannin and 2010 Ginetta Challenge Vice-Champion Andrew Richardson took a victory each as both made an instant impact on their debuts. For Richardson, the day marked the first time he and sister Louise, who finished third in Ginetta Junior last year, have ever raced together.

Sharp survives scare to win first race of year...At the start of round one Sharp got away well from pole position, which he sealed by a quarter of a second ahead of Freke, to keep the former champion at bay through Paddock Hill Bend with Morgan holding third ahead of Murrells.

Behind, Carl Breeze made a superb start from a lower than expected eighth on the grid – the result of an engine issue – and by the end of the opening lap he was into the top four ahead of team-mate Joachim Ritter who qualified an impressive fifth.

Everything looked good for Sharp at the front but at the end of lap two, the complexion of the race looked set to change when he ran wide on cement dust – covering an earlier oil spill – at the exit of McLaren and into Clearways. Freke grabbed the opportunity to get alongside Sharp on the run into lap three but into Paddock Hill Bend, contact between the pair resulted in Freke spinning off.

Although Freke had a good run, he wasn’t far enough by Sharp and the two cars touched as they rounded the corner. Sharp somehow managed to prevent his IDL car from going off the track and although Freke did recover his Century machine out of the gravel, he finished two laps down.

The Safety Car was required on lap 12 following a collision at Druids between the G55 car of Jordan Skinner and the G50 of Ginetta Junior Vice-Champion Jake Hill but at the re-start Sharp maintained his advantage at the front, after backing up the pack, and he went on to win by 1.5 seconds.

Morgan took an excellent second place for his Cicely Racing squad ahead of Total Control Racing’s Breeze, the multiple race winner carving a terrific podium out of a tricky grid position and also posting the fastest lap. Murrells finished fourth for Optimum in his first outing on slick tyres, Colin White was a tremendous fifth and Ritter rounded out the top six.

Fannin’s G50 Class victory was richly deserved as the Pyro driver headed off the challenge of Andrew Richardson, Robert Gaffney and 2010 Ginetta Junior Champion Tom Ingram – the latter recovering well from a stall at the start.

Fannin said: “Obviously it’s fantastic to win the first race of the championship. I got a good start, the G50 pole-sitter didn’t get such a good one so I could take the lead, and then I managed to get a couple of G55s between me and the next car in class – that was always the plan.”

Sharp makes it two from two...Round two delivered a similar outcome for Sharp, albeit a more straightforward win, with Morgan this time 2.4 seconds adrift at the flag. Murrells achieved his maiden podium with a fine drive to third although the task was made a little easier by the non-appearance of Breeze on the start grid.

Requiring a new gearbox following the first race, Breeze’s car was ready just in time to begin round two but he didn’t get going from pitlane until the field had completed half a lap. Benefiting from a couple of Safety Car periods, he produced a stunning performance to salvage seventh in G55.

White bettered his race one result to claim a fantastic fourth ahead of the equally impressive Ritter while Andrew Richardson headed home with the G50 Class win after a spirited duel with Ingram, race one victor Fannin having dropped out of the reckoning on lap 12 due to an excursion. Hill took a richly deserved third in G50 after a titanic battle with the more powerful G55s of Breeze and Freke.

Murrells said: “I’m pretty pleased with that, to get a podium on my first weekend is great. I’m fairly happy with how I’m driving the G55, this weekend is the first time I’ve raced on slicks so I’m getting used to getting the most out of the tyres. All in all I’m really pleased.”

Class winner in G50, Andrew Richardson added: “It’s going well so far, the racing was really good and it’s obviously great to take a couple of podiums and my first win as well – what a fantastic start.”

The Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup competitors will be back in action at Brands Hatch, Sunday, 3rd April, for the third race of the weekend which will take place at 15.25. Live coverage will feature on Freeview, cable and digital satellite channel ITV4, in High Definition on ITV4 HD and online at itv.com/touringcars

Provisional 2011 Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup Championship Positions (after Rd2):1st Tom Sharp, 72pts; 2nd Adam Morgan, 60pts; 3rd George Murrells, 48pts; 4th Carl Breeze, 43pts; 5th Colin White, 42pts; 6th Joachim Ritter, 38pts

Provisional 2011 Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup ‘G50 Class’ Championship Positions (after Rd2):1st Andrew Richardson, 66pts; 2nd Jody Fannin, 54pts; 3rd Tom Ingram, 51pts; 4th Connaire Finn, 38pts; 5th Robert Gaffney, 26pts; 6th Jake Hill, 26pts