Tom Sharp was bang on target in the opening rounds of the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup with three wins and he is the man to beat at Donington Park this weekend.
Sharp sure hit the ground running at Brands Hatch with three wins in the three races of the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup, and this is a history-making debut for the new Ginetta G55. The flagship Ginetta championship may be a little different this season, with two classes of car (for the G55 and G50) and a reverse top-four grid for race two, but Sharp made the transition from G50 to the 3.7-litre G55 with ease. There was just no stopping him in Kent and he will be in confident mood heading to Donington Park this weekend.
His championship lead is 35 points, a race win effectively, and that margin really puts pressure on his rivals. Carl Breeze (TCR) is one of them who left Brands Hatch frustrated by an engine drama in qualifying that left him with work to do in the races, although he did battle back to take second in the final race. As runner-up in 2010, Breeze started the season as the favourite to bag the crown but his opening weekend certainly wasn’t the ideal one.
An impressive newcomer at Brands Hatch was reigning Ginetta Challenge champion George Murrells who has made the big step up from the G20 1800cc model to the 3.7-litre G55 with Optimum Motorsport. Murrells proved he had speed and good racecraft in his title-winning G20 season and that was reflected two weeks ago with a podium finish as his stand-out result in a consistent weekend. Murrells will be a man to watch this weekend.
Adam Morgan will be eager to avenge a stall and an accident at Brands Hatch in his Ciceley Racing G55, while Australian Jordan Skinner (Brookland Speed Racing) had a tough baptism on his sports car debut.
In the class for the older 3.5-litre G50s, Tom Ingram’s late deal to join the championship with Plans Motorsport paid off as he took a win to lead the class in the championship from fellow race winners Jody Fannin (Pyro) and Andy Richardson (Richardson Racing).
With three races to enjoy at Donington, expect fireworks all through the field!
Qualifying for the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup takes place on Saturday April 16th at 11:00 with race one (over 12 laps) at 16:10. Race two will be over 16 laps and starts at 10:45 on Sunday, while race three runs over 16 laps, with the race blasting into life at 16:25.
