Marcus Clutton storms into third place but Nasr determined to keep the leadGregor Fisken and Tim Bridgeman in GT3 claimed first place after weather and traffic produced a thoroughly entertaining fourth round of the 2011 Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Brands Hatch. However a fantastic weekend from Marcus Clutton in GT4 has seen the driver jump up to third place in the Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Challenge standings. After two damp races in the Cooper Tires British F3 Championship Felipe Nasr maintains his average point score and lead in the Challenge.In British GT it was a well fought win from Tim Bridgeman who was fighting off second placed Matt Griffin. The MTECH driver repeatedly set new fastest laps (and a new lap record) in his attempt to close the gap, but Bridgeman was also doing what he could to maintain his lead. Traffic was a major factor in Griffin’s progress and the Jones SLS caused delay which lead to the Porsche taking the chequered flag and saw Fisken and Bridgeman take 100 points each towards the Sunoco Daytona Challenge.
Joint second placed in the standings and championship leaders, Mike Guasch and Matthew Bell, in the United Autosports #23 Audi R8 GT3 lost out on points this weekend. They lowered their average point scores after the Phil Burton Ferrari hit Guasch into the barriers causing him to retire.
The GT4 class saw the most dramatic change in the standings after Marcus Clutton in the A.B.G Motorsport KTM X Bow had an absolutely stunning weekend taking maximum points towards the challenge; scoring points for the race win, pole position and fastest lap. Clutton has now shot into third place with 68.75 average points – just less than 4 points away from Britcar’s Javier Morcillo who is now in second place. Peter Belshaw who drives alongside Clutton also saw his point score rise dramatically to 53.75 putting him in 9th place up from 22nd.
Belshaw was first in the KTM and he pulled a lead until the rain then came in causing Peter to struggle with the track conditions and begin to drop back. The decision was then made to swap Marcus in, however after time penalties totaling 40 seconds (20 seconds for winning the last round and 20 seconds after the race director deemed the car to be too fast) Clutton had his work cut out. As the track started to dry out after the initial down pour, Marcus had settled for second and was trying to keep his place:“The message came over the radio to stick in second and fend off the Lotus and I was more than happy to settle for second place, but the leading Ginetta’s times were slowing”David McDonald and Dan Dennis with their Scuderia Vittoria Ginetta were looking for the win and it seemed unlikely that there would be enough time to attempt a lead change. However McDonald slid off at Clearways and Clutton went on to take the chequered flag.
When asked about the prospect of possibly winning the Sunoco Daytona Challenge Clutton said:
“It’s a massive opportunity and could provide a big career break.” “Having the chance to race in the Rolex 24 At Daytona really would open a lot of doors with so many people and teams to meet.”The Cooper Tires British Formula 3 also raced over the weekend with the first and last races out of the three counting towards the Sunoco Daytona Challenge. In Saturday’s qualifying Nasr lost out on points due to making contact with the barriers. However a fantastic drive from Carlin’s Rupert Svendsen-Cook saw him set both pole positions worth 20 points each towards the ChallengeA downpour just before the first F3 race saw teams having to start on wet weather tyres and as the track started to dry the majority came in for slicks.
Svendsen-Cook lead from pole and opted to stay out on wets but saw his three second lead whittled away to nothing within three laps as Foresti swept past Huertas for second place and started to close in on the race leader.
Svendsen-Cook pitted to change to slicks however Fortec man Lucas Foresti stayed out on wets and Rupert’s stop gave him a comfortable 14 second lead over second placed Scott Pye.Nasr was well on his way to give Foresti a run for his money and slowly picked off the rest of the field to make it into second; the gap however was just that little bit too much and although Nasr closed it to 4.9 seconds Foresti took the chequered flag and the 100 points towards the Sunoco Daytona Challenge. Nasr took second and the 75 points and Svendsen-Cook took the final podium spot and 55 points towards the challenge. Jazeman Jaafar took fourth; Carlos Heurtas was in fifth taking 30 points, followed by William Buller who took 20 points for placing fastest lap plus 25 for sixth place. Double R driver Scott Pye took seventh with 20 points; Keving Magnussen crossed the line in eighth followed by Menasheh Idafar who took 10 points and Harry Tincknell who took the remaining 5 points up for grabs.
The last British F3 race saw more heavy rain fall just before the start meaning a full set of wet-weather tyres were the only option. However a further down-pour mid race meant slicks weren’t an option and there was no need for a pit stop.
Svendsen-Cook again led the way from pole, but Nasr who had already snatched second from Adderly Fong was not about to be denied a win. Nasr seized the opportunity to grasp the lead on the seventh lap and shot into first place.
Svendsen-Cook looked set for second and to take 75 points towards the challenge but came under pressure from Hitech’s Pietro Fantin who tried to pass him at Paddock Hill Bend. The two cars unfortunately made contact and spun, sending Rupert back to the pits and to retirement.
The collision meant Foresti was now in second and also promoted William Buller to third seeing another Fortec man on the podium. A win for Nasr has meant he has kept his average point score up and he is still leading the way in the Challenge. He did however lower it by just over 2 points by losing out on points in qualifying and fastest lap – fastest lap points in the last race were snatched away by Kevin Magnussen who made it back onto the track after having to visit the pit lane for repairs to a damaged front wing.Foresti’s win and second place has seen him increase his average point score and now sees him fourth overall in the challenge standings – just 5 points behind third placed Marcus Clutton.
The top 5 now sees a member from every class fighting for the top spot and with Britcar’s next race at Spa this weekend it may be all change again very soon!
