Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup points leader Carl Breeze and championship rival Adam Morgan took a win apiece at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent, Sunday, 2nd October, as G50 Cup runner Tom Ingram superbly wrapped up the class title with one event to spare.
Breeze’s lights-to-flag success in round 24 this morning, his sixth of the year, consolidated his place at the top of the overall championship following on from his similarly strong round 23 victory on Saturday afternoon.
Leading home Tom Sharp and Morgan, Breeze also snared the bonus point for setting the new lap record in his Total Control Racing-run car with a time of 1m31.315 seconds (90.70mph) but he was pushed incredibly hard throughout by IDL racer Sharp.
“We knew Tom (Sharp) would be quick here, he’s a circuit specialist and we knew he’d be strong”, said Breeze, “I managed to get an awesome start, pushed hard at the beginning, but a couple of looks in the mirror at half distance and I could see he was close. I just had to keep the car on the racing line and we didn’t miss an apex – you needed a lot of concentration though as it was so hot.”
Colin White got through to third place out of Paddock Hill Bend on the opening lap and as he fought hard to hold on to his position from Morgan and Nathan Freke, Breeze and Sharp were able to pull away at the front. On lap four at Druids, Morgan managed to get ahead of White but the delay during the first few laps meant he wasn’t able to close in on the top two.
Freke and Century Motorsport team-mate Phil Broad eventually managed to get ahead of White as well and during the closing stages, the latter came under pressure from guest driver Patrick Watts with just 0.3 seconds splitting them at the finish.
In the G50 Cup battle, Aaron Williamson added another success to his tally to make it two from two for the weekend but he had to produce one of the best defensive performances of his career to keep Ingram at bay. The class podium was rounded out by Jake Hill who produced a terrific drive from 17th and last on the grid to take third in G50 and 10th overall – just under two seconds shy of Ingram.
Winning triple for Williamson as Ingram bags second title in as many seasons...Round 25 marked a potential turning point in the G55 title battle as leading contender Sharp dramatically crashed out at Hawthorn on lap two while dicing with Freke for the lead. Equally notable though was another G50 Cup win for Williamson, marking a Brands Hatch clean sweep, and a memorable title victory for Ingram.
After racing to the Ginetta Junior crown in 2010, Ingram made the step-up to the G50 Cup class of the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup this year and has proven to be the dominant force. Challenging Williamson hard once again in the last of the weekend’s races, Ingram knew second place was enough to claim the championship – his second in two years.
"It’s absolutely phenomenal, I’m lost for words”, said Ingram, “It’s fantastic to win the championship. This isn’t only me, there are so many people behind the scenes I have to thank for making this year happen. It’s a huge team effort, massive thanks to Plans Motorsport and to all my family.
“All of us have given up so much to win this championship, we’ve been living off 12p supermarket meals for the past four months just so we can go racing. It’s such a family effort and such a team effort, it’s great everything has come together a round early – we’re going to celebrate now!”
Two Safety Car periods punctuated the race but in both the G55 and G50 classes, respective leaders Morgan and Williamson were unruffled and handled the situation perfectly. The initial cautionary period came as a result of the aforementioned excursion for Sharp – a heavy impact with the barriers at Hawthorn leading to an instantaneous retirement.
After finishing a mere 0.8 seconds adrift of Breeze in the first race of the day, Sharp was determined to try and go one better and he pressed leader Freke hard. Getting a fantastic run down Pilgrim’s Drop and up Hawthorn Hill, at the next right-hander Sharp darted to the outside but as the pair ran side-by-side into the turn the slightest of contact occurred and Sharp barrelled off the circuit.
Freke was delayed in the incident, enabling Morgan to go through to head the 2009 champion, Broad, Breeze and White. The second Safety Car interlude came on lap 10 due to an off at Clark Curve for the unfortunate Fergus Walkinshaw.
Eroding Morgan’s healthy 2.5 second advantage, at the re-start he got away well again and took the flag on lap 17 around 1.6 seconds clear of Freke with Broad finishing an extremely close third to seal his first podium in a Ginetta G55. Breeze slipped to fifth on lap 15 at Graham Hill Bend after getting slightly offline under braking, enabling White to go past – the CWS driver also posting the fastest lap.
“To have two Safety Cars in one race was a bit of a nightmare”, said Morgan, “I just thought ahead about what I needed to, I caught Nathan unawares twice which was pretty good and then put my head down and pulled a gap.
“The heat has been a big issue this weekend, it’s been 35 to 40 degrees in the car. The harder compound Michelin tyres we’ve used this weekend have been fantastic though, they’ve lasted all three races and you’ve been able to still do competitive lap times at the end.”
Williamson’s third win of the weekend in the G50 Cup again came as a result of some hard work defending from Ingram, while third place went to Hill once more. On the last lap, some very robust defence from Andrew Richardson seemed to have kept Hill at bay but the Tollbar driver wouldn’t be denied and did a great job to emerge ahead and in one piece.
“Three out of three, you can’t get better than that”, said Williamson, “It’s been mentally and physically draining this weekend, physically because of the heat and mentally because of the pressure of Tom (Ingram) and the championship. Congratulations to him for winning the title, it’s a shame it couldn’t go down to Silverstone though now we’ve got some good pace in our car!”
The final three rounds of the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup season will take place just two weeks from now, over the weekend 15th/16th October, at Northamptonshire’s Silverstone National Circuit.
Provisional 2011 Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup Championship (after Rd25; inc. drop scores):1st Carl Breeze, 640pts; 2nd Adam Morgan, 632pts; 3rd Tom Sharp, 613pts; 4th Nathan Freke, 592pts; 5th Colin White, 407pts; 6th George Murrells, 369pts
Provisional 2011 Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup ‘G50 Class’ Standings (after Rd25; inc. drop scores):Champion: Tom Ingram, 664pts; 2nd Aaron Williamson, 583pts; 3rd Jody Fannin, 554pts; 4th Jake Hill, 514pts; 5th Andrew Richardson, 392pts; 6th Louise Richardson, 262pts
