Reigning Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup Champion Carl Breeze produced an outstanding series of performances at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire over the weekend, 4th/5th May, to win rounds seven and eight of the 2013 season and add the runner-up spot in round nine for good measure.
Taking his and Total Control Racings season tally to five victories, the substantial points haulwith the addition of bonus points for fastest lap in the opening two races on Saturdayhas enabled the Kings Lynn racer to leap from fifth in the championship to second place.
Team-mate Jamie Orton also got his hands on some much deserved silverware with his third podium visit of 2013 during round nine while fellow TCR runner Mark Davies just missed out on making third place in the final race his by a mere 0.4 seconds.
Its been a good weekend in the Ginettas for us, said team principal Lee Brookes, Carl had a very good weekend, its great to have another couple of wins and the second place is more good points for the championship. Jamie did a great job to get onto the podium and Mark only just missed out on taking it from him, it shows how evenly matched they are and proves all three have the pace.
Saturday mornings qualifying session was something of a lottery with damp conditions shaking up the usual order. While Breeze managed to post the third fastest time, Orton was seventh and Davies 10th quickest for the round seven grid.
After a scintillating start, Breeze surged into the lead as Davies moved through into eighth past Orton who slipped to ninth. An opening lap incident resulted in the deployment of the Safety Car but when racing resumed on the seventh tour, Breeze controlled the action from the front and posted the fastest lap on his way to a 2.4 second victory.
Huddersfields Davies ran in eighth until the penultimate lap when he moved ahead of Fergus Walkinshaw, who had started the race on pole position. Orton, meanwhile, was nudged back to 10th on lap eight where he stayed to the finish.
Lining-up on pole position for round eight, by virtue of his race one victory, Breeze again delivered a true masterclass and led untroubled throughout. He eventually took the chequered flag 6.6 seconds clear and again grabbed an extra point for fastest lap.
Davies and Orton ran in seventh and ninth respectively during the early going, the former slipping to eighth on lap three behind Walkinshaw before re-taking the position on the sixth tour. Moving into the top six on lap 10, Davies continued his progress into fifth a couple of laps later.
London-based Orton, who was shuffled back to 10th on lap six, mounted an excellent drive during the second half of the race and fought his way through into sixth three laps from the finish to cap a very strong outing for TCR.
By finishing sixth in round eight, Orton was credited with pole position for the third race by way of the reverse grid draw with Davies making it an all TCR front-row and Breeze in sixth. When the lights went out, Orton made a good start to lead away from the front with Breeze making another outstanding launch to climb into second through the first couple of corners.
Before long, as the leaders headed out of Church and up Woodham Hill, Breeze made his move to take the lead from Orton while Davies, who slipped to fifth off the start, maintained his place before moving back into the top four on lap five.
Orton was nudged back to third on lap eight, where he remained to the finish, while Breeze was powerless to prevent points leader Tom Ingram from taking the lead on the penultimate lap due to his rivals much fresher tyres. Davies piled on the pressure to Orton during the closing stages but just ran out of laps to try and muster a concerted attack.In terms of the championship standings, in addition to Breeze leaping into second place Orton has climbed from sixth into fifth while Davies remains in seventh. In the team championship, TCR has risen from third to second.
Qualifying accident leaves Smith major task in Clio CupIn the Renault UK Clio Cup, which was also in action at Thruxton, TCRs Rob Smith had a very trying weekend which started with the disappointment of a high-speed accident during the all-important qualifying session on Saturday.
Pitched off the circuit at the fearsome Goodwood corner, Smiths Clio was sent backwards into a marshals post at force and the resulting damage led the Telford driver to think his weekend was over before it had started.
Outstanding work by the TCR mechanics thoughwhich included replacing the rear-axle and other associated components, along with some rapid fire panel beatingmeant Smith was able to line-up for round five on Saturday afternoon.
Beginning the race from 19th on the grid, having been unable to set a fully representative time in qualifying, Smith produced an excellent performance to work his way into the fight for the top 10 before eventually taking 12th place. Unfortunately, in round six, a similar recovery drive wasnt possible with Smith forced to settle for 17th position having had some grip-related problems.It all went wrong from qualifying, when you start back there its always tough to come through and especially after a big accident like Rob had, said Brookes, We made a few changes to the car and took a couple of gambles but they didnt pay off, so were determined to be back where we should be at Oulton Park.
Rounds 10 and 11 of the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup and rounds seven and eight of the Renault UK Clio Cup will take place at Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire five weeks from now, over the weekend 8th/9th June.
Provisional 2013 Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup Driver Standings (after Rd9):2nd Carl Breeze, 226pts; 5th Jamie Orton, 156pts; 7th Mark Davies, 152pts
Provisional 2013 Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup Team Standings (after Rd9):2nd Total Control Racing, 425pts
Provisional 2013 Renault UK Clio Cup Driver Standings (after Rd6):14th Rob Smith, 54pts
