After a remarkable podium on my GT3 debut at Brands Hatch in August, I was looking forward to hopefully building on that for the season finale at Donington Park. The last time I competed in a race here was back in the early stages of the 2018 Ginetta GT4 Supercup season, and it was there I achieved my first ever car racing podium. Eight podiums later and now in a factory supported GT3 car, I felt like a good result was on the cards.
Rolling out of the pits on Saturday the car felt as I’d expected it to, and I had no real issue getting up to speed. The long run balance seemed pretty good, so I was hoping for a similar qualifier to Brands Hatch, which would leave us looking strong for the race. I was out in the first of two qualifying sessions and the car had good balance; second fastest in my session and 0.4 seconds ahead of the car in P3. A strong start and Jack took the car through its paces, improving on my time by 0.2 of a second and putting us on an accumulative time good enough for P5 for Sunday’s race.
The weekend was all about the championship fight. TF Sport and Barwell going for GT3 honours, and five GT4 entries all in contention for GT4 honours. The paddock was very tense and edgy, and before the race I found time to focus. My sponsors, Cambridge & Counties Bank were trackside supporting me, so managing my time was important. I found a quiet place, half an hour before the race and I zoned in ahead of the final race of the season.
Lights out and having spent three extra formation laps behind the safety car, I was itching to get going and made immediate progress, moving into P4 and then P3 within three laps of each other. From that point on, the car plateaued as the extra 30kg we were carrying due to it being a Silver Cup car damaged our tyres and brakes faster than the Pro-Am cars but regardless, I managed to sneak by the RAM Racing Mercedes when he ran wide at the old hairpin, and brought the car into the pits in a strong and satisfying 2nd place. From that point, Jack took over the car and drove well, fending off two out of the three championship contenders for the last hour of the race. Our ten second pitstop penalty meant we left the pits at 3rd place was where we finished the race. Another podium place and to add to that, in my two races in the GT3. I obtained two overall podium and two Silver Cup victories – result!
I’ve really loved my time in the GT3 and it was important for me to get these strong results to round off my season on a high. My first season in British GT has been a huge learning curve but I’ve learnt that I can compete with the best of the best and going into next season knowing this will be a massive confidence boost.
As always, thank you to all my amazing sponsors, especially Cambridge & Counties Bank. The Classic Car Finance team and Helios Properties PLC came to cheer me on this weekend. Their support and guidance mean absolutely everything and being able to compete at this level is an absolute pleasure.
That’s a wrap for British GT 2019. What a season it’s been! I can’t wait to improve myself throughout the off season and come back next season, ready to fight for victories.
