Race Report for Round Twenty-Seven- Sprint Race
Another trophy in the cabinet for WPI Motorsports’ Michael Igoe as the Lamborghini driver claims Sunday’s sprint race win. It wasn’t plain sailing however, as Igoe had to wrestle the lead from a hugely defensive Dan de Zille.
Starting on pole, de Zille made a good start but lost out to an overeager Grahame Tilley. Tilley stormed off the line but misjudged the start and earned himself a drive through penalty. James Webb suffered the same fate as he followed Tilley off the start line, scuppering his championship hopes.
Tilley had to allow de Zille back into the lead, and the NISMO slowly slipped back into the grasp of Igoe. It wasn’t long before Igoe blasted past Godzilla to steal second place and charge off in pursuit of de Zille. On lap three, into Wilsons Igoe finally found a way past the widest Ferrari in the world to take the lead.
Further back in the pack, fantastic battles unfolded in both the GTB and GTH groups. Jonathan Wright in the #911 Porsche was running a brilliant race in the lead of GTB but couldn’t keep Jensen Lunn at bay. Through Brundle, Lunn swept past the Porsche, putting the Marcos Mantis into the top spot. Wright began to slip backwards and found himself in the middle of an intense GTH battle with Brent Millage, John Whitehouse and Chris Murphy. Whitehouse ultimately wound up better off, as Igoe split the fight putting a lap on the pack.
Igoe took the chequered with a hefty lead over Dan de Zille, claiming both the overall and GTO group win. Shamus Jennings completed the top three, capitalising on Tilley and Webb’s drive-through penalties. It wasn’t a complete loss for Tilley however, as the GT-R still ended up third in group GTO. James Webb picked up second in group GTC but that put him just out of reach of the overall championship.
PT Sports Car’s Ian Payne stole the group GTA win with a commanding move over Team Hard’s Sam Randon. The pair of GTA runners wound up sixth and seventh overall, while their rival James Simons of Stanbridge Motorsport struggled to third in group.
Following the cracking group battles, Mark Murfitt took the group GTH win ahead of Josh Jackson. David Holloway in the newly repaired Aston Martin Vantage ended a relatively quiet race in third, ahead of the fiercely battling pack. John Whitehouse finished fourth, ahead of Brent Millage and Chris Murphy.
Group GTB sadly ended as a two horse race, between 24/7 Motorsport and Top Cats Racing. Jonathan Wright had no answer to the fantastic move from Jensen Lunn, so had to settle for second. Lunn picks up another win for the Marcos, while Saxon Motorsport ended their race in the pit lane.
