Race Report for Round Twenty-Six- Pit-Stop
Tricky conditions at soggy Snetterton for Saturday's pit-stop race
Saturday sweep for WPI Motorsport as Michael Igoe and Franck Perera take the pit-stop race win. The race started damp, but very quickly the heavens opened creating conditions to really test the drivers.
A great start by Igoe saw the Lamborghini with a ten second lead by the end of lap one. Shamus Jennings in the G-Cat Porsche also got off the line well, passing James Webb into third position, before charging off to steal second from Graham de Zille.
With heavy rain falling by the time the pit window opened, drivers began to dive in before conditions worsened too much. Shamus Jennings and Steve Ruston were first to pit, followed quickly by Grahame Tilley to hand over to pro-driver Will Tregurtha.
Before the pit window closed, the safety car was called to rescue a stranded Del Shelton, playing right into the hands of Will Goff who had yet to pit. The safety car did split the field, however, leaving only the top eight cars on the lead lap. With the green flag came a repeat of the start as Franck Perera pulled out almost ten seconds in the #98 Lamborghini. Greg Caton wound up with a feisty Dan de Zille behind him, and it wasn’t long before the FF Corse driver took second place from Caton.
When the chequered flag fell, Perera had 16 seconds over his rivals, taking an easy win. Dan de Zille opened a gap to Greg Caton in third, claiming the middle step on the podium for the #19 Ferrari as well as the group GTC win. Second in GTC went the way of James Webb, who’s still hanging on in the overall points championship. Third in group GTO went to Grahame Tilley and Will Tregurtha.
Group GTH winners Mark Murfitt and Michael Broadhurst were one of the runners to remain on the lead lap following the safety car. The Fox Motorsport Mercedes finished sixth overall, with their closest rival Brent Millage down in tenth. Third in the group went the way of Steve Ruston and John Whitehouse who extend their overall points lead.
PT Sports Cars’ Ian Payne and David Bearman round off their weekend with another group GTA win. The pair have been punching well above their weight, with their Ginetta running as high as seventh overall. Team Hard’s Niall Quinn came second in GTA, running a good race. Having started from the back of the field after skipping the sprint race, Quinn managed to climb up the order well to finish ninth overall. Fraser Smart and James Simons round out the GTA finishers.
In group GTB, 24/7 Motorsports emerged victorious. Jonathan Wright took the Porsche to eleventh overall, just ahead of Saxon Motorsports’ Tom Barrow and Jamie Morrow. Warren Gilbert and Jensen Lunn started fastest in the group, but found themselves on the bottom step of the podium.
