Five GT Cup Double Wins On Summer Silverstone Saturday Spectacular
Team Abba Racing did the double on a spectacular Saturday of GT Cup Championship action (27 July), while there were braces for Beechdean Motorsport, Jolt Racing, Topcats Racing and Forsetti Motorsport.
A dominant display by Richard Neary and Ian Loggie of Abba Racing began as early as Qualifying in the morning, later backing up pole position with two triumphs for the Group GTO Mercedes-AMG.
The returning Beechdean Motorsport squad was also successful with a pair of victories for Andrew Howard and Darren Turner in the GT3 group, driving the beautiful #97 Aston Martin Vantage.
Another alternative Vantage was victorious on two occasions further back, with Forsetti Motorsport's two GTH cars sharing the group spoils over the afternoon. Jolt Racing dominated GTA in its McLaren 570s, while Topcats Racing scored two wins for its title-chasing #2 Huracan Super Trofeo to maintain the overall series lead.
Qualifying
Under sunny summer skies at the historic British Grand Prix circuit in Northampton, a short and sharp pair of Qualifying sessions set the grid for the first of four GT Cup races across the two days.
At the helm of the field swiftly went the #6 Mercedes-AMG of Abba Racing, as Neary put down a marker of 1m58.044s to take the overall pole position for the Sprint Race by just over two seconds from nearest GTO rival Steve Burgess (Tim Gray Motorsport).
Third went to series returnee Howard in the GT3 Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin, ahead of Tom Rawlings in the series-leading Topcats Lamborghini - also topping group GTC. The 10 #Forsetti Motorsport Aston Martin topped GTH with Will Orton and newcomer Sam Neser, while Jolt Racing took GTA pole for John Ingram and Rupert Williams.
Sprint Race
The first 25-minute Sprint Race of the weekend was a lights-to-flag job by Neary from pole position, making the perfect getaway in the Mercedes-AMG to bolt clear and take a victory of over 33 seconds by the chequered flag to remain firmly in title contention.
The closest competition would be from Howard in the Aston Martin Vantage, which took GT3 honours after climbing to third in the early stages, then disposing the Topcats Lamborghini of Rawlings in the dying stages.
The latter was still able to finish third overall and with it also hang onto the GTC and overall points leads respectively, thanks to the efforts of Rawlings and Charlotte Gilbert. Its sister car followed closely, with Warren Gilbert and Fraser Fenwick behind the wheel of car #3.
After a coolant issue in Qualifying, Mikey Porter's Forsetti Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage enjoyed a fabulous recovery charge to the front of the group in the Sprint. After dispatching the similar car of Orton, former Ginetta racer Porter took two wheels to the grass as he sliced inside the Paddock Motorsport McLaren Artura of Tom Holland and Michael Orant.
Jolt Racing was victorious from the front in GTA, thanks to Ingram.
Endurance Race
A dramatic 50-minute Endurance Race followed later that afternoon. Again it was Abba Racing who led the way up front, with Loggie in the driving seat this time for the opening stint.
Chasing hard into the second stint was the Radical of Tim Gray Motorsport and Burgess, but Neary took over the lead car with a comfortable enough advantage to hang on and begin building that lead once more. Despite a transponder issue making the result initially uncertain, the end result was a strong victory for Neary and Loggie to do the double, keeping them right in overall title contention and extending the gap at the helm of GTO.
Second overall went to the GT3-winning Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin. Former Le Mans winner Turner took the car over when third after Howard's stint, pulling clear of group rivals G-Cat Racing and surpassing the GTO Radical to confirm its own success.
GTC went to the #2 Topcats crew once again to make it two from two, finishing fifth on the road behind the G-Cat Porsche 911. Kendall Developments rounded out the GTO podium in sixth overall, while the sister Topcats Lamborghini was seventh - second in the GTC group - despite its rear wing making a bid for freedom late on.
Forsetti Motorsport's two cars battled hard earlier on with Neser rounding Matthew Higgins (sharing with Porter) exiting the Club section during the initial laps. It would be the decisive move for himself and Orton, as the #10 Aston Martin claimed victory in a one-two for the team in group GTH.
SVG Motorsport rounded out the group podium with Liona Theobald and Owen Hizzy in their Ginetta G56. Jolt Racing's Ingram and Williams added a second win to their tally in GTA.
#6 Ian Loggie
“I think I was 30 seconds up at the pitstop, and if anything, we were under in the pitstop but Rich still put in enough of a gap that if we’d had a drive-through we’d have still won. I think TSL just got confused. We’re running more like a GTO because we wanted to be practicing for other championships so we don’t want to run other BoP but the Silverstone round is over - we’re not at Silverstone again, so why not just run it? I think Brands we’ll be running full as well. The pitstop was good, everything all went well. It’s all about getting the start against that Radical. If I can make the start and after about five laps I can get away - but it’s quick in a straight line. I think in a normal GT3 we’d be struggling going into turn one, but in this it’s no issue.”
#10 Will Orton
“It’s been a good day, a frustrating Sprint race - the start of it - but it was a good race in the end. In the Endurance, Sam did all the hard work and for his first weekend he did a great job and for me it was just to bring it home.”
#370 Rupert Williams
“For me, personal best out there today so I’m really pleased, I’m chuffed. Silverstone is quite an iconic track! The last time I was here was in a little C1 - I did the 24-hour race here last year - which was my launch if you like into motor racing. It’s a very different car but it’s great racing!”
#2 Charlotte Gilbert
“It’s been a really good day. Tom did the Sprint race this morning, I’d like to claim that one but he did a fantastic job this morning and he set a blistering time in the Sprint. That meant I started the Endurance race, Warren was ahead at the start from the lap times and I knew I’d get ahead - he did stay ahead for the first half-a-lap but I managed to catch him going into Village and passed and got clear of him to bring it home in P1. We’re trying to at least maintain, if not grow, the gap to P2 in the championship - the Neary & Loggie car - so we’re trying to build on that as well.”
