RAM and Enduro share the spoils as GT Cup season starts with a bang

Ian Loggie steamed to a debut and solo victory in the season-opening GT Cup Championship race at Donington Park, before Morgan Tillbrook and Marcus Clutton combined to take a spectacular win in the Pitstop Race.

The first day of the 2022 season showcased GT Cup at its breathless best, with two stunning races around the Leicester circuit which weren't settled until the chequered flag dropped.

While GT3 saw wins shared between RAM and Enduro, GTO proved a RAW Motorsport masterclass with Steve Burgess and Ben Dimmack not putting a foot wrong as they swept the GTO honours to take the early championship lead.

It was the same in GTC as Lucky Khera, racing a Ferrari 488 Challenge, took a pair of firsts - the second while partnering with David McDonald. 

The victories were shared in GTH, as Chris Hart fought off 16-year-old James Wallis to put Makehappenracing on the top of the podium in the opening race. In the closing Pitstop Race, Wallis - making his GT racing debut for Valluga Racing - fought back to take the glory alongside Sam Maher-Loughnan. 

Qualifying

Ian Loggie set the pace in the first qualifying session of the weekend in his Mercedes-AMG GT3, but he was close to being knocked off the top as the chequered flag came out. Simon Orange, on his debut in the Orange Racing McLaren 720S, was just 0.002sec behind. 

Raw Motorsport took the honours in GTO, while fan favourite returnees Team Webb prevailed in a session-long scrap with Lucky Khera to take the GTC top spot thanks to James Webb.

In Group Two qualifying just for GTH - thanks to a substantial 37-car grid - Valluga Racing's #50 Cayman took pole ahead of Makehappen Racing.

Sprint Race

Loggie blasted away from pole without issue as he took a lights-to-flag victory in the first Sprint Race of 2022. 

Fending off a fast-starting Simon Orange on the run down to Redgate, the RAM Racing driver had the inside line and showed the rest of the field a clean pair of heels down the Craner Curves. 

Reshuffling behind put Morgan Tillbrook up into second for Enduro, and despite closing in on Loggie in the closing stages, he finished the season-opener as runner up. Rounding out the overall podium and winning Group GTO was Steve Burgess in the RAW Motorsport Radical RXC.

GTC went to Lucky Khera in his RaceLab Ferrari Challenge, while Chris Hart fended off the hard-pressing James Wallis to prevail in the super-sized GTH group after a superb scrap between the pair. 

Pitstop Race

Enduro Motorsport went one better after its Sprint Race second as Marcus Clutton and Morgan Tillbrook took a comprehensive victory in the Pitstop race. 

Running third in the opening half of the 50-minute race, slick work during the mandatory pitstop put Clutton out behind Loggie - who got past the Nearys during the pitstop - and set about closing in on the RAM Racing Mercedes.

Sat under the rear-wing of the pink machine, Clutton got his chance when Loggie ran wide and dipped his wheels into the gravel at Coppice with just under 10 minutes remaining. 

Time penalties allowed Orange and Michael O'Brien to take a second GT3 Group podium of the day, ahead of Callum Macleod and Mike Price - the former fending off a long spell of pressure from reigning champion Sam Neary. 

GTO spoils went to the Radical of RAW Motorsport's Steve Burgess and Ben Dimmack, to round out a successful day for the pair. Also taking a pair of group wins was Lucky Khera, who was joined by David McDonald to power to GTC glory ahead of James Webb's Lamborghini Super Trofeo.

Having just lost out in the earlier Sprint Race, James Wallis took his maiden GT Cup victory on his first day in the championship as he prevailed in GTH alongside Sam Maher-Loughnan.

#66 Marcus Clutton 

"It was mega. What a start to the year we've had. There was a curveball thrown in with a new tyre, so nobody knew where we all were until the first race. All the teams have done a good job and Morgan has too which is great. In race two he did a sterling job despite the safety cars, and then we went into the second half of the race with two fast lads up my chuff, which was a proper race. Credit to the guys at GT Cup - I've done this for a lot of years and it is so good right now."

#247 Lucky Khera

"I'm delighted with how the day has gone. I'm just enjoying it - it's a great grid, so many cars out there, it's just unreal. It was a great tussle with James Webb, unfortunately, he had a spin but I'm sure that would have carried on throughout the Pitstop Race. I really want to enjoy myself this season, and the podiums are a bonus."

#7 Steve Burgess

"Two class wins, can't ask for more than that! Enjoyed the first race, got a great start and got up to third fairly quick and then in the second Ben, unfortunately, had a lot of safety cars until the pitstop. Then the second half I got eaten alive by some of the Pros in GT3 but we had a good race. We won the class, that's all that matters! Hopefully more of the same tomorrow." 

#50 James Wallis

“It was a very good start. The Sprint Race is the qualifying for the Pitstop Race, so it was beneficial that I got the fastest lap which set us up and we got a really good start. There was some contact behind us which maybe caused some of the faster GTH cars to fall a bit behind but in the end, we got a lovely pitstop, Sam made up some great ground and just had to maintain the speed. First time in a GT race, and it was amazing! It was crazy, with all the GT3 cars as well, you have to keep your eyes open for sure.