Smith, Paddock Motorsport Win GT Cup 100 In Epic Donington Park Finish
Mark Smith and Paddock Motorsport secured a sensational photo finish victory in the first 100-minute GT Cup Championship race at Donington Park on Sunday (30 March), beating Track Focused by a record-smallest cushion.
The American driver proved unstoppable as he pulled a monster double stint as a solo entry, holding off James Kell by a mere 0.024s on the run to the chequered flag to confirm a debut weekend success for Smith and Paddock Motorsport in their GT3 McLaren 720S.
Qualifying
Simon Orange was not going to be denied from the moment he jumped into the #67 McLaren 720S in Sunday morning's Qualifying session. The former champion lapped the Leicestershire circuit in 1m26.009s, grabbing pole position by just over half a second from the similar machine of Smith in the #10 entry.
Just over 1.4s covered the five Group GT3 crews in a tight session. Behind them was the leading GTC Lamborghini Huracan of Topcats Racing, Fraser Fenwick taking the wheel of the #23 car which was tailed by its sister entry piloted by Bal Sidhu.
Bailey's McLaren 720S was top of Group GTO, while a strong effort from Bill Caley ensured his Uber GT Performance Porsche was head of the pile in Group GTB. The latter pipped the Aston Martin of Feathers Motorsport, but impressive rookie Archie Clark's time was enough to seal the pole spot in GTH. SVG Motorsport missed out on beating the Aston, but could feel at ease after its BMW went quickest in Group GTA with Neil Wallace and Ian Astley aboard.
GT Cup 100
It all set the scene for what was a hugely anticipated 100-minute endurance later on in the afternoon - and what followed certainly did not disappoint.
The race began with a dramatic spin and recovery from the Audi R8 of Peter Erceg (PB Racing) at Redgate, with Orange leading the field ahead of Smith following strong start and the conclusion of a brief safety car interruption.
The pace between the lead duo was consistent, with both trading fastest lap times back and forth across the first 50 minutes. The battle looked set to head to the mandatory pitstop window, until disaster struck the race leader at the final hairpin. Orange crossed paths with the JMH Auto Lamborghini of Frank Morris, turning the #63 machine around and requiring a trip to the lane for minor running repairs.
That setback gave the advantage to Paddock Motorsport. Smith put his foot down knowing he was set for an enduring afternoon as a solo driver against fresher opposition behind, and proceeded to show his speed as he emerged from the fuel and tyre stop after half-distance with a lead of over 50 seconds from James Kell - now in the Track Focused McLaren driven initially by father Darren.
With the scene set, 24 Hours of Spa class victor Kell trimmed the gap throughout the final 50 minutes. It boiled down to an incredibly intense conclusion, with Kell suddenly homing in on the rear wing of the fellow McLaren 720S with just one lap remaining.
Smith defended his line brilliantly in the final two hairpins, although Kell found better traction on the run to the chequered flag. The gap closed all the way up to the line, but it would not be enough to deny Smith a spectacular maiden GT Cup win on his debut weekend by a series record cushion of just 0.024s.
Third went to the recovering Erceg sharing with Hugo Cook after a strong showing in the team's first weekend, beating the GTC winners Topcats Racing, after the #23 pairing of Iain Campbell and Fenwick headed the group from lights to flag.
An asserted showing by Feathers Motorsport was rewarded with a dominant Group GTH victory for the Aston Martin duo of Archie Clark and Tom Canning over SVG Motorsport's #99 Ginetta G56, as was the case in GTB thanks to the Uber GT Performance Porsche pairing of James and Bill Caley. Group GTA was clinched by the other SVG Motorsport car of Wallace and Astley who worked tirelessly. Group GTO went the way of SBR Engineering and Bailey in the McLaren 720S.
GT Cup returns to action in just under two months time, with four races across the 17/18 May at the Brands Hatch GP circuit in Kent.
#10 Mark Smith
“I’m super happy, that was not an easy drive! On the car, we lost the splitter five laps into the second stint so didn’t have a lot of downforce and it was really a management job and when they were telling me that ‘man we need another second out of you, per lap for the last three laps’ I was like, okay let’s see what happens! I managed to gain a little pace but he [James Kell] was still gaining on me and in the last few corners I knew I need to be on the inside in the corner and I got it but I knew that he would be having pace on me out of the corner but fortunately the finish wasn’t an extra foot farther because he would have had me! The race was physical, there was a lot of sideways movement in there, so the seat does wrap you very well so it’s not completely holding your body stiff but there are times where you’re using your muscles to hold yourself upright. It’s very physical so I guess I need to do a bit more working out!”
#88 James Kell
“The chase was the main objective, we knew the gap was big but we knew we had to push really hard to catch Mark and he did a mega job - credit where credit is due - he had the pace at the end there to stay ahead. It was nice to have a close finish but I wish it was me that was two-hundredths ahead rather than Mark! I’m doing two rounds with my Dad, but it’s been a good learning curve for him and good practice in the GT3.”
#247 Colin Turkington
“It’s been a great experience, I feel like I’ve been welcomed into the paddock since I got here on Friday and I really enjoyed my stint out there in the 100 minute race. I thought at one stage I maybe wasn’t going to be able to get to drive because Patrick had got taken out at the Old Hairpin but pleased I got to do my stint. The car was suffering a bit of damage so as soon as I jumped I knew I had to manage it home. Still great to the stint, with no safety cars, so it’s good for me to experience that. Even the whole weekend has been good to observe what goes on behind the scenes and hopefully it opens up an opportunity so I can come back again one day. We go home with a trophy at least, P3 in group, so that’s always nice!”
#23 Iain Campbell
“It was good fun actually, I didn't want to even get out of the car! Turn one is always interesting and we managed to avoid a spinning car in front of me - I didn't know if it was going to come across me so you put your foot down and go out the other side. I really enjoyed the stint, plenty of interesting stuff, and the team are uber friendly. They've made me feel welcome. The car is obviously a bit different and I'm used to racing in a McLaren from the last few seasons, so to come into a Lambo it's all a bit more point-and-push.It's set up well, it's a good car and Fraser can do his bit too.”
#80 James Caley
“Really enjoyable, I absolutely loved our first 100-minute race exeperience. I think it was quite eventful but a lot of stuff going on around us which made it interesting. I had a busy and fun 50 minutes I must say. I got out of the car thinking 'would I want to do another stint?' but obviously you're managing the car and the tyres - lots of fun with three different groups battling it out together. Really respectful racing as well from those around.”
