GT CUP CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND THREE
SNETTERTON 27/06/10
Andy Ruhan took his well deserved maiden overall GT Cup victory in race one whilst wins for Keith Webster and Alex Martin plus a win and DNF for Marco Pullen proved decisive for the Championship campaign. Webster retained his Championship lead after race five of fifteen by just 2 points from Martin who is only one point clear of Danny Winstanley who finished both races in second place, leaving him third in the Championship. Group Three wins went to Adrian Watt and Tom Andrew the later being the highest placed Group Three driver in the Championship, in sixth place overall with his KTM XBow.
The first Race was probably one of the best races we have ever seen in GT Cup!
Alex Martin driving his Porsche 997 GT3 Cup car was on pole beside Andy Ruhan in another Porsche with Danny Winstanley and his TVR Tuscan just 0.05secs behind them in 3rd place. This proved to be an epic race between these three until Alex Martin spun off on coolant and fell back into third place. It was ironic that the water had been left on the track by his father's Group Two Porsche after a ‘coming together' with Fraser Robinson's Porsche. This gave Ruhan the lead and the TVR of Danny Winstanley second and the frustrated Alex Martin third.
If Group One had given us some brilliant racing there was even more action in Group Two. This surrounded Marco Pullen is his Ferrari 360 GTC, Keith Webster in his BMW M3 E46, Francis Galashan in his Porsche 996 GT3 Cup, and David Back in another Ferrari. It was a genuine, nose to tail ‘race long battle' and any one of these drivers could have won the race! The lead kept on changing hands with these four and sometimes five cars never more than a few yards, or often inches, apart. It went right down to the last but one lap when David Back's engine let go and Marco Pullen had to head for the pits as well. This left Keith Webster and Francis Galashan with a charge to the finish and it was Keith Webster in his BMW who just made it half a second ahead of Galashan and his Porsche. It doesn't get much better than that! By comparison Tom Andrew had a relatively quiet race in his KTM XBow bringing it home just under a second ahead of Dan Norris-Jones in his Lotus Exige. Dave Botterill brought his trusty Porsche 944 Turbo home third.
Race Two
After the excitement of Race One the second of the GT Cup races had some act to follow! Things were not quite as close but even so in Group One Alex Martin and Danny Winstanley had a fantastic race. Alex Martin led from start to finish but right up until the last couple of laps was kept under pressure. Danny Winstanley, with over heating concerns and possibly thinking about the championship decided that discretion was the better part of valour near the end and settled for second. There had rarely been more than a car's length between them and they gave the crowd a display of close, clean racing. Andy Ruhan was carrying his Race One victory ‘success ballast' which meant he couldn't quite get onto the back of the Martin versus Winstanley fight. Despite the overheating problem forcing the TVR of Winstanley to back off toward the end of the race, he was just far enough ahead of Andy Ruhan to hang onto his well earned 2nd place. This proved decisive in Winstanley's third place in the Championship with Pullen ruing what could have been had he been able to retain his lead in race one. In Group Two we had lost one of the protagonists from race one, David Back's Ferrari had blown it's engine. But Marco Pullen was back with a vengeance and once again he and Keith Webster in his BMW E36 had a great race but it all ended when Webster picked up a puncture and went out of contention. This left Pullen with a relatively easy win ahead of Francis Galashan and a very happy Rupert Martin. This was Rupert's first podium in GT Cup and he was delighted. All is not lost for Pullen however who is a frequent visitor to the top step of the podium and with only thirteen of the fifteen races counted, is very much in the title hunt. In Group Three the heat and wear and tear had thinned the numbers down and it was Tom Andrew who brought the KTM XBow home ahead of Dan Norris-Jones and his Lotus Exige.
Championship Points overall after Three Rounds and Five Races:-
Keith Webster BMW E36 146pts
Alex Martin Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 144pts
Danny Winstanley TVR Tuscan 143pts
Group Points after three rounds and five races:-
Group One
Alex Martin Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 144pts
Danny Winstanley TVR Tuscan 143pts
Gary Eastwood Ferrari 430 GTC 122pts
Group Two
Keith Webster BMW E36 146pts
Michael Dwane Ferrari 360 Challenge 133pts
Colin/Sam Mowle KTM XBow 131pts
(ABG M/sport)
Group Three
Tom Andrew KTM XBow 124pts
Dan Norris-Jones Lotus Exige 109pts
David Botterill Porsche 944 Turbo 95pts
