“It was a nice close race. Phil earned it, he was two seconds a lap faster than Adam. Not only did we overtake him one time, he had to do it again. Tom [Webb] is a great driver but he can only keep it behind him for so long. Once I was past I was able to catch the gap to Michel which was critical as the 15-second success penalty is what allowed us to creep forward.”

 

Adam Hatfield continued a strong season for both himself and the Whitebridge Motorsport team, taking the spoils in Group GTH in his first solo pit-stop race drive in the GT Cup. “I think that’s the best I’ve driven all year,” he said. “I managed the car, built the gap early and did the job I needed to. I knew Phil would be really quick in the Marlin Hawk car, so I had to make sure I got it done nice and early. It was tough, I had to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes. There’s lots of factors outside of your control but it was as comfortable as it could have been.”
 
Tom Webb made it a perfect weekend for himself and brother James, matching Saturday’s performance with the win from pole in Group GTB, which included a battle with the race-winning Ferrari in the early stages.
 
“I had a good start and was really pleased with it,” said Tom. “I just about managed to keep Paul [Bailey] behind me, but he made a really good move, so I let him go and tried to hold on to his coat-tails. It was a quiet race really, but I chased for third overall at the end. We’ve had a little bit of extra tyre wear but other than that it’s been really good.”
 
In Group GTA Tom Hibbert added another trophy to his collection as he took the win after car problems sidelined the rival Ginetta of James Reveler and Gary Smith. “It was an easier race than I thought it would be as James’ car had trouble,” he said. “I was on old rubber which made it hard work. I struggled to keep up with him but unfortunately he had a mechanical issue which isn’t the best, you want to race really. I had one track limit penalty but nursed it as we’d had failures this year as well. We’ll probably look to do Donington Park now as well.”
 
Gareth Downing took the victory in Group GTO though the National Motorsport Academy team still had to battle its Lotus Evora during the race. “The car was still overheating,” he said. “I was able to maintain the lap speeds at the beginning but eventually it crept up and I let some cars through. I settled at a lap time but the heat soak at the pit stop seized the gear compression, so the lads had to work on that. Hopefully the Mosler will be back next time.”
 
Results
Group GTO
1) Gareth Downing, National Motorsport Academy – Lotus Evora GTE
 
Group GTC
1) Paul Bailey/Phil Glew, SB Race Engineering – Ferrari 488 Challenge
2) Michael Igoe/Adam Wilcox, WPI Motorsport – Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Gen II
 
Group GTB
1) Tom Webb, Team Webb – BMW M3 GTR
2) Jon Harrison / Warren Gilbert, Topcats Racing – Marcos Mantis
3) David Frankland – Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Gen I
 
Group GTH
1) Adam Hatfield, Whitebridge Motorsport – Aston Martin Vantage GT4
2) David Holloway/Phil Ingram, Century Motorsport – Ginetta G55 GT4
3) Chris Murphy, Whitebridge Motorsport – Aston Martin Vantage GT4
 
Group GTA
1) Tom Hibbert, Harlaxton – Ginetta G55 GT4
2) James Reveler/Gary Smith, Topcats Racing – Ginetta G55 GT4