Whitehouse keeps the pace for the first solo GT Cup victory

John Whitehouse scored his first solo victory in the GT Cup Championship in race two at Snetterton. In his JMH Automotive Ginetta G55 GT4, Whitehouse had an exciting race-long battle with David Holloway before getting past on the final lap.
 
“It’s been a very warm day and the [Whitebridge Motorsport] Aston Martin was really quick in a straight line it and it held us for a while,” Whitehouse said. “I got stuck with some overtakes. David Holloway came past me, and I found it really hard from then on, but I kept the pressure on and overcame a late misfire.”
 
In Group GTC, the Ferrari 488 Challenge driven by John Dhillon was victorious. After the Aston Martin of Nigel Hudson twice spun, Dhillon was able to take advantage to finish second overall.

John Dhillon (13, Spirit of race)

“John Seale beat me in the first race, but this time I just got a really good start,” he said. “I just got my head down and stayed very consistent. It was pretty hot out there, even though it’s five o’clock.”

The Group GTO and overall winner of the second race was the Mosler of Gareth Downing, who scored his second victory of the day, reinforcing his domination over the rest of the field.
 
“The car has performed well all day, and as I said, it’s our best day, our best set of results that we’ve ever had in GT Cup,” he said. “It shows that hard work from the lads, National Motorsport Academy, pays dividends.”
 
In Group GTB, the Marcos Mantis driven by Warren Gilbert scored a group victory, although the race was a particularly lonely one for him, since his tyres were too worn to fight.
 
“It was alright; it wasn’t as exciting as the first race because I hadn’t got the tyres,” Gilbert said. “The tyres had done Spa and some of Brands, they were shot, and I spun. The others had gone into the distance then. It was a bit of a lonely race, but we won the Group.”
 
The GTA BMW of James Webb won in GTA, coming seventh overall. Despite hoping for a better overall result, Webb is still happy with his day. “It was ok, got off to a better start this time,” he said. “I just stopped behind that GTC Porsche [of Shamus Jennings], so it was a race of sorts I guess, maybe a bit unfair, because I get got close. We did the job today, good finish, so we’re happy the car is going well.  We’ve lost a lot of points; but we’re scoring points for sure. We’ve got a few good tracks; we’re looking forward to heading to Silverstone.”
 
Results:
 
Group GTO
 
1 – Gareth Downing – National Motorsport Academy (Mosler MT900)
2 – Nigel Hudson – JMH Automotive / HUD Motorsports (Aston Martin Vantage GT3)
3 – David Krayem – Speedtec Motorsport (Dodge Viper GT3)
 
Group GTC
 
1 – John Dhillon – FF Corse (Ferrari 488 Challenge)
2 – John Seale – FF Corse (Ferrari 488 Challenge)
3 – Paul Bailey – Horse Power Racing / SB Race Engineering (Ferrari 488 Challenge)
 
Group GTB
 
1 – Warren Gilbert – Topcats Racing (Marcos Mantis)
2 – Chris Car – G-Cat Racing (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Gen I)
 
Group GTH
 
1 – John Whitehouse – JMH Automotive (Ginetta G55 GT4)
2 – David Holloway – Century Motorsport (Ginetta G55 GT4)
3 – Chris Murphy – Whitebridge Motorsport (Aston Martin Vantage GT4)
 
Group GTA
 
1 – James Webb – Team Webb (BMW M3 GTR)
2 – Gary Smith – Topcats Racing (Ginetta G55 GT4)
3 – Ben Hyland – Want2Race (Ginetta G55)