Ashburn/Tandy return and win in British GT at Brands Hatch

The ninth round of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship took place around the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit and another cracking race saw series returnees David Ashburn and Nick Tandy take the victory after a stellar drive from Tandy and misfortune for Trackspeed team-mate Phil Keen.

A fantastic lap in qualifying by Andrew Howard put him and Jonny Adam on pole when their two laps were combined. Howard immediately dropped back at the beginning of the race though when brake issues hit the car. The pairing managed to complete the race in 16^th. They were penalised nine championship points and Howard was given three points on his license after an incident which put Derek Johnston out of the race. Ahmad Al Harthy led the first section of the two hour race but a safety car period prior to the pit stop window depleted his lead. Keen took the advantage during the pit stops following an excellent stint by Jon Minshaw. After the whole field had completed their stops, Tandy took to the circuit in fourth position. He worked with way ahead of the Motorbase pairing of Rory Butcher then Michael Caine, who had taken over from Al Harthy, before hunting down his team-mate, Keen. With just five laps remaining a rear puncture on Keen’s car meant he had to pit and would only recover to finish in ninth. Therefore, Tandy took the chequered flag ahead of Caine who just kept ahead of Butcher, who shared with Jeff Smith. The GT4 class was dominated by Ross Wylie and Jake Giddings. They finished 57 seconds clear of Andrew Jarman and Devon Modell. Paul McNeilly and Jamie Stanley led the Ginetta parade in third.

American Santino Ferruci took two wins on his debut in the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 Series. Martin Cao was the only driver who was able to keep up with Ferruci on Saturday before winning Sunday’s reverse grid race. Ferruci took a near ten second victory in race three with Cao and Matt Rao joining him on the podium.

Gaetano Di Mauro took his first win in Saturday’s BRDC Formula 4 Championship race. Lanan Racing’s Struan Moore and Arjun Maini closely followed him home. Sennan Fielding and Will Palmer tangled on Sunday morning in the reverse grid race which allowed Chris Middlehurst to take the victory after Maini had a spin, but still recovered to second. George Russell finished third after starting last in race one. Maini completed an excellent weekend with a victory in race three. A five car trained passed the chequered flag with Di Mauro, Moore, Fielding and Russell behind the winner.

David Sutton had never won previously in the Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup but took both victories at Brands Hatch. Howard Fuller was fast but had a disastrous weekend after been tapped off by Jack Walker-Tully on Saturday. He then came up from 14^th on the grid to lead on Sunday but ended up hitting the pit lane entry wall after contact with James Walker. Walker-Tully, James Greenway, Lucas Orrock and Joe Fulbrook all scored podium finishes.

George Gamble and Dennis Strandberg both jumped the start in the opening Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge race from the front row. This helped Ollie Chadwick take the race ahead of Gary Simms and Callum Pointon. Gamble and Strandberg fought back finishing first and second respectively in race two after Chadwick pitted. The final race was won by Gamble with Chadwick and Pointon closely behind.

There was a tight tussle in the Champion of Brands race between Scott Malvern and Oliver White. The pairing traded position throughout the race before they interlocked wheels heading to the chequered flag. Malvern came out with the victory by just 0.047 seconds. Joey Foster and Ciaran Haggerty couldn’t live with the pace of the leaders but had a good dice for third with Foster coming out on top.