On new Pirelli tyres there was a degree of anticipation that the 2016 GT4 field would present a similar qualifying dynamic to that of the GT3 grid. However the first of the two combined Am / Pro sessions would be interrupted after five minutes running as the #70 Stratton Motorsport Lotus Evora and the #66 Simpson Ginetta found the gravel at Druids Hairpin and Paddock Bend respectively, and any sense of momentum would be spoiled.
This allowed the field just one flying lap before returning to the pits, the dominant performance coming from the #407 Beechdean Aston Martin, Jack Bartholomew posting three consecutive purple sectors to deliver a 1:33.013 lap, a full second quicker than William Phillips’ #45 RCIB / Team HARD Ginetta and notice that last year’s title winning entry was in every mood to pick up exactly where it had left off.
Matthew Graham’s #42 Generation AMR Racing Aston Martin placed itself third, from Graham Johnson’s PMW Expo / Optimum Racing Ginetta, which according to its sector times was just starting to settle in when the red flag was waved.
The provisional third row at the intermission was shared by Jamie Chadwick’s Generation AMR Aston, and Anna Walewska’s Century Motorsport Ginetta. The latter had actually been quickest before the others crossed the timing line. Though Walewska was to rally the #73 car to sixth in the ‘Am’ session, this performance was nevertheless significant; the importance of Am/Pro balance increasingly important for the combined qualifying format.
With the Lotus and the #66 Ginetta recovered (both resumed), it was the RCIB / Team HARD Ginettas that came out fighting as the session re-started with only two flying laps available.
Wilson Thompson’s #75 Ginetta briefly took second on a 1:33.651, the #45 sister car in the hands of Will Phillips urged on by this performance to snatch the place from his team mate and closing the gap to the dominant Beechdean Aston Martin. There were few other improvements, the session ending as:
- #407 Beechdean Aston Martin Vantage GT4, 1:33.013
- #45 RCIB / Team HARD Ginetta G55, 1:33.232
- #44 Generation AMR Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4, 1:33.265
- #75 RCIB Team HARD Ginetta G55, 1:33.651.
However, a post race statement from Race Control disallowed Jamie Chadwick’s fastest laps for allegedly cutting corners, this promoting the #75 car to third quickest at this point. More importantly this disabled the Generation AMR car’s chance for a decent combined time, ending up thirteenth of the sixteen-car field.
Round two; the increasing depth of talent in the 2016 British GT4 ‘Pro’ field now belted in…
Jordan Albert resumed with purple sectors for the Beechdean Aston Martin, Jordan Stilp’s #45 RCIB / Team HARD Ginetta hard on its heels. But this time it was Mike Robinson aboard the #50 PMW / Expo Ginetta that wanted a piece of the action, posting the first flying lap of 1:32.216 to head the aggregate times now being recorded. Albert responded, but was immediately pipped by Nathan Freke who threw in a 1:31.807, the #73 Century car clearly dialled in following a solid showing in Free Practice.
At this point it was evident that the #75 Team HARD Ginetta had not posted a time. Rob Barrable “I had started setting purple sectors early on, but unfortunately came across two cars stranded mid track and found the wall taking avoiding action.” Also in its pit was the Ebor GT Maserati, still on the development curve though having shown earlier pace.
Freke and Robinson traded pole position, the experienced Ginetta campaigners more than at home around Brands’s swooping countryside. Robinson’s 1:31.443 raised the bar, but the Century car fought back, Freke’s 1:31.331 delivering the final blow. Albert’s Beechdean Aston was now sitting third, the #44 Generation AMR now in the hands of Matthew George closing in, unaware of his car’s fate at the hands of the stewards.
The Team HARD garage decided Jordan Stilp had done enough, the car brought in early. There were few other notable improvements further down the field, but Ciaran Haggerty and Sandy Mitchell concluded a steady, unflustered performance to present the glorious new Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse McLaren 570S on the fourth row of tomorrow’s GT4 grid. Aleksander Schjerpen’s #40 Century Motorsport Ginetta had also made up time towards the end of the session to take a respectable sixth.
Nathan Freke: “Amazing! But it was actually a strange and frustrating session for me. I kept getting blocked by the Beechdean car, and I thought I was struggling because I had a fuel surge problem. There were times where I just felt nothing coming through, but the crew came on the radio and told me I had P1!”
Anna Walewska “This is a brilliant start. We’ve worked hard and done a lot of testing with the car, particularly in Dubai recently. I have a great team mate in Nathan and a tremendous team around me. The biggest problem for me tomorrow is to not crack under the pressure..!”
- #73 Century Motorsport Ginette G55, 3:05.149 (combined times)
- #50 PMW / Optimum Ginette G55, 3:05.411
- #407 Beechdean Aston Martin Vantage, 3:05.744
- #45 RCIB / Team HARD Ginette G55, 3:06.121
- #42 Generation AMR Aston Martin, 3:07.032
- #40 Century Motorsport Ginette G55, 3:07.159.
