Bailey wins GT Cup Championship
Paul Bailey secured his first Overall GT Cup Championship title last weekend at Snetterton, as he and James Dorlin picked up a pair of podiums in their Kendall Developments Lamborghini Huracan (featured) to cap a silverware-filled 2023 season.
On the final day of the season, it was Tom Emson who shone brightest on an unseasonably warm October day as he converted a dominant pole to an equally dominant Sprint Race win, but the 7TSix McLaren squad had to play second fiddle to Orange Racing with JMH in the Endurance Race as the latter retained the Teams’ Championship.
A safe weekend on track for the ever-consistent Bailey meant that the Lamborghini Huracan driver collected enough GTO points to ensure that, not only did he take the group title, but he celebrated a well-deserved maiden overall GT Cup Championship crown to boot.
In GTC, Topcats Racing earned themselves the group title, with GTH honours for the season going the way of Chris Hart and Stephen Walton for Morpheus Racing.
“I was talking before about the triple, because we won the Sprint Cup, Group and the Overall Championship and I think it’s been a while since anyone has done that,” said Bailey after winning the title.
“Honestly, I don’t think it has sunk in yet, it’s been an amazing season. Two new cars that I’d never driven before and two separate co-drivers to learn from and an amazing team alongside the support of my friends and family.
“I thought it was all over when the engine blew in the Brabham, but I heard that the Cooks carry a spare car – as you do – and Peter did a very good deal in hiring that car to me and ultimately the Lamborghini was Peter Cook’s car as well. I think he regrets it now because we beat Hugo!”
Newgarden excited for GTP debut
The IMSA YouTube channel has released an interview with reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden, who is getting ready to make his debut in IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP class at Motul Petit Le Mans with Porsche Penske Motorsport.
Bathurst 1000 Highlights
Catch up with the 2023 running of the Bathurst 1000 with the extended highlights package on YouTube.
Strong debut for MC20 GT2
Maserati’s new MC20 GT2 enjoyed a highly successful race debut last weekend at Paul Ricard. At the hands of LP Racing, the car claimed pole position before going on to finish second in its first race after a strong performance from Leonardo Gorini and Luca Pirri.
The result came as part of a healthy 15-car field for the GT2 European Series season finale.
Interestingly, the MC20’s predecessor, the MC12 GT1, also nabbed a podium on debut, the AF Corse-run car finishing second in the FIA GT round at Imola in 2004 with Miko Salo and Andrea Bertolini at the wheel.
Interesting names in NLS9
Last weekend’s NLS finale featured a handful of notable names in the lower classes.
The VT2 FWD category saw ELMS LMP2 regular Manuel Maldonado, Bailey Voisin and Cadillac GTP racer Jack Aitken claim a win aboard a Walkenhorst Hyundai i30N.
Former Toyota Formula 1 driver Timo Glock was also present, finishing fourth in the BMW M240i Cup class in an Up2Race example along with Anton Abee and Michel Albers.
Images courtesy of GT Cup, SRO and Maserati
