After enduring a pretty miserable start to the season, with only two points-scoring finishes between their two cars, Trackspeed were finally able to celebrate a win as Phil Keen brought the #63 Porsche 997 GT3 R home in P1, having fended off the BMW Z4 of Jonny Cocker for a full 25 minutes.
Marco Attard started in his usual confident manner in the #79 Ecurie Ecosse Z4, starting from pole and hanging onto the lead until he stopped to hand over to Cocker early in the pit-window. Jody Firth made an equally good start and took the #12 Trackspeed Porsche up to second on the opening lap at the expense of Thai driver Pasin Lathouras in the #29 Ferrari, thereafter keeping the leader within a couple of seconds.
Warren Hughes continued the good work in the second half of the race, but was forced into retirement as a podium finish loomed with just a few minutes of the race remaining.
Jon Minshaw got ahead of Mark Poole’s Aston on the opening lap and then went to third on Lap 7 after passing the #29 AF Corse Ferrari. A whole series of quick laps brought the car closer to the top two and a rapid turnaround by the team saw Keen leading after the stops; “The team won it for us in the pits,” said Keen afterwards.
Two incidents in the early stages of the race would see Gary Eastwood’s #18 FF Corse Ferrari retiring with suspension damage, and Lathouras’ Ferrari dropping to 13th from fourth. The two assailants – Mark Poole and Derek Johnston – would be handed post-race exclusions and licence endorsements for their actions; the #38 Aston from fifth and the #888 BMW from third. Both teams would appeal the decision, arguing that the penalties were too harsh. This amended result would thus see the #88 BMW of Lee Mowle and Joe Osborne promoted to third, with the duo finally climbing into a positive-points position.
GT4 went to the#77 ISSY Racing Lotus Evora GT4 of Oz Yusuf and Gavan Kershaw, by a comfortable margin from the #407 Beechdean AMR Aston of Ross Wylie and Jake Giddings, with the #43 Century duo of Rick Parfitt Jr and Tom Oliphant finally finishing on the podium. Parfitt had taken the lead from Yusuf on Lap 3, but a slow stop for Century handed the advantage to the Lotus and Kershaw took full advantage.
The #41 Optimum Ginetta was playing catch up through the race after Jade Edwards stopped on the pace lap, but their efforts were in vain as engine failure in the latter stages of the race would see the car ending its involvement in the meeting.
The second race would follow a little under three hours later.
MH
