OMAN RACING WINS THE ‘SILVERSTONE 500’

The Oman Racing Aston Martin, prepared by Motorbase, won the day at Silverstone last Sunday. Photo: www.ajbphotographic.co.uk

The #4 Oman Racing Aston Martin of Michael Caine and Ahmad Al Harthy took a comfortable win in the 'Silverstone 500' Avon Tyres British GT championship race on Sunday with a 56 second gap to the #1 entry of Jonny Adam and Andrew Howard. Third place went to #79 Ecurie Ecosse entry of Marco Attard and Alexander Sims.

An eventful first hour sawAndrew Howard pull away at the front as James May had a huge spin out of Abbey. A clash between the #28 HorsePower Racing Aston Martin of Paul Bailey and the #77 Lotus ISSY Racing of Oz Yusuf resulted in a Safety Car being called out onto track to remove the stranded Aston which lost a wheel in the clash. Another incident between the Alain Schlesinger and Rob Barff saw the #45 BMW drift into the side of the # 18 Ferrari, forcing it off track at turn 5.

Michael Caine pulled out a decent gap of 51 seconds during the second hour of British GT, before handing over to Ahmad Al Harthy on lap 42, leaving Alexander Sims to take the lead. It wasn’t long however before the #4 Aston Martin was back in the lead. In the midfield, all eyes were on Pasin Lathouras who started to close the gap on Chris Hoy’s 8th position.

As the race entered its final hour, it was all action in GT4 class with Andrew Jarman and Rick Parfitt Jr both sliding off the track. Rick Parfitt Jr was later handed a drive through penalty for avoidable contact with the Aston Martin driver. A wheel failure for Colin White forced him off into the gravel at Copse while the #33 Trackspeed Porsche of Phil Keen was forced to stop at T12 with mechanical issues. As race entered final few minutes, the #42 Ginetta was forced to pit for a small rear fire.

Joe Fulbrook & Aaron Mason take home silverware in the Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup

Joe Fulbrook took his first win of the year in round five of the Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup. An eventful race saw a Safety Car called out onto track after the first lap to retrieve the stranded Golf GTI of Matt Hamilton. Stewart Lines also retired early pulling off track on lap 3. It was a disappointing race for Aaron Mason however who was forced to relinquish his lead after hitting problems on lap 6. The reigning champion eventually finished in 11th. The race finished with Joe Fulbrook taking the win over Lucas Orrock and Sam Morgan in second and third respectively.

A fantastic drive by Aaron Mason in round six of the Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup saw the reigning champion push his way up the grid from 11thto take the lead and eventual race win. The battle for the lead between Stefan Di Resta, Aaron Mason and Jack Walker-Tulley continued right to the chequered flag with Mason claiming the top honours ahead of Walker-Tully and Di Resta.

Wins for Chadwick, Gamble & Strandberg in the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge

A nail biting battle between Ollie Chadwick, Dennis Strandberg and George Gamble in round seven of the ProtyreMotorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge saw Chadwick take the G40 class win. The Xentek Motorsport driver took the lead from pole sitter Gamble on the first lap but it wasn’t long before Gamble was back fighting for position, with all four wheels off the track at one point as he tried to go around the outside at Luffield to retake the lead. The G40 class finished with Chadwick taking the win ahead of Strandberg in second and Gamble in third.In the G20 class, Stuart Pearson took the chequered flag from Alex Preston and Brian Murphy.

Championship leader George Gamble was back on the top step of the podium in round eight of the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge. As Gamble and Chadwick battled it out at the front, all eyes were on the fight for fourth place between Brad Bailey and Gary Simms, with the two drivers running side-by-side through Club Corner. The race finished with Gamble taking the G40 class win ahead of Chadwick and Strandberg. G20 honours went to Stuart Pearson who finished ahead of Alex Preston & Brian Murphy.

It was all action on the first lap of round nine with Ollie Chadwick taking an early lead as Rob Gaffney and Chris Webster spun off at Becketts. It wasn’t long however before George Gamble and Dennis Strandberg were battling it out at the front, with Strandberg pulling out all the stops to take the lead and eventual chequered flag from Gamble and Chadwick in second and third respectively. Gary Simms managed to hold onto fourth place despite increasing pressure from Brad Bailey. In G20, Pearson took the win once again from Murphy and Preston.

Second season win for Griffin brothers in the AMR GT4 Challenge of Great Britain

It was a dominant win for the #6 entry of Liam Griffin and Kieran Griffin in the AMR GT4 Challenge of Great Britain. Despite the mandatory pit stop, the brothers managed to maintain their lead to take the chequered flag with a 29 second gap to the #12 entry of Whight and Edwards in second. The #7 entry of Brown and Cripps took the third and final place on the podium.

Double victory for Charles Ferguson in the Ginetta Racing Drivers Club

It was a double victory forCharles Ferguson in the Ginetta Racing Drivers Club. The Cardiff driver took a comfortable win in race one with a 3 second leadoverGary Wager in second and John Wall in third. While Ferugson pulled away at the front, a fantastic battle for seventh place got underway between David McBean, Tony Hirst and Scott Mitchell. A mistake by Andy Bradshaw in the final few laps saw him spin and fall back to P8.

Autosport journalist Scott Mitchell put in a fantastic performance in race two, finishing third and setting the fastest lap of the race despite only getting his race licence earlier in the week. As John Wall, Gary Wager and Scott Mitchell battled it out at the front for second place, an equally exciting battle was taking place further back between Andy Bradshaw, David MacBean and Shaun Flemming for 8thplace honours. As the chequered flag fell, Charles Ferguson took his second victory of the weekend ahead of John Wall and Scott Mitchell.

Wins for Mark Charteris & Paul Gibson in the King Henry’s Tavern Clubmans Championship

A nail biting battle between Mark Charteris and Daniel Gibson in the final few laps of race one of the King Henry’s Tavern Clubmans Championshipsaw Charteris come out on top, with Daniel Gibson and Paul Gibson completing the podium line-up in second and third respectively. Paul Gibson took home first place honours in race two, from Daniel Gibsonin second and Malcom Jacksonin third.

For the full set of results visit; SILVERSTONE RESULTS

Donna Kelly