British GTGT Series

Jones Bothers Master the Rain as Ashburn takes GT Title

3 Mins read

As the rain came down hard in the second GT race at Brands Hatch, it was the Jones bothers in their Ascari KZ1R who mastered the condition whilst a fifth place from David Ashburn was enough for him to secure the Avon Tyres British GT Championship.

It was a depleted field thanks to retirements and problems earlier in the meeting and the heavy rain looked set to make it a tough race for those who took to the grid. The Ferrari of Adam Wilcox and Phil Burton took the lead on the first lap with the Aston Martin of Michael Bentwood and Paul Whight in hot persuit. The Ascari was also pursuing the front runners and by lap six had taken second place from the Barwell DBRS9 and was setting about attacking the Black Ferrari for the lead. But soon after, Godfrey Jones opted to come in as soon as the pit window opened to hand over to brother David.

Richard Westbrook, had started at the back in his Trackspeed Porsche due to racing commitments in Germany meant he had missed qualifying but was in his element in the wet conditions as by lap 16 he had taken the lead. Two laps after heading the pack, Westbrook bought the Porsche in to hand over to Philip Walker, taking advantage of a safety car period.

The rest of the pack also took this chance to change drivers and it was Tom Ferrier and Paul Warren's Chad Racing Ferrari who got the better of the rest of the field and headed back out behind the safety car in the lead ahead of the Ferrari of Wilcox and Burton. David Jones made a great restart as the safety car peeled off and picked off the two porsches ahead of him with ease. It wasn't long before he had passed both the Ferrari's ahead of him as well to take the lead, which he was to hold on to till the chequered flag.  

Paul Warren guided the Chad Racing car to second place to give the team something to smile about after a dreadful weekend. Ashburn was looking good for third until a mistake with only a few laps remaining dropped him down to fifth place. Thankfully this was a good enough result for him to claim the Championship with the two hour double points race at Donington still to come.

Champion Ashburn's Porsche

A controversial move by Walker in the other Porsche gave him third place. He braked late up the inside of Burton's Ferrari at Druids on the last lap, pushing him wide and into the gravel leaving him in fourth place when he managed to rejoin the tarmac. The Mtech Ferrari was the remaining GT class car to take the flag in sixth place.

Walker pushes Burton wide

We changed over early, because Godfrey was bunched up with the others and we thought it would be good to get some clear air.” said David Jones to the media afterwards, “But then of course came the safety car, so then we were last again. It was a case then of having to get through a very hectic field.”

The G4 Championship was to be settled in this race too although it could quite easily have gone to the wire. Christian Dick and Jamie Stanley's Ginetta G50 suffered from gearbox trouble at the end leaving Stanley to nurse the car home to take third place and with it, enough points to win the G4 Championship. It was an impressive drive from the Barwell Ginetta duo of Daniel Lloyd and Julian Draper on their GT debut which gave them a super class victory beating Benjie and Freddie Hetherington who took second place.   

“We were never going to push really hard,” said Christian Dick afterwards, “because we just needed a few points. Then literally on the last lap of my stint I heard a growl from the gearbox and I knew that we would face an uphill battle to get to the finish. Jamie did everything necessary to nurse the car to the finish.”  Jamie Stanley added, “We got the points we needed, it's all done and dusted, and we can relax a bit for the final round.”

66 posts

About author
Chris Gurton is the official photographer for TheCheckeredFlag.co.uk Visit his Website at: http://www.chrisgurtonphotography.com his blog: http://www.tracksideviews.com and follow him on Twitter: @ChrisGurton
Articles
Related posts
Endurance RacingFIA WECGT Series

Ben Barker Secures Factory Contract with Ford for 2024 Mustang GT3 Campaign

1 Mins read
Ben Barker embraces a new chapter, securing a factory contract with Ford for the 2024 Mustang GT3. An iconic partnership poised for sportscar success.
British GT

Jonny Adam unveils new helmet design for charity drive

1 Mins read
Jonny Adam who is the current GT3 points leader in the British GT reveals special Maggie´s helmet design ahead of a charity auction
GT Series

New Lotus Emira GT4 set to reach first customers over summer

1 Mins read
The new Lotus Emira GT4 has passed the homologation process and will be ready to be shipped out to first customers this summer