2009 Ginetta G50 Cup Champion Nathan Freke secured his first win of the 2011 Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup, taking victory in Round 10 at Oulton Park. After three meetings full of misfortune and mechanical woes for Freke, the win could mark a turning point in theplayer.co.uk/Century Motorsport driver's season.
It was chief rival Carl Breeze who led away from pole position, with Freke slotting into second ahead of Stefan Hodgetts, making his debut in the category with fellow newcomers JHR Developments, Tom Sharp and Adam Morgan, though Sharp was soon up to third at Cascades.
Lap two saw Colin White move into the top six, sliding past Freddie Hetherington at Cascades, followed by G50 Cup class leader Tom Ingram. Losing out on lap three was championship leader Sharp, with a moment dropping him down the order. At the front, Breeze looked to be comfortable at the front, over a second clear, but Freke began closing in and on lap eight made his move and snatched the lead.
From that point on Freke pulled away to win by 6.8s, setting a new lap record in the process, with Breeze taking second after holding off a spirited charge from Hodgetts. Sharp's demise allowed Morgan into fourth with White holding off George Murrells for fifth after a great battle, with Hetherington having to retire on lap six. Sharp eventually recovered to twelfth.
As ever, the racing in the G50 Cup was the highlight of the race. While Ingram was pulling away for his sixth win of the season, with Jake Hill in second, a superb battle for third emerged between Aaron Williamson, newcomer Lee Pattison and Jody Fannin, Williamson edging Pattison by just 0.174s.
Freke said: “I've made a few mistakes and we've had a couple of mechanical failures this year but finally we got the win. Carl (Breeze) seems to be the king of qualifying, and all credit to him for that, but we have amazing race pace and that showed today.”
Ingram commented: “It's going really well for us at the moment. Congratulations to all the boys at the team, they put a great car together for me. We just need to keep this momentum going now.”
