Ginetta GT5 Challenge

Richards and Davies On Top In Ginetta Challenge

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Clive Richards and Mark Davies took the wins in Round Five and Six of the 2011 Ginetta Challenge around the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, while Sean Huyton continues to lead the championship standings.

Optimum Motorsport's Davies led off the line in the opening race, but taking the leading at Paddock Hill was HHC Motorsport's Richard Sykes. Huyton started last on the grid but carved his way into twelfth by the end of the second lap. 

Holding fifth place in HHC's guest car was television presenter Tiff Needell, sitting behind former Clio Cup racer Mike Robinson and former Ginetta Junior racer Ryan Ratcliffe. Total Control Racing's Robinson took the lead at Paddock on lap six, with Sykes holding second until a moment at Druids dropped him to fourth.

Richards and Davies benefitted to take second and third respectively and they cut the gap to the leader, but he held on to take the win. Post-race however, Robinson and Ratcliffe were penalised 30 seconds for putting four wheels off the road at Graham Hill, gifting the win to Colard Motorsport's Richards, with Davies and Sykes completing the podium. Huyton took fifth, Needell sixth, with Robinson and Ratcliffe dropping to seventh and ninth respectively.   

In the G20 class, returnee Dominic Pettit led the class early on and cruised home for the win, with Stuart Pearson and Gary Simms scrapping for second, despite Simms being hampered by a gearbox problem.

Tiff Needell took a top six finish in the HHC Guest Car

Race two saw Richards lead away from the line, with Davies and Ratcliffe close behind. Producing another superb early drive through the field was Huyton, up to tenth at the end of lap one and into the top five by lap six.

He joined in the lead battle, passing Robinson for fourth and looking to challenge for the podium places, before dropping to an eventual finish of sixth. Ahead, Davies took the lead from Richards on lap nine at Graham Hill Bend and held on to take the win. Richards dropped to seventh late on, giving Ratcliffe a career-best second place, with Robinson and Sykes next up. After a close battle, Pearson took the G20 win from Pettit, with Craig McIlvar third.

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Simon is an experienced journalist and PR officer, who has worked in the national motorsport paddocks for over a decade, primarily on the BTCC support package.
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