Carl Breeze Celebrating His Sixth Win Of The Season - Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Carl Breeze moved back to the top of the 2011 Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup standings with two wins and a top five finish at a sun-bathed Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit for Wednesbury-based Total Control Racing, with the team also welcoming Patrick Watts for a guest appearance in Kent.
Breeze qualified on pole position for Round 23 and a good start saw him hold the lead going into Paddock Hill for the first time. After a short safety car period, Breeze started to build a lead and cruised home for a crucial win, his fifteenth podium of the season.
Starting on pole again for Round 24, Breeze put in a repeat performance, leading from start to finish, though this time under pressure from title rival Tom Sharp. Lining up fifth on the 'reverse' grid, Breeze slipped to sixth at the start, but regained the place and then another when Sharp crashed out. Running in fourth after a couple of safety car periods, Breeze looked to challenge for a podium, but ended up slipping to fifth late on. Breeze now heads to Silverstone for the final rounds in two weeks' time with an eight point lead in the standings.
Joining TCR for the meeting was former BTCC racer Watts, in the car previously raced by Marino Franchitti and Tim Harvey. Qualifying a superb fifth on the grid, just 0.7s off Breeze, the opening race saw a strong run to seventh overall in his first race in a G55.
A repeat performance saw him take another seventh place in the second race, but an unfortunate jump start ruined his third race. Just as he went in for the drive through penalty, the safety car came out, meaning he was caught out and forced to serve another one, leaving him at the back of the field.
TCR team principal Lee Brookes said: “Carl did a great job this weekend, two wins from three is a good return and means we go to the last round leading the championship. Anything can happen there so we'll do the best we can, provide the best car we can and hopefully we can get it done. It's been great having Patrick in the team this weekend and we were very happy with the progress he made.”
