Quickfire Rosso Verde Fastest In Second Donington Free Practice

Despite running just twelve laps – the least of any team in the GT3 or GT4 classes – Allan Simonsen and the Rosso Verde Ferrari ended the second practice session at Donington Park for the Avon Tyres British GT Championship fastest.

The Danish driver needed just six laps to lap the Midlands’ Grand Prix track,  at the time moving half a second clear of Scuderia Vittoria’s Aaron Scott at the top the times.

Scott was bumped down to third by a late lap from McLaren works wheelman Alvaro Parente in the #27 United Autosports McLaren MP4-12C. After the sister car missed the first session with a fuel sensor problem United Autosports brace of cars were both on track, holding the top two positions in the first half of the session before the two Motorbase Porsches similarly held sway before the Simonsen led improvements.

Matt Bell and Charles Bateman’s McLaren fell to 12^th by the end of the session, the two Motorbase Porsches fourth – for title contenders Daniele Perfetti and Michael Caine – and ninth, Stephen Jelley joining regular driver Steve Parish in the yellow accented Porsche.

Another title contender in another Porsche, but under the Trackspeed banner, David Ashburn and Phil Keen rounded out the top five.

Ecurie Ecosse’s BMW was sixth fastest ahead of the Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin and the #32 Trackspeed entry of Joe Osborne and Steve Tandy.

Behind the second Motorbase car the Preci–Spark Mercedes rounded out the top 10.

Pace setters in the first session MTECH missed the first half of the second session before emerging in time for Matt Griffin to log the eleventh fastest time of the session. After only finishing 17th fastest in the earlier session RJN Motorsport’s fruitless search for pace continued the Alex Buncombe–Jann Mardenborough combination only fast enough for 19^th fastest overall and 18^th fastest among the GT3 teams, only faster than the Stark by Hepworth Ginetta G55 GT3 and the Reiter Engineering Lamborghini.

Team WFR were fastest again in GT4, though their speed advantage over the Jota Mazda had shrunk from over a second in the first session to under half a second in the second session.

In GTC – another class where the title is still to be decided – champions elect FF Corse easily had the measure of the Jordan Witt entered Chevron GR8 of Ray Grimes and David Witt.