Ginetta GT5 ChallengeGinetta Series

Donington Pole Gifts Basey-Fisher Early Advantage

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Oli Basey-Fisher snatched the early advantage in the Protyre Ginetta GT5 Challenge title showdown by grabbing pole position for tomorrow’s first race at Donington Park.

Basey-Fisher and fellow former Ginetta Junior racer Brad Bailey – separated in the championship by a mere three points – both moved to the head of the session times in its closing stages, Bailey looking most likely for the top spot after stealing it away from Jake Giddings.

Bailey’s celebrations were premature as George Gamble popped up to the top by just 0.097s, before Bailey and Basey-Fisher’s pace began to climb in the latter stages of the 30-minute qualifying session.

Soon the telling blow was dealt by Basey-Fisher with a time of 1:47.142s, the Academy Motorsport driver claiming pole position by 0.171s over Bailey who jumped back onto the front row with a late improvement.

Total Control Racing‘s Giddings dropped to third place by the session’s conclusion, Luke Davenport joining him on the second row having briefly topped the opening minutes of the session.

Will Burns, lying second in the championship and just two points behind Bailey in the standings, was also a man that topped the times for a miniscule period of time, but he slipped to fifth place ahead of TCR’s Gamble and Callum Pointon.

Dennis Strandberg, a regular in the Swedish Ginetta GT5 Challenge championship, flirted with the top of the timesheets throughout the session before eventually finishing in eighth spot, the top 10 being rounded out by Ben Hyland and Gary Duckman.

Brian Murphy ended the G20 class on top ahead of three G40 runners including Ben Constanduros and want2race winner Ashley White, the former spinning into the gravel at the bottom of Craner Curves.

David Pittard will be a notable absentee from the final weekend of the season for personal unforeseen reasons, the SV21 driver lying fourth in the championship.

Murphy’s closest rival proved to be Mark De Spong followed by Nick Zapolski, while already crowned G20 class champion Stuart Pearson was only sixth in class.

Tomorrow’s trio of races from Donington get underway at 9:30, 12:15 and 16:05.

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