Ben Green enjoyed his best-ever weekend in the Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup with a pair of victories at Croft, whilst Tom Roche tasted victory on his return to the series at Croft.
Green has stormed up to third in the championship standings as he made it three wins for the season, while Roche starred with his second victory in two outings this campaign.
Race One:
It was Green and his Century Motorsport team-mate Declan Jones who initially set the pace in a wet qualifying session on Saturday, but both lost times after changing tyres in the pits.
Whilst Green maintained second on the grid ahead of Roche, it opened the door for Carl Boardley to head qualifying for the first time this season in his Xentek machine.
Boardley would not be able to take advantage of the pole position however as he was forced to pit on the way to the start of race one, which gave Green the early advantage.
Green would find himself under pressure from George Gamble as the race developed, with Gamble having dispatched Roche for second on the opening tour.
Green and Gamble checked out at the front, those two maintaining position to the flag, while Roche was under pressure throughout in the battle for the final podium spot.
Roche eventually edged away to complete the rostrum, with Reece Somerfield holding fourth until a chaotic trip through the hairpin on the penultimate lap.
Tom Hibbert emerged in fourth ahead of championship leader Callum Pointon and Somerfield, those three then maintaining position until the chequered flag.
Declan Jones came off worst from the hairpin shenanigans, a puncture dropping him to sixteenth after he had climbed from eleventh into the top six battle.
Charlie Ladell, Seb Perez and Carl Boardley completed the top nine, with the latter impressively storming through the field from his pitlane start.
In the AM class, Jac Constable converted pole position into a comfortable victory ahead of Dan Kirby, Colin White, Jack Minshaw and Ian Robinson.
Race Two:
Green’s victory gave him pole position for race two and he took full advantage at the start to storm away from the pack as Gamble defended from Roche and Pointon.
The safety car came out on lap three however after Alexis Taylor and Kirby made contact and sent the former into a spin, with Boardley collecting him heavily.
Pointon was the man on the move at the restart, getting ahead of Roche to get third – with the top three remaining the same to the chequered flag as Green successfully fended off Gamble.
As Roche took fourth, a robust move into the hairpin earned Ladell fifth at the expense of Somerfield, who later dropped back to eighth at the flag.
A sensational performance from Constable saw him battling with a number of Pro cars on his way to sixth overall and another AM class win, with Jones his closest pursuer.
Minshaw and White completed the AM class podium and the overall top ten, while Hibbert would unfortunately join Taylor and Boardley on the retirements list.
Race Three:
The final race of the weekend saw the top four reversed on the grid, giving Roche pole position ahead of Pointon – though a stunning early move from Green saw him move into the top two.
It was short-lived however as Pointon fought back coming out of Tower, with Green dropping to fifth behind Gamble and Ladell, before pitting with grass in his radiator.
That gave a position to Hibbert, who continued a stunning march from the back of the Pro class grid by then passing Jones and Ladell to move into the top four.
Ahead meanwhile, Roche’s tyres started to wear and he began to feel the pressure of Pointon, but the points leader elected to take no risks and settled for second.
The win ensures Roche has taken four podium finishes in his first six Supercup races with Rob Boston Racing, while Pointon’s second means he holds a 47 point championship lead.
Ladell and Jones would round out the top six behind Hibbert, with Perez seventh ahead of the leading AM class runners, with Constable completing a victory hat-trick.
While Robinson and White would complete the class podium, a frustrated fifteenth was the recovering Green, while Somerfield would be the only retiree of the race.
Full race results can be found here: http://tsl-timing.com/file/?f=TOCA/2017/172303g50.pdf
Provisional Championship Standings: 1: Callum Pointon (285pts), 2: George Gamble (238pts), 3: Ben Green (213pts), 4: Tom Hibbert (210pts), 5: Charlie Ladell (176pts)
AM class: 1: Colin White (313pts), 2: Jac Constable (306pts), 3: Jack Minshaw (227pts), 4: Dan Kirby (220pts), 5: Ian Robinson (208pts)
