Ginetta G50 Cup 2010 Round 1 – Thruxton: Race 3 – Huff completes Hat Trick, Bell and Wrathall star

The third race of the weekend saw a new feature for the 2010 season introduced – after race 2 a draw was made to see how many of the top 10 finishers would be reversed. Number 6 was drawn, meaning that Matt Bell took pole, with the first two race dominators back in fifth and sixth.

Off the line, pole sitter Matt Bell led away the rest of the field, with Breeze looking to the outside line to climb the field, with Huff shadowing.  Further round the lap proved to be one of the races key points. Frank Wrathall, who had started fifth was spun out at Village and down to the back of the field. Wrathall had taken to the grass to avoid the Breeze/Hetherington contact: “Yeah it could have been much better though! I hit the grass before church to avoid Breeze and Hetherington who had come together. Was a shame as we were so much quicker than anyone else in that race. I was looking forward to a good battle with Rob, but it was quite fun coming back through!”

Huff was fighting his way to the front of the field while Bell was trying to build up an advantage, Huff first passed Benji Hetherington for third, Hetherington lost two places on one lap as Breeze also passed him, before taking Dittman at Allard on lap 3.

Huff made his move for the lead on lap 5, with a brave move at Church, taking the inside line to pass Bell, and from there never looked back as he sped on his way to his first career hat trick, in his first race in a Rear Wheel Drive car.

Behind, the main action came from Wrathall as he battled his way back up the field from his spin, setting the fastest lap during his charge. Lap 13 saw Wrathall arrive at the Complex three abreast with Tom Sharp and Colin White, and came out of it ahead of them both. At the end, Wrathall was seventh, but within a second of a top 6 finish – a Champions drive. Wrathall ended the day only 6 seconds off a podium finish – having ended the opening lap 19 seconds off the pace.

Behind Huff and Bell, Chris Dittman completed the podium, but over 6 and a half seconds shy of Bell, who in turn was 4 and three quarters of a second behind the dominant WTCC star.

Colin White also took a hat trick of Chairman Cup wins with a 10^th place finish in the final race.

Reflecting on his weekends work, Huff said: “This is the first time I've ever won three races in a weekend so I'm absolutely delighted. It's been a fantastic weekend for me and I've really enjoyed driving the G50, it's a great car. The balance is really good and there's a lot of feeling in the car for the driver, it's an ideal championship for young drivers coming through.

“Everyone at Dynojet has made me feel very welcome, it's a great team and I'm very pleased to have been invited down to Thruxton this weekend to race the Ginetta – a big thank you goes out to everyone involved, it's been a lot of fun.”

The deal for Huff to race in the guest car came via a Facebook message from Phil House. Strange old world.

Points after round 3 of the 2010 Ginetta G50 Cup with Michelin:

1. Frank Wrathall – 92 points
2. Chris Dittman – 86 points
3. Carl Breeze – 79 points
4. Matt Bell – 75 points
5. Joachim Ritter – 50 points
6. Benji Hetherington – 49 points

Race 3 results:

Frank Wrathall took the fastest lap on lap 3, with a 1m17.692s.

Photo credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography