Mtech duo Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin led a Ferrari 1-2 at Snetterton, taking their third win of the season and reigniting their title chances as the Trackspeed Porsche could only struggle ninth.
It was almost lights to flag victory for the pair, who won both races at the season opening Oulton Park weekend, though the pair had had to settle of second on the grid behind the Predator Ferrari. Adam Wilcox's stay in the lead lasted barely until the first corner forced to surrender to Griffin as the Irishman stormed around the outside of Riches in the Ferrari the all-red livery interrupted by a black bumped added after the damage incurred in the first race. Meanwhile, their title rivals had already had probably their best lap of the race – in position terms. Glynn Geddie had started the Porsche from the midst of the slower G4 class, but had already overhauled both Century Motorsport Ginettas – Nathan Freke and Benji Hetherington aboard the no.47 and no.57 cars respectively by the end of the first lap, also finding a way past Gregor Fisken in the Mosler as the experienced historic racer struggled in his stint.
Up front it was all about the Ferraris. Griffin led for Mtech – extending his lead out six seconds at its most expansive. Wilcox had maintained second place after losing the lead on the first lap though they fell to third as Allan Simonsen charged through, having been bumped back to fourth by Alex Mortimer in the Team RPM Ford GT – the Ford team the first to try and break in the Prancing Horse on a day which really belonged to the Ferraris.
The momentary delay to Simonsen ended up costing race one winner Tom Ferrier. He had tried an opportunistic move, overlapping with Simonsen down the pit straight only to find himself surprised as the Jones Ascari (Godfrey at the wheel) on the inside, shuffling the Chad entry back to seventh.
The Chad Ferrari: rapid in Dan Brown's hands
However, and in no disrespect to Ferrier, the car's race came to life once Dan Brown was strapped in. Starting his stint in sixth, despite a slight scare when Ferrier overshoot his pit box slightly, Brown quickly dispatched David Jones in the Ascari for fifth and Philip Walker's Ford for fourth to create a Ferrari 1-2-3-4. A stampede of Italian Prancing Horses through Norfolk.
Brown was almost inexplicably quick, though he was doubtless helped by running quick laps as those ahead dealt with traffic, still often running two seconds a lap faster Brown reeled in the other Ferraris with ease. He almost snatched second and third in the same straight, only foiled by a backmarker down the pit straight as Brown's pace began to be checked in traffic.
Still when Brown took seventh with seven minutes of the race remaining there was a sense of anticipation as personnel from around the pitlane gathered around one of the few timing screens on the pitwall.
David Jones: Podium "a relief"
The seventeen second lead Brown inherited began to tumble. Sliced to even seconds within three laps, Brown confirming his pace with the fastest lap of the race. However, with gap down to just eight seconds traffic began to work against Brown – the gap still shrank, but not be enough to create a race for the lead in the final laps, the Chad driver only gaining a second a lap, rather than three. Four seconds was the final winning margin, but Brown's pace probably deserved more.
Behind the Ferrari domination had been quashed. Both David Jones and Martin Short snuck past Phil Burton in the final laps, the Ascari taking a podium in a race where it could have been stuck in the pits had a loose plug not been the only problem in the first race. “A relief,” David Jones described the feeling of finally seeing a successful end to a weekend in a summer plagued by ill fortune.
G4 saw another win for Benji and Freddie Hetherington. Benji had taken the lead on lap seven from Speedworks' Christian Dick and had pulled away into a commanding lead. There was no sign of the debilitating problem that blunted Dick – and teammate Jamie Stanley's race one effort – Stanley breaking into the Century 1-2 in the closing laps, passing Vibe Smed, to extend their class points lead over the absent Rory Butcher and Benjamin Harvey.
Two wins from two races for Benji and Freddie Hetherington
But the race was all about Mtech. In recent races their championship aspirations have looked all but over with the domination of Trackspeed. However, be it because of the ballast handed to the Porsche, or the nature of Snetterton it is now the red Ferrari with the momentum.
“It's exactly what we needed,” Duncan Cameron said after the podium celebrations. “This morning could have been better, we we're expecting two of those [wins] really. We wanted two of those, but the puncture put paid to that this morning. We're going to carry on just trying to win races really for the rest of this year.”
Burton held on for fifth ahead of the Hector Lester/Simonsen Ferrari, RPM Ford and Viper. Michael Bentwood rounded out the top ten in the Barwell Aston Martin behind the Porsche.
