George Murrells fended off season long rival Andy Richardson to take the 2010 Ginetta Challenge during the championship's finale at Donington Park. A poor first race put the pressure on the Optimum Motorsport driver heading into the final round, but a solid second place was enough to see him take the championship.
In the first race, G40 trio David Mayes, newly crowned Ginetta Junior Champion Tom Ingram and Richard Sykes lined up at the front of the grid, with the new model getting its own class for the weekend. Murrells headed the G20 contingent in fourth, ahead of Sean Huyton and Richardson.
Carnage ensued at the first corner, with multiple cars involved, including championship leader Murrells. Suffering a flapping bonnet, Murrells had to limp back to the pits for repairs, dropping him to the back of the pack.
Rival Richardson benefited most to take the G20 lead, but he too was to run into problems, a gearbox problem forcing him to complete the final few laps with just third gear. This allowed Stuart Pearson to charge past and take his first ever win in the series, with Richardson holding on to second ahead of Huyton, Mark Wania and Brian Murphy. Murrells recovered to eleventh by the end.
Ahead of them, Reflex Racing's Mayes led the G40 race from lights to finish, with Ingram coming a solid second in his first ever senior race.
Murrells headed into the final race holding an eleven point lead at the top of the standings and began the race as the lead G20 runner again, with Mayes again leading Ingram in the G40 Category.
Murrells led away, but soon came under pressure from Huyton for the lead. Safe in the knowledge Richardson was behind him in third; Murrells allowed Huyton to take the lead and followed behind in second. This was how the top three stayed until the end, with Murrells not needing to push for the win and Richardson seemingly unable to mount a challenge for second.
Behind, a great three way battle for fourth ended with Pearson taking the spot, ahead of Wania and Academy Motorsport's Harry Whale. In the G40 class, Mayes completed a perfect weekend with another win, with Ingram second again.
Second place was enough to see Murrells take the Ginetta Challenge Championship, after a great season in which he picked up five wins. Richardson finished a close second with three wins, ahead of Huyton with four wins and Pearson with one.
