Tom Sharp continued his perfect start to the season by making it two wins out of two at Brands Hatch, with victory in Round two of the new-for-2011 Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup.
With the result of race one forming the grid for race two, Sharp led away from pole, ahead of Adam Morgan and George Murrells. Missing from third on the grid was Carl Breeze, a late gear change in his G55 meaning he was only able to take to the track when the pack were halfway round the first lap, leaving him with a lot of work to do.
In the G50 category, a blistering start from Andrew Richardson saw him take the class lead, though a poor first lap from his younger sibling Louise saw her drop to seventh in class.
At the front, Sharp began to pull away, while Optimum’s Murrells began to come under pressure from Colin White. Though as the CWS driver tried to get past, he left the door open for Joachim Ritter to sneak past and take fourth.
In the G50’s, Louise Richardson began to work her way back up the field, passing Connaire Finn and rival from last year, Jake Hill. Ahead, Tom Ingram got past Rob Gaffney for third in class.
Their progress was halted though as the safety car appeared on circuit, after Paul McClughan spun into the Druids gravel while trying to defend from the recovering Nathan Freke, who spun early on.
At the restart, Sharp and Ciceley Racing’s Morgan broke away, followed by Murrells, while White nipped back past Total Control Racing’s Ritter at Paddock for fourth.
Andy Richardson continued to lead the G50 class, but closest rival Jody Fannin began to drop away. Ingram moved into second, while Gaffney briefly held third, before being passed by Louise Richardson. He got the place back two laps later though, with a mistake seeing Louise slide into retirement in the Druids gravel trap.
This forced another safety car, cutting Sharps lead and bunching the field back together again. Two drivers using the safety car periods to their advantage were the recovering Freke and Breeze.
As they restarted though, the duo came stuck behind a determined Hill, who was holding them off while also challenging Gaffney ahead. After a few laps, the G55’s eventually made their way past Hill and Gaffney, with Breeze also nipping past Freke in the process.
As they headed onto the penultimate lap, Hill attempted to follow through but the duo made contact, sending Meridian Motorsport’s Gaffney sliding into the Paddock gravel and into retirement.
At the front, their was no such dramas for Sharp who took the win, emulating his double G50 Cup win from Croft last year. Morgan followed for his second podium of the day, with Murrells earning his maiden Supercup podium in third. White, Ritter and Clint Bardwell rounded out the top six.
Andrew Richardson took the G50 class win, with reigning Ginetta Junior champion Ingram second and Hill third. Aaron Williamson passed Finn on the final lap for fourth, with Fannin ended up sixth.
