Total Control Racing's Carl Breeze took his first two wins in the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup to reignite his championship bid. Breeze took victory in Round's Seven and Nine at Thruxton, while team-mate Joachim Ritter endured a tough weekend at the high speed Hampshire circuit.
Breeze dominated qualifying, taking pole by 0.6 seconds over his closest rival, stamping his authority on the weekend. He converted this into a light to flag win with ease in the weekend's first race, winning by over five seconds.
For Ritter, qualifying saw him set the fifth fastest time, despite an off that saw him break his suspension, finishing just 0.2 seconds away from the front row. However this was ruined with a driveshaft failure on the formation lap, forcing him to pit and retire before the race had even begun.
Starting round eight from pole, Kings Lynn-based Breeze led at the beginning but came under attack from Adam Morgan and Nathan Freke. He dropped out the lead on lap thirteen, slipping to third as his tyres began losing grip very quickly. A late retirement for Freke moved him back into second though for the finish.
For Ritter, the race underlined what could have been in Round Seven had his car not broken. Starting from the back, the Dane produced a great drive through the field to finish in sixth place, just 0.5 seconds behind the top five.
Round nine saw a start line collision, meaning the race was restarted. When it did, breeze produced a superb start and grabbed the lead at the Complex on lap one. He once again began suffering from tyre wear, but held on his second win of the weekend and seventh podium in nine races. For Ritter, the race produced a fifth place finish, moving him back into the top six in the championship.
TCR Team Principal Lee Brookes said: “It's been a big turn-around this weekend for us. Carl has done a tremendous job and he's right back in the championship, we knew we'd come back. The aim now is to take that lead over the next couple of meetings.
“Unfortunately for Joachim, he had an off in qualifying and then the problem with the drive-shaft before Saturday's race which really did spoil his weekend. To come through with sixth and fifth place finishes on Sunday though is fantastic and shows the speed he's had. He's done a terrific job.”
