Ginetta GT4 SupercupGinetta SeriesSportscars

Mixed Thruxton Weekend For Richardson Racing

2 Mins read

Brother and sister duo Andrew and Louise Richardson had a mixed bag of results in the latest rounds of the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup at Thruxton. Racing for Grantham-based family outfit Richardson Racing, the duo again impressed with their pace but endured their share of bad luck in their Ginetta G50's.

Andrew qualified fifth in class for Round seven and a great start saw him leap into second in class initially, before being passed by Aaron Williamson. Despite struggling with the car through the Complex, he held on take his third podium of the season, finishing ninth overall.

Starting on row five for race two, another strong start saw him leapfrog Williamson for second in class. However contact on his rear from Williamson on lap nine dropped him to third in class while also damaging his diffuser, with further contact from Rob Gaffney on lap thirteen damaging it more, dropping him to an eventual finish of fifth in class.

Avoiding a start line incident which involved Louise at the start, Andrew ran well after the restart, moving into fourth in class, before his power steering failed through Noble. He continued to try and gain more championship points, but was forced to pit in and retire when an alternator warning light came on.

Andrew, who now sits seventh in the championship, said: “We struggled a bit to get the set-up right, so we were quite lucky to get the podium finish in race one. In race two, I got up to second place but then Aaron hit me in the rear and damaged the diffuser and I was losing grip, and then it broke completely after the contract from Rob.”
 
“The team did a brilliant job to put the car back together for the final race and the car felt great, but then a belt snapped and I lost the power steering going through Noble. At first, I though something had broken on the car but I was planning to carry on to pick up points until the alternator light came on and I had to pull back into the pits.”

 
Louise, suffering the after-effects of a bug picked up in the week before the event, qualified seventh in class. A good start saw her move into the top five, before rival Jake Hill hit her at the Complex on lap four, damaging Louise's bonnet. With the bonnet dislodged and her handling severly affected, she was unable to degend from the cars behind and dropped to sixth in the G50's at the finish.

A slow start saw her drop a place to seventh at the beginning of race two, but she quickly gained two places by lap six.  A spin by Hill promoted her to fourth behind her brother, but a spin while challenging him dropped her to sixth, but she worked her way back to fourth at the finish.
 
The third race saw Louise involved in the dramatic start line incident, hitting the rear of Williamson's G50, who in turn had hit the rear of the polesitter Alistair James' G55, who had stalled. Louise escaped without serious injury, a testimony to the strength of the Ginetta, but was left winded, while the damage to her car meant she retired on the spot.
 
Louise, lying sixth in the points, added: “I made a good start and got ahead of Fannin, and I would have got through without any problems if Aaron hadn't pinged back in front of me. When his car bounced back, I had nowhere to go and there was nothing I could do to avoid him.
 
“We were close to the pace and got close to the podium again this weekend, but I made some mistakes and got caught up in the chaos on track which meant I couldn't repeat the results from Donington Park. The car felt so good through all the quick stuff this weekend but luck just wasn't on our side.”

Avatar photo
4148 posts

About author
Simon is an experienced journalist and PR officer, who has worked in the national motorsport paddocks for over a decade, primarily on the BTCC support package.
Articles
Related posts
Historic RacingSportscars

Motorsport Nostalgia Takes Center Stage at Gulf Historic Dubai GP Revival

1 Mins read
Classic motorsports shine at Gulf Historic Dubai GP Revival 2023, featuring iconic wins, intense battles, and a merger with Masters Historic Racing. The event drew over 16,000 attendees, marking a growing interest in vintage racing.
MotoGPSportscars

MotoGP star Rossi announced as BMW M Motorsports driver for 2023

2 Mins read
BMW M Motorsport has announced the MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi as a works driver for 2023
FeaturesGinetta GT4 SupercupGinetta Series

Farewell To The Ginetta GT4 SuperCup

8 Mins read
A look back at the history of the Ginetta GT4 SuperCup, which ran from 2011 to 2022, with input from the likes of Tom Ingram, Adam Morgan and Harry King.