Andrew Richardson On The Brands Hatch Podium - Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Andrew and Louise Richardson both impressed in the Brands Hatch sunshine during the latest three rounds of the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup, with Andrew taking another G50 class podium, while Louise just missed out on some podiums of her own.
Running with their family team, Grantham-based Richardson Racing, Andrew qualified a strong second in class for the opening race. Taking the class lead earlier on, Andrew lost the place on lap five, but chased the leader home for second in class and his ninth class podium of the season, the teams twelfth of the year.
The second race went badly for Andrew though, when he stalled on the line and dropped to the rear of the field. A strong recovery drive through the pack saw him end up fifth in class. Determined to make up for it in the final encounter, Richardson started well and settled into third place, but a small mistake at Druids on the final lap saw him drop to fourth and ninth overall.
Andrew commented: “It's been a bit of a mixed bag really. Finishing second in the first race was a good result but then I stalled at the start of race two and that ended my chances of another podium finish there. I think I fought back well but couldn't get ahead of Louise into fourth.
“We had really good pace in the final race and there was nothing between the top four of us on the times so I'm kicking myself a bit as I really wanted second and just went into Druids a bit too hot. That gave Jake the chance to close up and it was a bit cheeky that he put two wheels on the grass when he made his move but I'm more frustrated with myself for making the error and giving him the chance.”
Younger sister Louise qualified a strong fourth in class and a great start to the opening race saw her briefly sit second, before she settled into third. However with tyre wear an issue towards the end of the race, Louise slipped to fourth in class at the finish.
A solid start to race two saw Louise climb up to second place, before dropping to third on lap two and then losing another spot late on, leaving her with another fourth place. The final race saw Louise once again running fourth in class for the majority of the race, but as the race reached its conclusion, Louise started to feel the effects of the shoulder injury she sustained in her accident at Rockingham a fortnight ago and finished up fifth in class.
Louise said: “It all started well for me although we struggled a little bit with the set-up in the first two races. Despite that, I managed to get two fourth place finishes but it was a little bit disappointing as I was in third and second at points and could have been on the podium. The car felt better in the final race but I made a few mistakes and my shoulder started to ache a bit more towards the end, but I got another finish and can now look forward to Silverstone.”
