Pepe Massot and Hillspeed enjoyed a perfect start to their debut season in the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup with a victory during the opening rounds at Brands Hatch.
The Hathersage-based outfit have made the graduation from the Ginetta Junior series into the Supercup with Massot, who took two wins with them last season in his debut season of car-racing.
After a strong winter testing programme, Massot was at home with the more powerful Ginetta G55 heading into the opening weekend and it showed.
Qualifying fifth fastest, Massot went on to finish a strong sixth in race one, before producing the drive of his career so far in race two, working his way through the field to take the lead, before producing a drive showing maturity beyond his years to fend off the chasing pack and take a stunning win. The 17 year old went on to finish seventh in a bruising third race.
“Pepe did a fantastic job this weekend, we couldn’t have asked for more from him,” said Hillspeed team principal Richard Ollerenshaw. “He’s been on the pace from the off and to win in only our second ever race in this championship was just incredible really. To have competed against, and beaten, well established Ginetta GT Supercup teams on our debut is as much as we could have hoped for.”
The team also continued their affiliation with the Junior series, running car racing newcomer Josh White. The 16 year old had a strong debut, posting thirteenth and eleventh place finishes.
“Josh had a huge amount to learn at Brands Hatch but he didn’t disgrace himself at all, he listened to everything we told him and he made some positive steps forward,” added Ollerenshaw. “He kept out of trouble and, importantly, finished both races which is the target we set before the weekend.”
