Tom Sharp closed his debut season in the British GT Championship with a strong top-ten finish at Donington Park.
Following a tough weekend at Zandvoort, the 22-year-old was looking to bounce back live on MotorsTV at the season finale. The team struggled in practice and qualifying, only managing to place themselves on 16th on the grid.
Sunday morning’s warm-up was more promising for the IDL Racing with CWS team, with Sharp’s Ginetta G55 sitting at the top of the time sheets. Team-mate Colin White took the opening stint of the race, losing a couple of positions in a frantic first couple of laps. A strong recovery drive from White meant he was back up to 11th by the time Sharp took the reigns of the Ginetta.
Sharp was immediately up to speed on fresh rubber, moving up to eighth after everyone had completed their pitstops. The Camberley-based racer was too far back to challenge the pack ahead, and had to contend with holding off the chasing group for his eighth position, eventually losing out and dropping to tenth. A brace of retirements in front, however, promoted Sharp back into eighth, a position he would hold until the flag.
“It was always going to be a difficult race starting from that far back but Colin drove a great stint to keep us in contention,” said Sharp. “From the moment I left the pits until I saw the flag I left nothing on the table, every lap was a qualifying lap and there is nothing we could have done differently to achieve a better result.
“It has been a very trying first season for me and the team in the British GT. It was never going to be easy when you look at the quality in the field, and I’m very proud of all the team for pulling through. Our plans for next season are unclear at this moment time but I hope to be able to reveal some exciting news in the weeks to come.”
