Charlie Robertson said that there will be no repeat of his Snetterton mistake after clocking up three vital podiums in the seventh Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup meeting of the season at Knockhill to hold onto his points lead.
Robertson’s lead was trimmed to 29 points by a closing Carl Breeze who broke Tom Sharp‘s Supercup wins record with a pair of victories and a second place finish for United Autosports, although the HHC Motorsport youngster collected a hat-trick of rostrum visits as he shadowed his rival’s every move in Fife.
The points leader turned to qualifying as the deciding factor of the entire weekend, where Breeze snatched pole position in the final two minutes of a sensationally close session that saw the top eight covered by less than 0.2s.
A dramatic opening race was won by Breeze, who survived a slight clash with Robertson in a debatable one-lap shoot-out that occurred in treacherous conditions. Another second place followed in race two on Sunday, while Robertson followed Breeze home to third in race three to hold onto his points lead with limited damage.
“It’s been a tough one and a close-run thing all weekend really”, Robertson told TCF after his trio of hard-earned podium finishes at Knockhill.
“Obviously around Knockhill it’s always a bit like that; it’s a very short track, cars are similarly matched and so are the drivers, so in the end it was all about qualifying.
“I qualified second which wasn’t quite good enough, but it was just over a tenth between the top eight, so really, really close! It has been that close this weekend, and I think to get three podiums was awesome for us.
“I’m happy with that – just to get the points. Keeping it in the top three is what I need to try and do from now on, especially after the first race on Saturday when it was really tricky.”
Robertson’s superlative rookie season had seen him clock up five pole positions in a row prior to Knockhill, making it six wins with an emphatic double at Snetterton. He did however recall the final race of that meeting earlier in August, known for the former Ginetta Junior champion spinning out while attempting a pass for the lead on Tom Oliphant.
That is a mistake Robertson says he has learned from, and promised he will not be repeating in the remaining three meetings of the 2014 season with the championship now full priority.
He added: “Obviously looking back at Snetterton where we went really well, I got two wins and then should probably have won the last but I chucked it off which was a bit annoying. So I started to learn in race three to try and keep my wits about me, and watch what everyone does, just keeping my head.
“To get three podiums here, I’m pretty pleased with that. I like Rockingham and Brands Hatch, so those should prove strong for us”
