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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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Final 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup Championship Positions: Champion: Nathan Freke, 856pts; 2nd Frank Wrathall, 731pts; 3rd Carl Breeze, 629pts; 4th Fulvio Mussi, 502pts; 5th Tom Sharp, 468pts; 6th Christian Dick, 389pts pics . Jakob Ebrey Photography |
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FREKE SIGNS OFF TITLE WINNING SEASON IN STYLE AT BRANDS GP
Although heading into round 28 with the pressure of the title battle lifted from his shoulders, the Century Motorsport driver was nonetheless made to work incredibly hard for the win by Dynojet’s Frank Wrathall who mounted an impressive late race push and came within just 0.093 seconds of the victory. Freke’s 2009 record certainly speaks for itself and along with his stunning total of 15 wins the 26-year-old secured seven other podium finishes on his way to a huge 125-point margin at the head of the driver standings in his first season of G50 Cup action. In addition, he never failed to finish a race. Reflecting on a truly outstanding season, the champion commented: “It’s been fantastic and this weekend has just been the perfect end to the year for us. I knew the last race would be hard, Frank (Wrathall) did a great job and it was very tight at the finish. The start was good but I had a big slide through the back section which knocked my confidence a bit and so I slowed the pace a little. “I could see Frank catching but I knew if I didn’t make any mistakes and drove a tight race, he wouldn’t be able to get past. In the end I managed to hold it to the line and I want to thank the team for doing such a fantastic job all year, the car was so consistent yet again. To end the season with a win is superb, looking back it really couldn’t have gone any better.” At the start of this afternoon’s race, Freke led away from pole position but Wrathall was determined to try and get ahead early as he attempted to run around the outside of the 2009 champion at the fearsome Paddock Hill Bend. Freke held the lead though on the inside and started to pull marginally clear as Wrathall began to come under pressure from Tom Sharp and Fulvio Mussi. Aiming to end the season on the biggest of highs, Freke set a new lap record on the third tour but this was later bettered by Mussi – the Yourracingcar.com driver marking his name in the record books with a stunning lap of 1m32.731 seconds (89.32mph) in the final third of the race. As Freke continued to extend his lead, Wrathall struggled to shake off the attentions of Sharp and Mussi but as the race hit mid-distance the Vice-Champion’s car started to come into its own and he began to catch the leader while at the same time dropping his pursuers. Further behind, Benji Hetherington held a solid and untroubled fifth place which he maintained to the chequered flag while sixth position was disputed by Chris Dittmann, ever-improving rookie Adam Morgan and Carl Breeze. In the end, Morgan sealed the place with a good move into Paddock Hill Bend on lap 12 while back at the front the fight for the win came down to a last-lap dash with Wrathall almost glued to the rear of Freke’s Ginetta. With absolutely nothing separating the pair, Freke managed to defend well enough into Clearways to keep Wrathall behind to win by less than a 10th of a second. Sharp sealed another podium, his fourth of the year, to add to his success in Saturday’s opening race with Mussi taking fourth. Ben Jackson, meanwhile, was the best of this weekend’s newcomers once again with a fine ninth place ahead of fellow G50 Cup rookie Stephen Tyldsley. The Chairman’s Cup victory went the way of Colin White, breaking Richard Sykes’ recent run of wins. Speaking after the final round, 2009 Vice-Champion Wrathall said: “Obviously, Nathan’s such a good driver and there’s no shame at all to finish second in the championship to him. I was absolutely gutted not to win that race though, it was so close at the end but I just couldn’t quite get ahead. At the start we dropped back quite a lot and I think that cost me the win to tell the truth. “I thought Nathan would just drive off into the distance but my car came on so strong towards the end, I upped the pace and pegged him back quite easily. I pushed really hard, I wanted the win so badly, and went grass-tracking at one point but he defended well into the last corner and there was nothing else I could do.” Wrathall added: “It’s been a very consistent year for us and the team has been fantastic, hopefully we’ll go one better next year and win the championship – that’s the plan, to come back and win the G50 Cup. I feel I’ve really progressed and improved as a racing driver this year, it’s been good.” Third placed finisher Sharp said: “You always want to go a couple better than third but I’m happy to be on the podium in the final round and spray the champagne! I’m not sure at the moment what we’ll do next year, it’s all depends on sponsors, but I want to stay on this package.”
CHAMPION’S PERFORMANCE SEALS 2009 TITLE FOR VICTORIOUS FREKE
At the wheel of his Century Motorsport entered G50, the 26-year-old started the weekend in perfect style by taking pole position for both of today’s encounters and in the races he was never headed en-route to his 13th and 14th victories of the campaign. Freke claimed his first Ginetta G50 win at Donington Park in mid-May and after moving into the championship lead a month later at Croft in North Yorkshire, there was no looking back for the former UK Formula Ford Champion. Reflecting on a fantastic title victory, Freke said: “I’m pretty pleased! In the week leading up to this event we knew the 10 points we needed to make sure of the title wasn’t a lot to get but I’ve seen leads like that taken away before. I’ve always loved Brands Hatch, the car was sublime on Friday in the test and to win and take the championship in style is fantastic.” Lining up on pole position at the start of the first race of the day, round 26, Freke knew he needed just a handful of points to make sure of the title but he was determined to secure the championship in winning ways. Getting away cleanly from the grid, second placed starter Fulvio Mussi did pressurise into Paddock Hill Bend but Freke held on to the lead on the run to Druids for the first time. Frank Wrathall attempted to wrest second off Mussi at the hairpin but as the cars headed down to Graham Hill Bend, the Yourracingcar.com driver managed to hold on. Into Surtees though, Mussi lost out while running three abreast with Wrathall and Tom Sharp and ended up being forced wide which, in turn, allowed Benji Hetherington to also move ahead. Before the start of lap two, the Safety Car was deployed due to a lap one accident at Paddock Hill Bend involving Joachim Ritter and Chairman’s Cup campaigner Colin White. The re-start came at the beginning of the fifth tour and Freke never looked likely to put a wheel wrong, even though Wrathall was never much more than a second adrift all the way to the chequered flag on lap 10. The Dynojet driver continued to press on but he wasn’t able to force a mistake from the soon-to-be-crowned champion. Sharp raced well to his third podium of the year thanks to a fine drive while Hetherington fought well to keep Mussi at bay – just seven 10ths of a second splitting the pair. Chris Dittmann, returning for the season finale having missed the previous event at Rockingham, rounded out the top six ahead of one-time championship hopeful Carl Breeze and the impressive Adam Morgan. Richard Sykes, meanwhile, won the Chairman’s Cup once again in 10th place overall. Second placed finisher Wrathall commented: “I found it tough in qualifying, we had a couple of issues with the handling of the car and that was pretty much the same story in the race. What Nathan has done this weekend, taking pole and winning, is exactly why he’s champion. He’s a nice person and Century is a nice team as well, they deserve it.”
Win number 14 for unstoppable Freke At the start pole-sitter Freke and fellow front-row starter Wrathall made an even getaway but with the inside line his, the new champion held on to the lead. Mussi held on to third place ahead of Sharp and Dittmann while further back, Morgan slid off the circuit exiting Druids and made contact with the barriers but did manage to recover – eventually finishing in 13th place. Seventh placed category newcomer Ben Jackson – who had finished ninth in the earlier encounter on his G50 Cup race debut – did well to hold off a queue of cars headed by Breeze, with rear-end damage to his car causing bodywork to rub on the right-rear tyre. Battling on valiantly, Jackson had to succumb though on lap three when forced to pit. Back at the front, Freke continued to lead Wrathall and Mussi as Hetherington got the better of Dittmann for fifth place at Paddock Hill Bend with an outstanding piece of late braking. Behind, Breeze moved into seventh due to Jackson’s enforced pit-stop while Sykes held on to eighth where he remained for another Chairman’s Cup victory. The battle for second place intensified at mid-distance and on lap 10, Mussi made the move into Druids to grab the place from Wrathall who, to be fair, gave plenty of racing room. Wrathall and Sharpe did press Mussi all the way to the finish on lap 14 but he held on. Speaking after the race, Mussi said: “We’ve proven we’ve had the pace since Snetterton really and then, at Knockhill, everything came good. We had some problems at Silverstone and then Rockingham didn’t go as well as we’d hoped but here, qualifying went well and we were quick from the off. It’s great to be back on the podium.” Along with newcomer Jackson, an influx of other fresh faces are competing in the Ginetta G50 Cup this weekend – namely Stephen Tyldsley, Rachel Green, Jeff Davies, the returning Michele Tommasi and Texaco Havoline Ginetta G20 Championship graduate Emily Fletcher. Jackson, of course, was the best of the bunch in round 26 with ninth place while in round 27, Tyldsley took the same position.
CENTURY ONE-TWO ALL BUT SECURES G50 CUP TITLE FOR FREKE
After finishing runner-up to closest title rival Frank Wrathall in Saturday’s 10-lap race and then dropping out of contention in this morning’s 24th round with alternator problems, Freke scorched to a clear victory in the third of the weekend’s races to lead home team-mate Benji Hetherington in the first ever one-two finish for the EOS Productions-backed squad. Wrathall had closed down Freke’s advantage to 64 points with a superb win in round 24, capitalising well on the car problems encountered by the championship leader. But the Dynojet racer was sent spinning into retirement at Deene Hairpin on the opening lap of this afternoon’s race, the result of contact from behind, to leave his slim title hopes in tatters. While it is still mathematically possible for Wrathall to win the 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup, the odds are stacked massively against him and Freke will only need an 11th place finish in the first of the trio of races at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit next month to seal the title victory. Freke’s 12th win of the season in round 25 came off the back of a controlled drive from pole position but he may have had to fight harder for the spoils had Fulvio Mussi not made contact with the rear of Wrathall’s car at Deene on lap one, ruling the multiple race winner out on the spot. Following a short Safety Car period, which came as a result of the aforementioned incident, Freke led the field away ahead of Hetherington with G50 Cup debutant Adam Morgan flying the flag for Dynojet as he moved into the top three with a good pass into Deene on Christian Dick. Tom Sharp then managed to battle his way past the Speedworks driver to grab fourth at Pif-Paf. Morgan started to come under serious pressure from Sharp but he held firm for several laps, giving a very good account of himself on his first weekend in a G50. The breakthrough for Sharp, however, came on lap seven at Deene and then Morgan slipped back to fifth after running wide at Yentwood. The top five positions remained static from that point on with Freke winning by 1.3 seconds from Hetherington, Sharp taking his IDL car to third and Dick crossing the line just over a second clear of the impressive Morgan. Mussi, who was delayed in the lap one incident with Wrathall, fought back in his damaged yourracingcar.com G50 to take sixth ahead of Chairman’s Cup winner Richard Sykes. Further behind, the move of the race came from Total Control Racing’s Carl Breeze when he managed to grab eighth position from Colin White. Held up in the lap one skirmish at Deene, Breeze tumbled down the order. His move around the outside of White though, which started at Pif-Paf and continued along Steel Straight, through Gracelands and into Tarzan, was a memorable effort.
Round 24 was all about Wrathall as he cruised to a 13 second win to perfectly back-up the success he enjoyed in Saturday’s outing. Getting away from pole position cleanly, Wrathall headed Freke and soaked up huge pressure from the points leader as the top two pulled clear of the rest initially. Sharp made a good start from fourth on the grid to move ahead of Breeze into third but contact part way around the opening lap led to a shake-up in the running order with Breeze, White, Sykes and Sharp all suffering in a series of incidents. Back at the front, Freke continued to pressurise Wrathall for the lead while Mussi ran in third position ahead of Hetherington, just half a second splitting the second pairing. On lap eight though, Freke started to slow as an alternator problem impeded his pace and he was forced to pit at the end of the 10th tour having already slipped to fifth. He did manage to rejoin and take the points for 10th place as the last of the classified finishers though, three laps down on Wrathall, with Hetherington taking second place – and a new Ginetta G50 Cup lap record of 1m23.894 seconds (83.24mph) – ahead of Dick, Morgan and Joachim Ritter. Tony Hughes took his maiden Chairman’s Cup win with a fine sixth place while Mussi could only manage eighth, behind Julien Draper, having been forced to pit with damaged bodywork at the back of his car which was rubbing on the rear tyres. Commenting at the end of round 24, Wrathall said: “I think I had it pretty easy in this race. Early on, the car was moving around a lot but as soon as Nathan (Freke) dropped back with his problem I could get into my rhythm. It’s great to take another win.”
WRATHALL KEEPS FREKE AT BAY TO BAG FOURTH WIN OF 2009
The Dynojet-entered star, who is gradually pulling clear of third placed Carl Breeze in the driver standings, was in superb form from the off at the Northamptonshire track on Saturday and grabbed pole position for the first of the weekend’s trio of races by a mere 0.005 seconds from Freke. At the start of this afternoon’s 10-lap ‘sprint’ race, Wrathall came under immediate pressure from Freke as they rounded the oval banking at Turn 1 and while it initially looked as though the series points leader would nose ahead, Wrathall held the inside line well and maintained first place. Freke’s Century Motorsport team-mate Benji Hetherington produced a rocket of a start to leap past both Tom Sharp and Breeze into third place and he managed to pull out a good margin over the chasing pack throughout the race to claim his maiden Ginetta G50 Cup podium. Into lap two Sharp readied himself to challenge Breeze for fourth position at Deene Hairpin and although making the pass, the IDL driver was unable to make it stick as he ran wide which allowed the former championship pace-setter back through in his Total Control Racing machine. At the front, there was nothing to spilt Wrathall and Freke with each driver producing a faultless performance, as has become customary in recent rounds. In the end, Wrathall soaked up every bit of pressure from the ex-UK Formula Ford Champion and took a memorable and richly deserved fourth win of the season by just three 10ths of a second. The top two were in a class of their own but Hetherington’s third place could well have marked a breakthrough moment for the youngster. He concluded the race 5.1 seconds shy of Freke but 2.6 seconds clear of Breeze. Fulvio Mussi steered the yourracingcar.com entry to fifth position, having started sixth, by getting head of Sharp on the penultimate tour. Sharp did try to fightback on the final lap but Mussi held firm and the result keeps him almost 30 points clear of his rival in the championship. Christian Dick, making yet another return to competitive action in the category, finished in seventh place ahead of Chairman’s Cup winner Richard Sykes. Julien Draper and Joachim Ritter rounded out the top 10 positions. The day, though, belonged to Wrathall as he kept the title battle alive. “It was very close at the start but I knew how important it was to be first into the first corner”, said Wrathall, “I went for the inside line, managed to hold it, and kept it under control from there. I didn’t make any mistakes and I knew as long as I kept my head I could get the win. “Obviously I’ve followed Nathan (Freke) in a lot of races this year, we’ve been so close, and over the last three rounds there’s been nothing between us. He’s just managed to have a slight edge but it’s great to have beaten him today. I think tomorrow we’ll see another good battle between me and Nathan in both races.” Third placed finisher Hetherington commented: “This result is absolutely fantastic, I’m over the moon. We’ve had the pace at other meetings but it just hasn’t come together. It all went great today though, I made a good start and then had a nice, clean race to third. The G50 is a fantastic car and I’m really enjoying the racing. For tomorrow, I’m confident we can fight for the podium again.” Today’s result means Freke’s series lead has been cut ever-so slightly to 89 points over Wrathall with Breeze a further 40 points adrift but around 170 points ahead of team-mate Mussi. In the team’s championship, TCR has already been officially declared the champion entrant after putting the title beyond reach at the Silverstone event three weeks ago – a tremendous achievement for the West Midlands squad in its debut season in the category
FAULTLESS FREKE COMPLETES SILVERSTONE HAT-TRICK
Barring a catastrophe of monumental proportions during the final six rounds, the Century Motorsport driver looks well on course to claim the 2009 crown as Wrathall begins to stamp his authority on the runner-up spot ahead of early season championship leader Carl Breeze. Dynojet driver Wrathall shadowed Freke home in all three G50 Cup encounters this weekend as Breeze had to be content with a best finish of third in round 22. During this afternoon’s race, the rescheduled 11th round from Oulton Park, the Total Control Racing star’s championship bid was dealt another major blow when a wrong call on tyre choice resulted in a lowly 16th place finish. At the start of this morning’s outing, round 22, an even getaway was made by Freke and Wrathall from the front row of the grid but it was the former who managed to edge ahead into Copse as Chris Dittmann held his third place starting position ahead of Fulvio Mussi, who passed team-mate Breeze. At Becketts, contact between Joachim Ritter and Tom Sharp resulted in an immediate exit for the Danish driver while, after his spin, Sharp continued. Into lap two, Mussi pressurised Breeze and Dittmann ahead with the latter seemingly holding up the cars behind as a train started to build including Rob Austin and Benji Hetherington. While Freke and Wrathall pulled well clear at the front, the complexion of the third place battle changed on lap 11 when Dittmann was forced into retirement at Brooklands following contact from Mussi as he tried to pass on the inside. Damaging the front of Mussi’s car, he lost pace and Breeze managed to pass his team-mate on lap 12 to go into third place where he remained to the finish. Mussi battled on valiantly but he wasn’t able to keep Austin behind, the category returnee nipping past on lap 14 at Becketts. Hetherington finished sixth ahead of Chairman’s Cup winner Richard Sykes – his second class win on the trot. Commenting on another faultless win, Freke said: “To be fair to Frank (Wrathall) he was quicker than me in places and if he hadn’t made a mistake with a lock-up I think it could have been a different story. The backmarkers came into play a bit at the end but they actually worked to my advantage.” Chairman’s Cup winner Sykes added: “I’m really happy with that, there wasn’t much racing later on as things settled down but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I tried to stay with the front guys to begin and then it became all about holding on to my place near the end.” Dominant Freke takes win number 11
Prior rainfall had left the track damp and slippery for the start of the third G50 Cup outing of the weekend and although most drivers ran with slick tyres due to the circuit appearing to dry, Breeze and Mussi both chose to try treaded-rubber with a gutsy gamble believing the rain would return. It became apparent almost immediately this was the wrong call as both TCR men started to plummet down the order and eventually finished in 16th (Breeze) and 18th (Mussi). In contrast, Danish team-mate Ritter did a sterling job to finish in the top 10. At the front, Wrathall pressed on as he tried to pull out a gap but on lap five at Becketts Freke got back past and was never again headed as he took a 1.7 second victory. Austin came through to take a fine podium in third ahead of Dittmann, Hetherington and Sharp. Colin White was eighth overall and also won the Chairman’s Cup “It was perfect”, said Freke, “Frank got the start but I bided my time and then when he clipped the kerb at Becketts, I seized the opportunity. It was a close call on tyres at the start but we made the right decision in the end and it all worked out very well indeed.” Wrathall commented: “I thought if I could make the start and beat Nathan into the first corner I’d be away but he was so quick in that race. If you look at the weekend as a whole for us, it’s been great with three podiums and I’ve also moved up into second in the championship so I’m really pleased.” Chairman’s Cup winner Colin White, meanwhile, said: “There have been loads and loads of cars out in the Chairman’s Cup this weekend which has been brilliant. This is my 13th Chairman’s win and everything came right for this one after a lot of bad luck throughout the weekend.” Special mention must be given to Autosport Magazine journalist Ben Anderson who produced an outstanding display on his first ever weekend at the wheel of a Ginetta G50. After picking up a 12th place result in Saturday’s 21st round, Anderson finished a superb ninth in round 22 and 11th in the last of the weekend’s races – a tremendous effort against some very rapid and experienced opposition.
NINTH WIN OF SEASON TAKES FREKE EVER CLOSER TO G50 CUP TITLE
Increasing his advantage at the head of the standings to 79 points, the Century Motorsport driver certainly had to work extremely hard to win the 21st round of the championship with the very rapid Frank Wrathall constantly snapping away at Freke’s heels, especially during the closing stages. At the finish on lap 20, Freke headed home Wrathall by a mere 0.155 seconds with the returning Chris Dittmann joining them on the podium – his fourth visit to the rostrum of the year – in what could well be the Mann Autoservices Racing driver’s last race meeting of 2009. After the race, Freke said: “That was very tough! Frank (Wrathall) had good pace and as things wore on, the back of my car started to get a little bit twitchy so I had visions of the Knockhill spin all over again. Frank closed the gap right down but I managed to make it pretty much impossible for him to pass. We’ll make a couple of changes to the car for tomorrow and hopefully replicate the result.” Featuring its biggest grid for several rounds, the Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup provided some very close action during round 21 with the likes of Rob Austin, Richard Sykes and Tony Hughes returning along with Dittmann. The championship also welcomed a whole host of new faces including Ron Johnson, Neil Houston, Ken Rattenbury, Michael Broadhurst and Autosport journalist Ben Anderson. During this morning’s qualifying session Freke secured pole position, his ninth of the campaign, with a time of 59.907 seconds (98.49mph) – shading Austin by just 0.058 seconds with Wrathall a mere 0.11 seconds further adrift. Dittmann achieved the fourth fastest time ahead of Carl Breeze and Tom Sharp while the lead Chairman’s Cup contender was Sykes, his first outing since late May. At the beginning of the race, Freke got away from the line cleanly ahead of Austin while Breeze saw his attempts to make the most of a good start thwarted when boxed-in on the inside behind Dittman, allowing Sharp to move ahead. By the end of the lap though, Austin had been shuffled back down the order to sixth place behind Breeze. Colards Motorsport’s Julien Draper retired at the complex on the opening lap resulting in the Safety Car being deployed and at the re-start on lap five, Freke led away well from Wrathall, Dittmann, Breeze, Sharp and Austin. Fulvio Mussi, meanwhile, defended his seventh place hard from a charging Benji Hetherington, the later posting the fastest lap on the fifth tour. As the top six pulled further ahead, Mussi battled hard and worked miracles to stay ahead of his pursuers all the way to the chequered flag. Retirement for Hetherington three laps from the finish gave Sykes eighth position overall and he capped off a great return to the G50 Cup by claiming victory in the Chairman’s Cup class. Ever-improving Joachim Ritter was ninth ahead of Paul Sheard. Back at the front, Freke held onto his lead from Wrathall but the Dynojet racer piled on the pressure as the race neared its conclusion as he tried to forced the series leader into mistake. Try as he might though, Freke couldn’t be toppled and he also took the bonus point for fastest race lap. Dittmann impressed in third place ahead of Breeze, fourth position enabling the TCR driver to just stay ahead of Wrathall in the championship standings. Sharp took fifth in his IDL backed car with Austin a lonely sixth. Commenting on his hugely competitive second place result, Wrathall said: “It is a little bit frustrating to not be racking up the wins like Nathan (Freke) and Carl (Breeze) have but the car has been great today and I’m driving well too. We’ve had really good pace today so hopefully that will continue in tomorrow’s races.” Third placed Dittmann added: “I think this weekend could be our last of the year due to budget so it’s good to be on the podium. I’m very happy with our performance and the result.” As Freke put yet more distance between himself and his pursuers in terms of the championship today, the battle for second place is as hot as ever with Wrathall now just five points behind Breeze ahead of tomorrow’s pair of races
Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup FREKE EXTENDS SERIES LEAD AS WRATHALL RETURNS TO WINNING WAYS
Championship leader Freke, who also took victory during Saturday’s action-packed encounter, produced a tremendous performance in tricky, wet conditions this morning but a rare mistake by the category pace-setter in round 20 opened the door for Wrathall to take his third win of the year. Fellow title contender Carl Breeze missed out on a podium finish in the first of today’s races but he steered his Total Control Racing-run Ginetta G50 to third place in race two to take his 13th rostrum and is now 64 points behind Freke in the title chase. Perhaps the highlight performance at Knockhill though came from TCR’s Fulvio Mussi who, having missed out on podium finishes all season, wrapped up an outstanding weekend by claiming three back-to-back top three results. In doing so, he also moved into the championship top four. On the grid ahead of round 19, all of the competitors changed to wet-weather tyres due to the onset of rain and with the delay officials chose to reduce the race distance to 23 laps. At the start, Wrathall made a very good getaway from second on the grid but Freke maintained first place. From sixth place IDL racer Tom Sharp scorched away from the line brilliantly to move into third but Mussi, who was third on the grid originally, dived up the inside at Scotsman to regain his place. In the meantime, Breeze slipped to fifth behind Sharp as Danish racer Joachim Ritter climbed into the top six with one of his best starts of the season. On lap two at the hairpin, Wrathall started to pressurise Freke for first place but there was nothing he could do to get ahead of the series leader who eventually took his eighth win of the campaign on lap 23 by just over two seconds, having pulled clear of his pursuer during the last quarter of the race. Wrathall held second place all the way to the chequered flag but towards the end he did come under intense pressure from Mussi, the latter producing outstanding pace to set the fastest lap on his way to a fine third and his second podium of the weekend. Breeze managed to get fourth position from Sharp on the run out of the hairpin at the end of the fourth lap and although he too had to soak up a huge amount of pressure, the former championship points leader just shaded the battle over the line by a couple of 10ths of a second. Benji Hetherington took sixth place with a fine drive to finish ahead of Chairman’s Cup victor Paul Sheard, who raced very well indeed from the back of the grid having missed qualifying on Saturday, with Julien Draper eighth for Colards Motorsport and Colin White ninth. Ritter, who had enjoyed such a good run early on, retired on lap 19 following a spin.
Wrathall makes most of rare Freke error Not only that, he also posted a brand new lap record on his way to victory with a time of 53.444 seconds (85.63mph) and with the bonus point for fastest lap Wrathall has closed to within 13 points of second placed Breeze in the championship. “I wanted to win that race so badly”, said Wrathall at the end of the final race of the weekend, “He (Freke) pulled a bit of a gap and I tried everything I could to stay with him and attempt to find a way past. We both managed to pull out a big gap over the rest so when Nathan did make his mistake, I was able to take avoiding action and grab the lead.” At the start, Freke led away again from pole position and he had Wrathall breathing down his neck for the majority of the race until his significant spin on the 19th tour. Mussi also kept the top two well within his sights with another cracking drive and he came through to take second following Freke’s excursion for his third back-to-back podium in as many races. Breeze came through to third ahead of the recovering Freke with Sharp fifth, Ritter sixth and Sheard in seventh place to take his second Chairman’s Cup success of the day.
WIN NUMBER SEVEN FOR FREKE AS TITLE RIVALS CLASH AT KNOCKHILL
As Freke celebrated his return to winning ways after a barren spell at Snetterton a fortnight ago, for title rivals Carl Breeze and Frank Wrathall a visit to the Clerk of the Course’s office was required following a last-lap collision at Carlube which resulted in a, potentially pivotal, non-finish for Breeze. Post-race, Dynojet driver Wrathall had 15 championship points deducted from his total for his part in the incident although Total Control Racing’s Breeze felt the punishment was scant consolation as he missed out on a possible second place finish. Either way, after some fantastically competitive and close racing at Knockhill today, the title fight is getting hotter and hotter. Speaking at the conclusion of round 18, Freke said: “Snetterton was a weekend to forget for us but we knew with our car problems solved we’d be quick here at Knockhill. It’s a track which really suits me with its big momentum corners – you need to be really brave and committed. “The car has been perfect since we arrived, we were mega quick in the wet during testing but with the race being dry it was an unknown quantity. The first corner was a bit frantic but that was to be expected. It couldn’t have been a better result really with more good points in the bag.” Following a wet and rainy pre-event test on Friday, the championship competitors had to contend with a damp but drying track during this morning’s qualifying session. Freke secured pole position at the wheel of his Century Motorsport-entered Ginetta G50 while Fulvio Mussi achieved his best ever qualifying effort since stepping into the championship with an excellent second fastest time. Wrathall qualified third quickest ahead of Breeze, Tom Sharp, Julien Draper, Benji Hetherington, Joachim Ritter and sole Chairman’s Cup runner Colin White – a number of competitors electing to forego the category’s visit north of the border to the Fife venue. Thanks to the strong winds as much as the cessation of the rain, round 18 took place on a dry track and at the start YourRacingCar.com driver Mussi got away well from the line to challenge Freke into the first corner. However, the pole-sitter emerged ahead as Mussi was forced wide on the outside and slipped back to third behind team-mate Breeze. Mussi immediately came under pressure from fourth-placed Wrathall into lap two and with Breeze they began to pull clear of Sharp. On the third tour into the Real Radio Hairpin, Mussi got a very good run on Breeze for second and squeezed up the inside to edge ahead momentarily. On the exit though, Breeze moved back ahead. As his pursuers battled over second position, Freke opened up a bigger margin at the front but on lap five Breeze posted the fastest lap and looked set to close down the leader’s advantage. Freke hit back on the sixth tour with a new lap record although this was bettered on lap seven and then again on lap 10 by Wrathall, his best time a lap of 53.629 seconds (85.34mph). Further back from the podium battles, Draper, Hetherington and Ritter enjoyed a good scrap over sixth place. On lap seven Draper lost ground at Scotsman when he ran wide, allowing Hetherington and Ritter to move ahead, but on lap 14 he managed to get back ahead of Danish racer Ritter. Back at the front, Freke continued to build a substantial cushion while on lap nine Mussi’s hopes of a podium looked all but gone when he went wide at Scotsman and dropped to fourth behind third placed Wrathall who was beginning to pile more and more pressure on Breeze ahead. Side by side through Carlube on lap 11, Wrathall and Breeze headed into the hairpin with neither wishing to back off. Wrathall edged into second place as they rounded the turn but Breeze took the inside line on the exit and edged back ahead into lap 12. Into the final tour, lap 16, Freke had over four seconds in his pocket and eased to a comfortable win as the battle for the remaining podium places was settled at Carlube when Wrathall made contact with Breeze’s car, the latter pitched into a spin and retirement. While Wrathall managed to continue and finish in third place, Mussi nipped through to take second – his maiden G50 Cup podium. Sharp finished in fourth, 2.5 seconds shy, with Hetherington a distant fifth and Draper taking sixth ahead of Ritter and Chairman’s Cup racer White. Commenting on his first visit to the Ginetta G50 rostrum, a delighted Mussi said: “It’s a big relief to finally take my first G50 podium – it’s the longest I’ve ever gone without one! Last year we had a 95 per cent podium rate and all of a sudden this year, we’ve come into G50 Cup and it’s been tough. “Without any testing pre-season it was always going to be a case of learning the car during the first half of the season but now everything is coming together. There was a lot of contact in today’s race which meant the car didn’t handle as well as we wanted but to finish in second is a great result.”
SNETTERTON HAT-TRICK SEALED BY UNSTOPPABLE BREEZE
Having won the 15th and 16th rounds of the 2009 season yesterday, Saturday, 1st August, the Total Control Racing driver fended off a charging Frank Wrathall during this afternoon’s encounter, screened live on ITV4, to claim his seventh victory of the year. With championship leader Nathan Freke not having the most straight-forward of weekends due to his car developing some electrical gremlins, Breeze’s faultless performance throughout the event means he has slashed Freke’s points advantage in the driver standings to just 17 points. When the series arrived at Snetterton on Friday, Freke’s nearest challenger was Wrathall some 52 points adrift. “It’s fantastic to win all three races this weekend, especially at my home track – it just makes it all that much sweeter”, said Breeze at the end of round 17, “Frank (Wrathall) made a great start and he was with me the whole race. Down the back straight he was getting such a good tow on me and I had to be so late on the brakes into the Esses to keep him behind. “I felt I had the race under control but it was the hardest of the season so far. These results were definitely what we needed. After Croft we all felt pretty sad and knew we had a mountain to climb this weekend but we managed to do a great job to capitalise on the championship leader’s problems and fire a warning shot that we’re back where we should be.” Wrathall, who Breeze acknowledged as having had one of his best ever races in Ginetta G50, didn’t allow the local driver to have everything his own way by applying serious pressure for the duration of the 18 lap race. Breeze didn’t make a single mistake though. At the start Breeze rocketed away from the line while Wrathall, who was fourth on the grid, also made a tremendous getaway and he moved ahead of front-row starter Christian Dick when the latter ran wide at Sear Corner. Further behind as the race reached the Esses, Freke took fourth place from Chris Dittmann while Hampus Rydman rounded out the top six. Freke, who with the help of Ginetta technical officials managed to cure the problems which seriously compromised Saturday’s races, made his move into the top three at Sear on lap two at the expense of Dick. At the front, Breeze continued to keep Wrathall a sufficient distance behind but the Dynojet racer didn’t give the leader any room for error. For several laps nothing changed at the front until a third of the way through the race when Fulvio Mussi found a way past Tom Sharp to take sixth position. On lap 11, fourth placed Dick lost any chance of fighting for another podium when a spin at the Esses dropped him down the order. On lap 15, it was Dittmann’s turn for problems when he dropped to sixth place behind Mussi and Sharp but he managed to remain ahead of Dick, Ben Hetherington, Rydman and Chariman’s Cup winner Colin White to the finish. Danish racer Joachim Ritter, meanwhile, did well to claim 11th place having suffered all weekend with a major dose of nausea. Breeze took the win on lap 18 by just eight 10ths of a second from Wrathall with Freke a further two seconds adrift in third place. Mussi equalled his season’s best of fourth position just under a second clear of Sharp. Speaking after the race, Wrathall said: “It was a tough weekend and, unfortunately for us, Carl (Breeze) has been ultra quick. I just couldn’t manage to find a way past him but to finish second today is a good result, I’m pleased with it.” Series leader Freke, for whom the weekend was very much damage limitation after his car problems surfaced during testing on Friday, commented: “I want to say a massive thank you to Ginetta for the help they gave us in sorting out the electrical problem with the car before today’s race. It’s been a very tough weekend but to end it back on the podium is good, especially for our championship.”
BREEZE DELIGHTS HOME CROWD WITH SUPERB SNETTERTON DOUBLE
Arriving at his home venue fully recovered – with the exception of a relatively sore foot – from the huge accident he was involved in at Oulton Park at the end of May, the Kings Lynn racer secured pole position starts for all three of the weekend’s Ginetta G50 races before going on to claim victory in rounds 15 and 16 this afternoon. On a packed day for the championship competitors, Breeze controlled qualifying while chief title rival Nathan Freke suffered a problematic start to his weekend with flat-shift issues leading to a lack of pace. Nonetheless, the Century Motorsport driver managed to take a fifth place start for round 15 and a top four slot for round 16. At the start of the first race, Breeze got away from the grid very well to lead with the impressive Christian Dick holding second position through Riches Corner after his best ever Ginetta G50 qualifying performance. Behind the lead pair, Frank Wrathall made the most of an outstanding start from sixth on the grid to take third as the cars streaked down the ultra-fast Revett Straight while Chris Dittmann ran in fourth ahead of Freke. The unfortunate Tom Sharp, meanwhile, picked up bodywork damage and a puncture after opening lap contact which ultimately ruled him out of the race. As Breeze tried to press home the advantage of being at the front, Dick tried to go with him and throughout the race there was very little to choose between them. The top two remained the same for the duration, Breeze eventually taking the chequered flag on lap 11 by just 0.305 seconds. On lap three, Wrathall’s challenge began to fall away after he slipped to sixth at Russell Chicane but worse luck followed on the sixth tour when he was forced to pull off the track at Sear Corner with car problems. After Wrathall’s original issue on lap three, Dittmann assumed the final podium spot and although he came under pressure from Freke he raced well to his second podium of the campaign. Freke pulled out a two second gap over Fulvio Mussi to claim a solid fourth position while Hampus Rydman rounded out the top six ahead of Chairman’s Cup class winner Colin White. Speaking after his first win since round six at Thruxton, an ecstatic Breeze said: “I got a really good start and initially had enough of a gap to warm the tyres on the back straight. All credit to Christian (Dick), he drove a hard race but I knew he wouldn’t try any silly lunges. It’s good to reward the TCR boys with another win and great to bounce back after the disappointments of Oulton and Croft.” Ahead of the weekend, Dick announced his withdrawal from competitive action in the G50 Cup to instead concentrate on team management. However, Speedworks Motorsport driver Richard Sykes was unable to make the journey to Snetterton due to business commitments so Dick stepped in. He commented: “Second is a great result and we had a bit more up our sleeve too. I had a knock into Sear on the first lap so the car wasn’t 100 per cent, it was still great to drive though. There’s no pressure for me this weekend, with Richard (Sykes) unable to race the opportunity arose for me to step into the car and it’s been good to show we can be on the pace and do a very good job.”
Mussi actually took the chequered flag in the runner-up spot after a storming second half of the race but he fell down the final classification after being handed a 10 second penalty for lining up on the grid out of position. Once more, White was the Chairman’s Cup dominator in seventh place overall. During the early exchanges, Freke held second place ahead of Dick, Mussi, Wrathall, Dittman and Hetherington and the scrap gave Breeze all the opportunity he needed to pull out a sizeable gap. Nip and tuck all the way through, on lap 13 the battle came to a head when Dick, Wrathall and Mussi exited Sear with nothing between them and the trio ran three abreast down the long Revett Straight making an absolutely awesome sight. Mussi, on the inside line, was able to sneak through into third at the Esses to demote Dick to fourth while Wrathall held fifth position. Mussi was then quickly onto the tail of Freke but on the 15th tour the latter’s challenge fell apart following a spin at Russell Chicane, a great shame after a textbook defensive performance up to that point. He ended the race on lap 18 in ninth position while Mussi’s indiscretion at the start cost him a potential career best finish in the G50 Cup. Speaking after round 16, Breeze said: “That was a really difficult race. We made some changes to the car which the TCR boys deserve all of the credit for as it gave us an extra three 10ths of a second and gave me the chance to pull away as they battled behind, it was tough though.” Double third place finisher Dittmann added: “I’ve had three podiums now this year which is great but I’m still after that elusive first win. I got a bit blocked in at the start but then managed to make a few places up. I’m very happy with third and another podium, all good points for the championship.” Racing returnee Charlie Butler-Henderson, making his first ever appearance in a Ginetta G50, took a top 10 finish in round 15 before ending the second encounter in 12th position.
FREKE & WRATHALL SHARE THE VICTORY SPOILS AT CROFT
While Freke and Wrathall celebrated, the latter’s second victory of the season lifting him into second in the driver standings, for Carl Breeze the day was nothing short of a disaster. Forced to retire from the first race after clipping a tyre stack at the Jim Clark Esses, the resulting damage to his G50 – a brand new car this weekend – meant he had to sit-out round 14. Losing a huge amount of ground to chief rival Freke, the only consolation erstwhile series leader Breeze can take from the weekend is that he now has a seven week break from action before the next event at the beginning of August, during which he will be able to recuperate fully from the severe injuries he sustained at Oulton Park a fortnight ago. Freke started round 13 from pole position and made no mistakes in getting away from the line cleanly to lead Breeze through Clervaux for the first time with Christian Dick moving up into third place ahead of Fulvio Mussi, Frank Wrathall and series newcomer Diego Freitas. For the first few laps, the top five cars remained very close but Freitas’ efforts to join the front-running train came to nothing on lap three when he ran wide out of the chicane and lost several places as he bounced across the grass – eventually rejoining in 10th position. Dick, meanwhile, was producing some inspired driving and looked more than a match for the pace of Freke and Breeze ahead. Into lap seven, the top five were still only covered by a little over two seconds as the race shaped up to be one of the closest G50 Cup encounters of the year. Wrathall moved past Mussi for fourth at Tower Bend on the seventh tour but the most dramatic moment of the race came just ahead of the aforementioned pairing when the front-left of Breeze’s car clipped the tyre stack at the Esses as he pressured Freke. Launching his Total Control Racing-run car into the air, luckily it came to rest on its wheels in the field on the outside of the track. Thankfully uninjured, Breeze was nonetheless an immediate retirement with severe damage to the front end of the car. Further inspection by TCR showed the chassis had actually been broken in the force of the impact. This meant Freke led Dick into lap eight but on lap 13, charging Dynojet driver Wrathall managed to usurp the Speedworks Motorsport racer for second place. On the final lap, Tom Sharp –while challenging Mussi for fourth place at the hairpin – spun out of contention and ended up dropping to seventh with Mussi taking fourth, Hampus Rydman claiming fifth and Freitas taking an impressive sixth in only his second G50 Cup race. Speaking on his double ‘hat-trick’ with his sixth win in six races, Freke said: “That was a very tough race, the car was moving around a hell of a lot and on the first lap I understeered really wide at the Esses but, luckily, every time I made a mistake so did the guys behind. Fortunately for me, Croft is a circuit where it’s very difficult to pass in a G50 so that did help.” Round 14 saw Freke’s recent run of domination come to an end following an outstanding drive by Wrathall who made his first visit to the top step of the rostrum since round two at Brands Hatch at the beginning of April. With Breeze not assuming first place on the grid due to his car having sustained too much damage in the earlier accident, pole position effectively went to Freke and the race actually started behind the Safety Car following very heavy rain during the preceding British Touring Car Championship event. Continued rainfall made conditions very tricky for the Ginetta drivers but the race got underway at full racing speed on lap three with Freke leading Mussi, Wrathall, Dick, Freitas and Sharp. Into Barcroft, Wrathall produced a fantastic move to pass Mussi for second place and he then set about pressuring Freke for the lead. On lap five, Freke ran wide out of Hawthorn and cut the chicane but Wrathall still couldn’t quite find a way through. On lap eight though, a mistake by the leader into Sunny In gave Wrathall the chance to nip up the inside and he moved ahead on the run through Sunny Out. Meanwhile at Tower Bend, Tom Sharp served up a stunning move around the outside of Mussi to grab third position. As soon as he was ahead Wrathall looked very comfortable and although Freke did close again over the last couple of laps, the former took the win and fastest lap to move up into second place in the standings. Freke’s second place was his 10th podium visit of the year while Sharp took a well deserved maiden podium. Mussi finished fourth, Rydman fifth and Freitas sixth. Speaking on his popular win, Wrathall said: “That one couldn’t have gone any better, you just rely on the car set-up and feel in those conditions but the team gave me such a good car. I could see Nathan (Freke) catching again towards the end but I did enough to hold on. I’m really happy.” In the Chairman’s Cup battle, Colin White was the sole participant this weekend and therefore took all three wins while retaining ninth position in the overall championship standings.
FREKE CLAIMS FIFTH BACK-TO-BACK VICTORY OF 2009
Opening his account at Donington Park in mid-May, the Century Motorsport racer hasn’t been stopped since and during today’s 12th round of the championship he once again produced a superb lights-to-flag performance to open-up a slender one point advantage in the title race. For erstwhile series leader Carl Breeze, a battling second place finish – his ninth podium of the year – was all the more incredible considering just two weeks ago it looked as though the Total Control Racing driver would be forced to miss several race meetings following a horror smash at Oulton Park in Cheshire. Through sheer guts and determination, the former British Touring Car Championship racer arrived at Croft for Friday’s pre-event practice sessions still suffering from severe bruising and ligament damage but after running well during the weekend’s build-up, Breeze went on to qualify on the front row and also claim a very competitive second place ahead of perennial third position finisher Frank Wrathall. Commenting on win number five, a delighted Freke said: “I think the only doubt about taking another win today was the start. My starts have been a little bit inconsistent so I had to make sure I got the car off the line well – actually I think I’ve found something that works now! “Carl (Breeze) was hassling me and there were places where I could see he was quicker than me but they were at points where you can’t really attack. Out the back section though I had a really good car and I was able to stretch its legs and open up a bit of a cushion. The race went on from there, I didn’t have to push too hard and that was good as it’s such an easy circuit to make a mistake on.” At the start of round 12, Freke made the better getaway although Breeze ran him close through Clervaux for the first time ahead of Wrathall and Fulvio Mussi. Further behind, Chris Dittman saw a less than spectacular start go from bad to worse when he was forced into retirement in the gravel trap on the outside of the first corner. Right on Freke’s tail through Tower Bend, Breeze pushed hard during the early stages while Wrathall and Mussi were intent on remaining in close quarters to the two main title protagonists. Behind, Christian Dick headed Tom Sharp in fifth place while championship newcomer, Brazilian single-seater convert Diego Freitas was an impressive seventh. The action involving Sharp and Freitas did get a little too close for comfort on laps three and four and the result saw Sharp’s rear bumper become detached. The pair tangled again at Sunny and both slipped down the order, Sharp incurring a puncture which he would eventually pit to repair at the end of lap seven before rejoining a lap down. Back at the front, Freke was unchallenged and he stretched out to a winning margin of two seconds when he took the chequered flag on lap 10. Injured Breeze, a remarkable second, was over four seconds clear of Wrathall with Mussi equalling his best result of the season with a fine fourth place. Christian Dick continued his consistent season with fifth place ahead of Swedish racer Hampus Rydman and Dane Joachim Ritter. Series debutant Kourosh Khani, who has been competing in the Formula Renault BARC single-seater championship, was a creditable eighth ahead of Freitas. Colin White took Chairman’s Cup honours in 10th place but the class battle wasn’t the hardest the CWS driver has had this year – he was the sole entrant this weekend with several of the other championship contenders unable to take part. Commenting on his gutsy second place finish and the battle he has faced to actually take to the wheel of his brand new G50 this weekend, Breeze said: “It was a bit touch and go whether we’d be here. I had a medical examination at my doctor’s surgery on Thursday and he didn’t think I was ready. “Luckily, when we got here on Friday I saw Dr. Paul Trafford, who helped me so much at Oulton Park after the accident, and he gave me the all clear and just said with the ligament damage I’ve got I just needed to go out and do the best I could. Laying in bed the last two weeks, I didn’t think we’d be at Croft. The team was hoping I could make it but they didn’t put any pressure on me. “To get some points would have been good but to get on the podium is obviously great. I must say a big thank you to my sponsors for their help with the new car and also to the medical crew from Oulton who did so much for not only me, but also for Mark Proctor.” Special mention must go to former BTCC driver Proctor who, although unable to compete due to a broken vertebrae and having actually stated his plans to call time on his motor racing career, was in attendance at Croft today which was fantastic for everyone to see.
ROUND 11 POSTPONED AFTER OULTON PARK ACCIDENT
Getting underway as originally intended, the latest instalment of the entertaining championship was brought to an early conclusion on lap two when Breeze’s car, stranded in the middle of the track at the exit of Old Hall following a spin, was collected at unabated speed by an unsighted Proctor. Bringing an immediate halt to the race, the accident resulted in injuries for both drivers and with that in mind the series organisers elected to terminate proceedings instantly and instead work towards fitting the race into one of the remaining events on the 2009 calendar. Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup Championship Co-ordinator Stewart Linn explained: “Due to the fact we didn’t know the full extent of the injuries sustained by Carl Breeze and Mark Proctor after their accident, we believed the right thing to do was to postpone the 11th round of the championship until later in the season. The same starting order will apply whenever the race is re-arranged.” At the original start, Nathan Freke grabbed the lead from pole-sitter Breeze after making a better getaway from the grid as Frank Wrathall nestled into third ahead of Chris Dittman. Meanwhile, Joachim Ritter was the first retirement from the race as he exited Cascades – a spin across the track into the tyre barriers on the outside causing major frontal damage to his G50. Heading into lap two, Wrathall produced a good pass up the inside of Breeze at Old Hall to grab second place but as Breeze’s car ran wide onto the grass on the exit, it spun back onto the track and came to a halt in the middle of the circuit. Although the cars closest behind luckily avoided making contact, Proctor was unsighted and the resulting impact was unavoidable. Thankfully, both drivers were extracted from their damaged cars and taken to the Oulton Park medical centre as quickly as possible before being transferred on to hospital. All at Ginetta Cars express their thanks and gratitude to the Oulton Park officials, marshals and medical team.
FOUR IN A ROW FOR OULTON PARK WINNER FREKE
The Century Motorsport driver, who started this afternoon’s 10th round of the campaign from second on the grid alongside pole-sitter and series leader Carl Breeze, closed the gap at the head of the standings to almost nothing ahead of Sunday’s encounter with a mere seven points now splitting the top two. After dominating the Donington Park race meeting a couple of weeks ago, Freke produced good pace in the pre-event test at Oulton Park on Friday but it was Breeze who took the upper hand in qualifying by the slimmest of margins, just five 1000ths of a second separating the pair. At the beginning of today’s 15-lap encounter, Breeze led away from pole position with Freke holding second place ahead of the fast-starting Frank Wrathall who leapt past Chris Dittman on the run through Old Hall. Behind, fifth placed Christian Dick remained ahead of Fulvio Mussi. Although the top two were less than a second apart during the early laps, Breeze did look to have things in hand at the wheel of his Total Control Racing entered car. While the top five remained unchanged, sixth placed Mussi was under huge pressure from Tom Sharp – the latter up from ninth on the grid after a good start. Into lap four, there was nothing between the pair as they headed into Old Hall with Sharp trying to run around the outside of Mussi through the corner. On the exit Sharp ran wide onto the grass which gave Mussi the breathing space he needed but it also meant Sharp lost a place to Joachim Ritter as fell down the order to an eventual finish of ninth position. By lap five, the pendulum looked to be swinging in favour of Freke as he set the fastest lap of the race, and new lap record, of 1m27.466 seconds (91.61mph). Pressuring Breeze harder than ever, the TCR man still managed to remain at the front but the battle was allowing third placed Wrathall to edge closer in his Dynojet car as the race headed towards mid-distance. The turning point came on lap seven when Breeze slid out of the lead at Old Hall, allowing Freke through into first place and Wrathall into second, Dick into third and Dittman into fourth. The erstwhile race leader did recover in fifth position but any hope of victory had gone. Freke raced on to an unchallenged win by 1.2 seconds from Wrathall, the Preston-based driver very happy with his fourth top two result of the season, while Dick took his second podium of the year in third place – a fine drive from the Speedworks Motorsport boss, The scrap over fourth place continued all the way to the chequered flag with the recovering Breeze just edging it on the line, sneaking ahead of Dittman by just 0.112 seconds on the run up the hill at Deer Leap. Sixth position went the way of Mussi in his YourRacingCar.com backed G50, with team-mate Ritter in seventh and Hampus Rydman eighth for Colards Motorsport. Commenting on his fourth win in as many races, round 10 victor Freke said: “It didn’t go to plan off the start and then I made a big mistake at Lodge about three or four laps into the race which allowed Carl (Breeze) to get a gap. I knew we had a quick car though and when Carl had his slide at Old Hall I didn’t need a second invitation and we went through into the lead.” The Chairman’s Cup class provided great entertainment as always with Paul Sheard taking his third win of the year in 10th place overall, just six 10ths of a second ahead of regular sparring partner Richard Sykes who, in turn, was 1.6 seconds ahead of Mark Proctor. Class front-runner Colin White saw good early progress blunted on lap two with an excursion at Island Bend when he was boxed out on the outside. He did rejoin but ended the race last in 16th position. Nonetheless, the CWS racer is still the highest placed Chairman’s Cup driver in the overall title standings in eighth place. Championship newcomer Ben Hetherington, team-mate to Freke, finished his first ever Ginetta G50 Cup race in 14th position.
DONINGTON DOMINATOR FREKE EARNS STUNNING VICTORY HAT-TRICK
After dominating qualifying and taking victory in the first outing of the weekend on Saturday, the Century Motorsport racer capped off a truly stunning couple of days with two more wins today, Sunday, 17th May, in constantly changing weather at the East Midlands track. “We couldn’t have asked for better”, he said, “I was a bit dubious when the track was damp as we didn’t know what to do with our set-up. We just did the basics and it worked so I’m really pleased. This is exactly what I needed for my championship – it’s been a fantastic weekend.” Freke’s faultless Donington Park performance places him within just 20 points of series leader Carl Breeze and he has also opened up a 34 point cushion over third placed Frank Wrathall who secured a trio of podiums from the weekend’s three outings. At the start of round eight Freke and Breeze ran side-by-side into Redgate, although the pole-man managed to nose ahead on the run through Hollywood. Breeze put his Total Control Racing car into a position to challenge at Craner Curves but Freke held firm and went on to maintain a gap of around one second throughout the race as he cruised to his second win of the weekend. Breeze had an untroubled run to second to bag yet more consistently big points while a tight duel between Christian Dick and Chris Dittman over fourth place allowed Wrathall to ease to another podium in third place. The fastest lap of the race, and new lap record of 1m12.434 seconds (97.27mph), went to Freke on lap six. All five Chairman’s Cup contenders enjoyed a good run, Paul Sheard the class winner after managing to pull well clear of Mark Proctor. Colin White was next up ahead of Richard Sykes and Tony Hughes. Round nine took place on a slippery track with Freke away well to lead ahead of the fast-starting Dick with Breeze third and Dittman losing out, slipping from second to fourth. Fifth placed starter Wrathall had the worst of the luck though, dropping to 10th following a moment at Redgate. Freke immediately started stretching away at the front, leaving his pursuers with windscreens covered in spray, while behind Breeze moved into second place at the Old Hairpin. On lap two, Dittman then made his move from fourth to third past Dick at Goddards. Over the course of the 16-lap encounter, Dittman gradually slipped away from the top three after being passed by a charging Wrathall on lap 11. As the Dynojet driver got through at the Old Hairpin, Dittman fought back to take third again into McLeans but Wrathall was determined to make the place his and sealed the deal into Goddards before the end of the lap. Freke won by over five seconds from series leader Breeze, Wrathall six seconds further adrift in third but having pulled a huge 13 seconds clear of Dittman during the second half of the race. Tom Sharp was fifth, and also posted the fastest lap. The battle for the Chairman’s Cup offered some tremendous action once again although it did seem at one stage as though none of the eligible drivers wanted to actually win the class! All of them made very hard work of it – first Colin White retired in the Redgate gravel on lap five and then Paul Sheard had two excursions at Goddards to hand the victory to the returning Mark Proctor. Danish racer Joachim Ritter produced by far his most competitive performance in the championship with one seventh place and two eighth positions from the weekend while Hampus Rydman was also in good form with a brace of top sixes for the Swede in Sunday’s races. For the luckless Fulvio Mussi, Donington proved to be a weekend to forget when a collision not of his making forced the TCR driver out of round seven and the resulting damage meant his car wasn’t fit to race in either of Sunday’s encounters. Three back-to-back non-scores have seriously dented his championship bid but the youngster plans to be back fighting at Oulton Park in two weeks’ time.
FREKE CONQUERS SLIPPERY DONINGTON FOR FIRST WIN OF 2009
Not only did Freke secure pole position for this afternoon’s encounter – not to mention pole for rounds eight and nine as well – he posted the fastest lap of the race to obliterate the existing record by over a second. Clearly the form driver so far this weekend at the renowned East Midlands venue, Freke didn’t make the best of getaways from pole but still opted to tread carefully during the opening exchanges with the track greasy at best due to some light rain prior to the start. From second on the grid, Frank Wrathall snatched the early lead while Chris Dittman moved past Freke for second place through Redgate. Series leader Breeze, meanwhile, slipped to sixth and got held up in a train of cars behind Total Control Racing team-mate Fulvio Mussi. Christian Dick, running strongly in the top four, had an unfortunate slide at Coppice Corner on lap one which dropped him right down the order but the Speedworks Motorsport driver mounted a brilliant fightback in the tricky conditions, going on to end the race in fifth just behind Breeze. Back at the front Wrathall opened up a lead of about one second into lap two as the top three edged further and further away from the rest of the field, fourth-placed Mussi still holding firm under pressure from half a dozen cars. Out of Goddards Chicane at the end of lap two, Hampus Rydman got completely out of shape after being forced wide onto the grass and a resulting spin along the start/finish straight meant several cars had to take avoiding action. Tom Sharp was the most unfortunate as he had a brush with the wall before managing to continue. At Coppice on lap three, Freke hit the front having caught Wrathall and from that point on he was never headed as the erstwhile race leader came under pressure from Dittman. On lap five at McLeans, Wrathall ran slightly wide and that was all the invitation Dittman needed to put his Mann Autoservices Racing car into second place where he remained to the flag – his first podium of 2009. As usual in the G50 Cup, the racing throughout was highly entertaining but the tight midfield battle became a little too close for comfort on lap eight when Mussi, Mark Proctor and Richard Sykes were all involved in contact at Hollywood as half a dozen cars duelled over the lower order of the top 10. In the end, Freke – who did take the chequered flag during the second round of the season at Brands Hatch in early April but was subsequently stripped of the race win – took his first full points haul of the season from Dittman and Wrathall. “On the green flag lap it was so slippery I couldn’t believe it and I was worried about warming my tyres too much because of the damp patches”, said Freke, “My biggest worry was the start, I didn’t get it right but Frank and Chris were both mustard off the line. Whilst it was a bad start for me, it kind of helped me out as I wasn’t first through Redgate to test the grip levels. “Luckily Chris ran wide at Coppice and after that I banged in some quick laps and got the gap. Then I started to see rain again on the windscreen, I just didn’t want to throw the car off so I managed the gap and tried to keep it at a decent enough margin so I couldn’t be challenged.” Freke added: “The car has been absolutely electric since we got to Donington on Thursday, it’s doing everything I want it to, we’ve really got it dialled in this weekend. If it rains tomorrow it’ll be interesting but the thing I enjoyed today was that everyone was respectful on that opening lap, that made the racing so much better and more enjoyable.” The battle for honours in the Chairman’s Cup was between Paul Sheard and Colin White, the former winning out with sixth place overall, just 1.5 seconds ahead of the multiple class victor. Danish racer Joachim Ritter, meanwhile, took a season’s best finish in eighth place. After the lap eight tangle in today’s race, Mussi looks set to miss both of Sunday’s races due to irreparable chassis damage to his G50 car. It remains to be seen if Proctor and Sykes will be able to take part either.
BREEZE EXTENDS SERIES LEAD AS WELCH CLAIMS MAIDEN G50 WIN
The Total Control Racing driver, who earlier in the day was forced to play second fiddle to Daniel Welch(left) in round five as the Hampshire racer scorched to a comfortable debut G50 win on his first weekend in the category, now heads the table on 201 points with Freke second on 153 points. With rapid Thruxton specialist Welch on pole for both of Sunday’s races, Breeze knew the starts would be all important and while contact at the start of round five ruined his chances, the second of the day’s races was a different matter entirely. Making a peach of a getaway, Breeze got away well from second on the grid to lead as the fast-starting Rob Austin also rocketed towards the head of the pack from the second row. Holding the lead at the complex, Breeze then began to pull away as Austin came under pressure from Freke. Just behind though, chaos ensued as Welch, Frank Wrathall, Fulvio Mussi, Christian Dick and others were delayed following contact at the complex. This meant Breeze led Freke, Austin, Tom Sharp in fourth and Colin White in an excellent fifth place ahead of fellow Chairman’s Cup competitor Richard Sykes in sixth. By lap four, Wrathall and Welch began to mount their recovery drives and in just a lap and a half they were sixth and seventh respectively. By lap 10, they were all over the back of Sharp in third place, Austin having two laps earlier retired from the race at Goodwood. Into lap 11, Wrathall tagged the rear of Sharp’s car into the complex which delayed both and gave Welch a golden opportunity to move into fourth heading through Noble. In the meantime, Dick produced a great pass on White to grab sixth place at Allard. Welch then seized third place at the chicane on the 12th tour with a dive up the inside of Sharp who would eventually finish in fifth having been passed too by Wrathall. The great squabble between the trio of orange G50s – Welch, Sharp and Wrathall – offered superb entertainment but as the race entered the final lap, it was Wrathall in fourth place who looked to mount one last challenge . Into Club Chicane for the final time, Wrathall produced a terrific move to grab third from Welch as Breeze and Freke crossed the line in first and second respectively. On the exit of the turn though, Welch dipped back inside Wrathall and as they rubbed panels over the timing beam it was Welch who just stole the final podium place by a 10th of a second. Commenting on win number four, Breeze said: “We’ve got a really good pattern going at the minute, I took a couple of wins and another podium at Brands and the same again here at Thruxton this weekend. I’m very happy. I have to say big thanks to TCR, they did a great job with the car and made it extremely quick to make my job easier.” Sunday morning’s fifth round saw Breeze get away fairly well to lead as Welch suffered from a touch of wheel spin but disaster was about to strike for the series leader when the fast-starting Austin slammed into his car heading into the complex for the first time. Gifting Welch a clear lead, he went on to claim an unchallenged maiden Ginetta G50 Cup victory some 2.6 seconds clear of Wrathall with Breeze doing a sterling job to fly back through the order to take a third place at the finish. Deployment of the Safety Car to help the clearance of debris on track on lap four did assist Breeze’s rise back through the order and, conversely, tore up the advantage Welch had opened up over his pursuers. However, the former SEAT Cupra and single-seater racer managed to pull away once again when the race resumed. Wrathall was pleased to bag second place after having more than his fair share of car problems this weekend with Dick enjoying a great run to fourth, just over a second behind Breeze. Freke, who was forced to start from pitlane due to some technical gremlins, served up a great effort to climb into the top five at the finish, some 8.6 seconds ahead of Mussi. “My start was much better than the one I did for Saturday’s race but it still wasn’t quite right”, said Welch, “We’ve certainly got the pace in the car and as soon as I had a cushion I looked after the tyres. After the chaos at the first corner, it was good to get away.” White claimed both Chairman’s Cup victories with ninth in round five and an improved seventh place finish in round six. In further news, the result for Saturday’s fourth round of the G50 Cup was amended some time after the chequered flag had fallen when original third placed finisher Rob Austin was excluded due to a technical infringement. This means Christian Dick has now claimed his first podium of the year.
HAT-TRICK OF 2009 WINS SEES BREEZE EXTEND SERIES LEAD
Chalking up a 75 per cent success rate so far in his maiden season at the wheel of a G50, the Total Control Racing star soaked up immense pressure from local racer – and category debutant – Daniel Welch to edge the victory by a mere eight 10ths of a second. Behind the runaway leaders, Rob Austin marked his first outing of the year with a fine third place finish to round out the podium while Colin White secured his third success in the Chairman’s Cup battle for seasoned drivers. In qualifying, nobody had an answer for Fleet-based Welch in his family-run car as the Thruxton specialist claimed pole position by a quarter of a second from nearest rival Breeze – the front row start of great importance to the championship pace-setter. Nathan Freke lined up third with Chris Dittman fourth, Frank Wrathall struggling somewhat in fifth and Tom Sharp sixth. At the start of the shortest of the weekend’s G50 Cup encounters, just 11 laps, Breeze made a clean start and edged ahead of Welch while behind Austin scorched through from seventh on the grid into second place, although Welch fought back on the run through Church Corner. While Breeze tried to pull away at the front, team-mate Fulvio Mussi was also doing a good job in fourth – up from eighth on the grid – but title challenger Wrathall pitted with car problems which would ultimately allow him to be leapfrogged in the standings by Freke. As the first half of the race neared its conclusion, Welch was the man on the move as he pressed on to try and reel-in Breeze. Mussi, still in fourth, was fighting hard to keep Freke at bay but the latter lost his position to the ever-improving Christian Dick on lap five. On lap seven at Club Chicane, Dick tried to pass Mussi around the outside but he ran wide over the kerbs on the exit and yet emerged in fourth place into the start/finish straight. Back at the front Breeze was defending well from Welch but the slightest mistake would make all the difference. As it turned out, Breeze made no errors and went on to claim yet another win in his first season in the championship with Welch taking an impressive second – even with fluid on his rear tyres from a possible gearbox issue – and also the bonus points for fastest race lap and pole position. With Austin running a lonely third for the majority of the second half of the race, Dick finished fourth, Mussi was in fifth place and Freke rounded out the top six. With Mark Proctor and Paul Sheard not taking part in the race, the Chairman’s Cup battle centred on White and Richard Sykes with the former edging out his rival by a couple of seconds.
After four races, the championship standings see Breeze leading comfortably from new second placed man Freke who, in turn, is just three points ahead of the unlucky Wrathall. Sharp holds fourth place by a mere two points from Mussi.
WRATHALL & BREEZE SHARE VICTORY SPOILS AT BRANDS
While Breeze headed into today’s action on a high after winning the season-opener at the Kent venue’s 1.2-mile Indy Circuit on Saturday afternoon, it was Wrathall who took the round two honours after original race winner Nathan Freke was penalised for ‘gaining an unfair advantage’ as he jostled with Breeze for the lead. On pole position for the weekend’s second race – in fact, on pole for all three encounters – Total Control Racing star Breeze made a text-book getaway at the start of round two to lead through Paddock Hill Bend while the opposite was true for Jodi Firth who slipped from third on the grid to fifth as he was muscled-out around the first turn. As the race headed into lap two, Breeze led second placed Wrathall with Freke in third while a little further back, Hampus Rydman and Firth were embroiled in an entertaining scrap over fifth position. The top three certainly started to close up for a couple of laps but by the sixth tour Wrathall started to drop back from leader Breeze as Freke began to turn up the heat with continued pressure. On a huge charge, the Century Motorsport driver produced a great move into Druids Hairpin and then finalised the pass on the drop down to Graham Hill Bend. While the action at the front continued to be hectic, Fulvio Mussi actually became the quickest driver on track on lap eight as he mounted a determined fight back after having problems getting off the line. Dropping right down the order at the start, the TCR man showed great speed as he climbed back through the order and just missed out on the fastest race lap by a 10th of a second. Dramatic action came on lap 15 when race leader Breeze received contact to the rear of his car from the charging Freke on the run up to Druids. Resulting in the rear bodywork on Breeze’s car rubbing his right-rear tyre, the contact also dislodged Freke’s bonnet. Nonetheless, Breeze continued to hold the lead but as the battle between he and Freke intensified, it allowed Wrathall to close once more. Just four laps from the finish though, more contact between Freke and Breeze saw the former slice up the inside at Druids to take the lead while Wrathall also nipped through into second as Breeze was delayed. Freke went on to take the chequered flag and a robustly fought-out win but a while after the race had concluded, the Clerk of the Course served Freke with a two second time penalty which dropped him behind new round two winner Wrathall and second placed Breeze. Wrathall stated: “I think Carl, Nathan and I will be fighting it out for the title all year.” Tom Sharp finished in a highly creditable fourth position, Firth was fifth, Christian Dick took sixth and Mussi was seventh. Championship newcomer Colin White was eighth overall and took the ‘Chairman’s Cup’ spoils. Round three of the G50 Cup saw pole-sitter Breeze dominate the outing right from the off. Making one of his customary lightning starts, Breeze led away from the grid and was never headed as Freke and Wrathall slowed each other up by duelling for the 24 lap duration over second place. Breeze went on to take the victory by 5.5 seconds, easily his biggest winning margin of the weekend, while Freke just managed to edge out Wrathall at the line by a mere 0.093 seconds. Sharp took another fourth place to continue his very consistent start to the season ahead of Tom Dunstan and the lead Chairman’s Cup runner Colin White, his second success of the day. Although Breeze, Freke and Wrathall each deserved plaudits for excellent race performances, the weekend undoubtedly belonged to double race winner Breeze who leads the championship by 12 points following the first three exchanges. He commented: “Obviously I was disappointed with what happened in race two but winning the third race by five seconds is down to the guys at TCR, the car was great and allowed me to lap consistently quickly. I wouldn’t have managed to take two wins this weekend without my team, they’ve done a great job.”
BREEZE & TCR LEAD THE WAY ON FULL GINETTA G50 RACE DEBUT
Marking the category’s maiden appearance as part of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship race package, today’s season-opening race was also the first ever competitive run for the G50 Cup drivers on the 1.2-mile Indy Circuit having only previously run at Brands Hatch on the full Grand Prix configuration. Breeze, who has been a staple part of the BTCC package for a number of years in various series, made a scorching start from second on the grid to leap-frog pole-sitter Wrathall’s Dynojet-entered car and from that point on he was never headed. The victory was by no means easy, far from it, as Wrathall poured on the pressure throughout the 16 lap encounter. Breeze didn’t offer the slightest opportunity though as he kept the door closed at every corner to keep Wrathall’s persistent presence in check. “We’ve been practising our starts and all of the hard work has paid dividends today”, said a delighted Breeze at the conclusion of round one, “I was able to control the race really after getting the lead at the start. Over the last couple of laps Frank put me under more pressure but I managed to keep him at bay. It’s a great reward for the whole TCR team to win the first race of the season.” During the morning qualifying session, Wrathall secured pole position by just over a 10th of a second from Breeze with a lap of 48.605 seconds (88.77mph) with Jodi Firth posting the third fastest lap and former UK Formula Ford Champion Nathan Freke fourth quickest. At the start of the race, while Breeze made a lightning getaway to lead, Wrathall found himself challenged for second place by Freke into Paddock Hill Bend. Further behind though, Fulvio Mussi replicated Breeze’s stunning getaway by scything his way though from seventh on the grid into a top four position by the end of lap one. Setting fastest lap on the third tour, Wrathall piled on the pressure but Breeze responded on lap four to set a new circuit record for the Ginetta G50s with a time of 49.194 seconds (87.71mph). The gap between the top two remained steady at around seven 10ths of a second lap after lap while third placed Freke gradually started to be reeled-in by Mussi. As the race neared its conclusion, Wrathall pushed as hard as possible to force a mistake from the leader and into lap 11 he was just 0.370 seconds behind Breeze. The situation remained the same over the final five laps but Breeze’s experience told as he soaked up every last bit of pressure to seal an outstanding win. The impressive Wrathall crossed the line just four 10ths of a second shy of the winner with Freke holding Mussi off by six 10ths of a second to claim the final podium placing. Swedish racer Hampus Rydman, meanwhile, took an excellent fifth place result ahead of Tom Sharp with Firth ending up in seventh place. In the ‘Chairman’s Cup, a championship within a championship for seasoned, gentleman racers, ex-touring car racer Mark Proctor took the honours with a ninth place finish overall, three places ahead of multiple former World and British National Hot Rod Champion Colin White. The result was a pleasing one for Proctor as his qualifying pace was compromised by a puncture earlier in the day.
pics . Jakob Ebrey Photography
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Newly
crowned 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup Champion Nathan Freke concluded
his outstanding season in winning style at Brands Hatch Grand Prix
Circuit this afternoon, Sunday, 4th October, with his 15th victory of
the campaign during the final race of the year.
Nathan
Freke fittingly sealed the 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup title with a
true champion’s performance at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit on
Saturday, 3rd October – a brace of largely unchallenged wins handing the
Kidderminster racer a deserved championship triumph.
Michelin
Ginetta G50 Cup dominator Nathan Freke all but secured the 2009 title at
Rockingham in Northamptonshire this afternoon, Sunday, 20th September –
the Century Motorsport racer requiring just 10 more points to clinch the
championship with three races remaining.
Speaking
after round 25, Freke said: “This win makes up for the problem in the
previous race. I didn’t get the best start while Frank (Wrathall) got
away well, but then at Deene all I could see behind was carnage. My car
was sublime, the team has done a fantastic job all season and I’m
ecstatic to see Benji (Hetherington) on the podium too; a one-two for
Century Motorsport, it can’t get any better.”
Frank
Wrathall broke Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup championship leader Nathan
Freke’s latest winning streak with an outstanding drive during round 23
of the season at Rockingham’s International Super Sports Car Circuit on
Saturday, 19th September, to seal his fourth win of the year.
Nathan
Freke fended off a determined challenge from Frank Wrathall in both
Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup races at Silverstone on Sunday, 30th August, to
complete a hat-trick of wins over the course of the weekend and also
extend his title advantage to a huge 94 points.-leads-Wrathall-&.jpg)
The
rescheduled 11th round offered Wrathall’s best chance of usurping Freke
but in the end the result was the same as the previous two races, Freke
taking the win and Wrathall having to settle for second place.
Michelin
Ginetta G50 Cup points leader Nathan Freke moved another step closer to
placing one hand on the 2009 champion’s trophy at Silverstone
Saturday, 29th August, by securing his ninth victory of the season.
Dynojet’s
Frank Wrathall returned to the top step of the Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup
podium at the home of Scottish motorsport, Knockhill Circuit in Fife,
during round 20 of the championship this afternoon, Sunday, 16th August,
while Nathan Freke sealed his eighth win of the season in the earlier
19th round of the campaign.
After
the race, Freke commented: “That was tough, it was very slippery and
although through the quick corners I had an advantage over Frank (Wrathall)
he was faster than me in the slow ones. It’s great to get another win as
this championship is very close.”
Nathan
Freke extended his championship lead in the 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50
Cup to 53 points at a very blustery Knockhill Circuit in Scotland this
afternoon, Saturday, 15th August, by easing to his seventh race victory
of the year.
Multiple
Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup race winner Carl Breeze continued his
outstanding rise back into championship contention at Snetterton Circuit
in Norfolk this afternoon, Sunday, 2nd August, by sealing a hat-trick of
victories in front of a partisan home town crowd.
Total
Control Racing’s Carl Breeze raced to a pair of memorable Michelin
Ginetta G50 Cup wins at Snetterton in Norfolk today, Saturday, 1st
August, to get his title challenge fully back on track and put two very
difficult months firmly behind him.
Win
number six for Breeze
Championship
leader Nathan Freke increased his advantage in the Michelin Ginetta G50
Cup driver standings to a whopping 52 points at Croft Circuit on Sunday,
14th June, after claiming his sixth win of the year in round 13 and
finishing runner-up to Frank Wrathall in a rain-affected round 14.
Nathan
Freke edged into the lead of the Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup driver
standings for the first time at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire on
Saturday, 13th June, after claiming his fifth back-to-back race win of
the campaign.
Round
11 of the 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup, which was scheduled to be
contested at Oulton Park Island Circuit on Sunday afternoon, 31st May,
was postponed until later in the season following an unavoidable
accident involving series leader Carl Breeze and Chairman’s Cup
contender Mark Proctor.
Michelin
Ginetta G50 Cup championship front-runner Nathan Freke continued his
rich vein of form at Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire today,
Saturday, 30th May, by taking his fourth race victory on the trot.
Rounds
seven, eight and nine of the 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup at Donington
Park this weekend, 16th/17th May, were all about one driver – former UK
Formula Ford Champion Nathan Freke who became the first competitor this
year to win all three races at one event.
Century
Motorsport’s Nathan Freke won the seventh round of the 2009 Michelin
Ginetta G50 Cup at Donington Park’s National Circuit today, Saturday,
16th May, to close the gap to championship leader Carl Breeze by 15
points.
Michelin
Ginetta G50 Cup points leader Carl Breeze took his fourth win from six
races this afternoon, Sunday, 26th April, at Thruxton to open up a near
50-point cushion in the championship standings over closest rival Nathan
Freke.
Michelin
Ginetta G50 Cup championship leader Carl Breeze increased his advantage
in the driver standings to a very healthy 38 points at the ultra-fast
Thruxton circuit on Saturday, 25th April, with an incredibly hard-fought
third win of the season.
Speaking
on the podium, three-time race winner Breeze said: “I made another good
start today, like I did at Brands Hatch, and that set us up for the win
really. I knew Dan (Welch) might be slow away as it was his first race
start in one of these cars. He had a couple of goes at passing me but
was gracious enough not to try anything silly. I’m really happy to win
again.”
Frank
Wrathall secured his first win of the 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup
during the second round of the season at Brands Hatch this morning,
Sunday, 5th April, but it was fellow front-runner Carl Breeze who
extended his championship lead with a dominant lights-to-flag win in
round three. (pictured right)
Total
Control Racing’s Carl Breeze used all of his experience and race guile
during the first round of the 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup at Brands
Hatch Indy Circuit on Saturday, 4th April, to secure a popular win ahead
of determined young hot-shoe Frank Wrathall.