+ Guesting BMW beats 2 Seas’ Mercedes-AMG by just 0.6s
+ Century’s Ramyead and Robertson end Brown’s GT4 streak
+ Result: Silverstone 500
Dan Harper withstood intense late race pressure from Kiern Jewiss to seal his and Darren Leung’s second Silverstone 500 win in three years on a day when BMW also celebrated British GT4 victory with Century’s Ravi Ramyead and Charlie Robertson.
Paradine’s guest M4 kept 2 Seas’ charging Mercedes-AMG at arm’s length over the final 10 minutes after the car shared by Jewiss and Charles Dawson served a late drive-through penalty for overtaking under yellow flags. Without it, the championship leaders – who bagged maximum points for the second race running regardless – would have almost certainly added their names to the historic RAC Trophy.
Marvin Kirchhöfer added a new race lap record to his qualifying benchmark en route to third overall with Optimum and Morgan Tillbrook, while Steller’s Audi crewed by Matt Topham and Darren Burke took Silver-Am class victory in ninth overall.
The GT4 spoils should have gone Mahiki’s way, but a wheel stud failure robbed Aiden Neate and Josh Miller of a likely win. Instead, Ramyead and Robertson paced their race to perfection to beat title rivals Marc Warren and Jack Brown (Optimum), whose Silverstone 500 winning streak finally came to an end.
Third went to Century’s other M4 shared by Branden Templeton and Chris Salkeld. The squad’s collective effort, which also included Robertson’s new class lap record, earned it British GT’s Team of the Weekend Award.
GT3: PARADINE PREVAILS
British GT’s three-hour format leaves ample room for strategy to play a significant role in the result. And so it proved once again at Silverstone where the top two stole a march on their rivals despite making two more pitstops than strictly necessary.
Tillbrook started from pole and led a relatively drama-less opening stint from Kevin Tse, Giacomo Petrobelli, a charging Rob Collard – up four places from eighth – Alex Martin, Darren Leung and Dawson.
The first pitstops began after 30 minutes, but it was the intervention of a Full Course Yellow and Safety Car period shortly after that hampered the likes of Blackthorn and 2 Seas’ #18 entry which, unlike their fellow front runners, swapped drivers under green flag running just before the FCY.
The subsequent Safety Car was also the catalyst for Paradine to strategically make its second pitstop in quick succession. Harper had only been in the car at reduced speed for a short period but made way for Leung before Barwell and 2 Seas followed suit one lap later with their #78 and #18 entries.
Contact between Sam Neary and Matt Griffin then sent Spirit of Race’s Ferrari spinning into Vale’s gravel trap 15 minutes later. This triggered the second FCY/Safety Car intervention that saw most of the other Am drivers hop back onboard.
However, it was the third and final neutralisation – required to recover Mahiki’s #84 Lotus – that really brought Dawson and Jewiss into play. They were circulating a net fifth before stopping during the FCY procedure with more than 65 minutes left to run – the maximum stint length permitted. That meant Jewiss required a fourth pit visit to re-set his stint time, just as Harper – who stopped earlier – had already done.
Penalties for both Barwell Lamborghinis and 2 Seas’ #18 Mercedes-AMG left Optimum and Blackthorn as the other two victory contenders. But their chances were unintentionally dented by delaying the final stop until less than 65 minutes remained. In theory this would have been faster than pitting early and re-setting but circumstances conspired against that logic when pit exit incorrectly remained closed after the Safety Car train had passed for the final time. The likes of Kirchhöfer and Jonny Adam lost approximately 20 seconds whilst stationary at the red light and then conceded further time running behind a GT4 competitor on their final Safety Car lap.
Jewiss took the lead soon after the restart but knew that his impending re-set would drop the car back behind Harper. However, Paradine then received a one-second stop-go penalty for a short pitstop, which effectively cancelled out 2 Seas’ own additional pit visit.
The Mercedes-AMG duly re-set its stint time and rejoined comfortably ahead of Harper’s BMW. The job appeared to be done until Dawson’s earlier yellow flag infringement earned Jewiss a drive-through penalty, which dropped him three seconds behind the new race leader.
Donington’s winner initially chipped away at the advantage but only seriously began to home in with 10 minutes remaining. The pair ran almost nose to tail over the final lap but Harper kept his cool to take the chequered flag just 0.580s ahead.
Pace wise, Kirchhöfer was in a class of his own all weekend and closed to within nine seconds of the winning BMW over the final hour.
Like Optimum’s duo, Blackthorn’s Adam and Petrobelli will wonder what might have been after finishing fourth, while Orange Racing by JMH, Simon Orange and Marcus Clutton enjoyed a strong run to fifth despite incurring a post-race 10-second penalty.
Barwell’s Lamborghinis recovered to sixth and seventh after both served penalties while Paddock’s McLaren lost a spot post-race for a safety car infringement.
GT4: CENTURY STRIKE GOLD
Two crews are tied at the top of GT4’s early standings after Ramyead and Robertson scored their third win in the last six British GT races. But their cause was undoubtedly helped when Mahiki’s Lotus suffered a spectacular high-speed mechanical failure.
An off-beat strategy helped pole winners Josh Miller and Aiden Neate to negate their extra Silver pitstop time and establish a clear advantage as the race ticked past half distance. But their afternoon was cut short soon after when the left-rear wheel detached approaching The Loop and sent Neate spinning into retirement.
With the most obvious victory candidate out, Ramyead and Robertson capitalised in style by adding GT4 victory to BMW’s successful day at the head of the field.
Ramyead led the chase of Miller during the opening stint before handing to Robertson under the first Full Course Yellow. Robertson then piled the pressure on Neate after the Safety Car bunched the pack before the Emira re-established a gap and then inherited a huge lead when Mahiki ran long through the second caution period.
The Lotus’s subsequent demise left Ramyead leading Warren’s Optimum McLaren, which had worked its way back up the order after taking a bash on the opening lap. Ramyead managed to forge an advantage of a few seconds, which Robertson then extended by pulling clear of the chasing Brown across the last hour after the final round of stops.
Templeton and Salkeld celebrated Silver success in third overall, making it a double class victory for the Century team after a consistent drive.
Harry George and Luca Hopkinson were second in class and fourth overall in the #17 Optimum Artura as the Rob Boston Racing Porsche shared by Jamie Orton and Will Burns ran strongly to fifth overall and Endurance Cup victory. The latter was aided by their biggest rivals, Ed McDermott and Seb Morris (Team Parker Mercedes-AMG), losing time to a pit infringement penalty inside the final hour.
Ian Duggan and Joe Wheeler (Mahiki) completed the Pro-Am podium in sixth overall.
Next up it’s Oulton Park where British GT stages the first two of this year’s four sprint races over the late May bank holiday weekend (May 24-26).
