LIVE | British GT - Oulton Park - R7

[Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] the intelligent money british gt championship rolls into one of the most picturesque and challenging race courses in the uk we are at alton park up in the northwest of the country for round seven and eight of the championship uh we have a whole host of uh potential opportunities for a couple of those championships to be wrapped up here this afternoon over the course of the two 60-minute sprint races coming your way uh here today the weather is overcast but fairly mild there is a fairly high humidity level though and there is this sort of constant threat of a little bit of drizzle as we move on into the day and that would add extra spice into what is already a fairly spicy mix to be fair uh we've had a pair of really interesting qualifying sessions yesterday they've given us a couple of really interesting grids and around a tight and narrow and undulating circuits such as this one trap position is key making progress through the field is difficult but a lot of drivers find themselves in positions where they must make progress to try and keep their championship aspirations up andy mckeown up here in the commentary boxes the cars make their way to the grid joined once again by david addison david alton park gt cars always a highlight of my season this i know it's the same for you absolutely i mean it is a great circuit you've talked about it being picturesque it is and we know that gt cars are a great sight they make a great sound as well it's a great spectacle i mean alton's tough because it is a narrow circuit maybe that's unfair these are wide cars the circuit's not got narrower over the years it's the same as ever it was cars have got bigger they got wider so it's tough to get through the traffic here qualify massively important but we know we've seen it season after season after season that races for gt cars at autumn park bring drama and we had a lot of that yesterday which is why actually the grid is a little bit unusual with one or two starting at the back of their groups because of penalties because of dramas yesterday engine changes or in the case of one team almost a car change to get onto the grid today yeah absolutely the top two teams in gt3 arriving here at alton park are balboa motorsports number 63 car and the beach dean aston martin of andrew howard and johnny adam both of those cars found the barriers yesterday the lamborghini in free practice andrew howard had a sizable shunt at the same part of the circuit actually up through ireland bend and shell which wrecked the car they've had to bring a donor car in almost to try and find the parts work through the night you can just see it actually from the back it looks okay from the front it looks like a completely different version of that aston martin but the team did an incredible job to get the car out there they've had 15 minutes of running in warm-up no obvious issues came out of that and it was so important because andrew howard arrives here second in the points looking to try and close what isn't an enormous gap admittedly on the 63 car they had to get him out there today and they've done an awesome job yeah andrew as you do owns two of these so this is the older one i think that's chassis number one uh so that was brought up from pro drive last night and the team toiled away taking bits off that one to to bolt on to the crashed car uh to make one good if you like out of an old car and a damaged car and the net result is that it is there and it's on the grid and uh it's gonna be at the back of its group because it's it's with this change of parts right pole position kelvin fletcher a mega effort yesterday and kelvin is on the grid with bryn lucas well kelvin last time out snederton you got your first podium as a team in gt3 and you've gone one better here this weekend um you must be feeling pretty happy about what's ahead of you yeah feeling good you know bentley's been really strong around there so far so we feel like we've got a good good setup um exciting it's great to see all the crowds as well you know it feels like a proper race weekend now race weekend should be yeah absolutely right i'm talking about a great race weekend i'm just looking at the sky it's very very gray and it looks a bit a bit grisly as well are you hoping for a dry one or maybe a bit of rain coming it's not in my control so if it's not in my control i don't tend to worry about it so you just see what happens yeah all right well good luck kevin good luck no worries thanks guys and hope circuit isn't this for calvin fletcher because he's from oldham which is a million miles away the other side of greater manchester so uh kelvin and he's right about the fact that uh the weather's out of his control uh andy was saying in the warm-up that normally we have british gt gt here at easter well it normally rains at easter so it's great it's overcast we've had a bit of rain already so you know all the components are there now this car being started uh by kevin say the uh driver from the asian uh gt scene was one of the absolute standouts yesterday he's never been to austin park before and kevin say is for ram racing uh in only his second race in the uk or second event in the uk because he raced at brands a couple of weeks ago in world challenge europe i have to say seeing him on this grid is about the most random thing because why on earth you would anticipate a driver from asia would be racing at alton park because a one-off in british gt takes a bit of head scratching but he's done a really impressive job he has front row is the place to be as well uh here at alton park as we've said but that was an awesome qualifying effort about three tenths or so slower than the paddock motorsport bentley right in gt4 there is a championship very much on the line will burns a driver that could bring become a champion today so well we're looking at this one expecting you guys just to walk away with the title after race one is that what's going to happen this weekend that would be the dream scenario but unlikely like motorsport anything can happen so i just need to keep my myself out of trouble and just try and maximize whatever we've got just taking each race as it comes as a conversation with your teammate how's that gone about the plan for this race um yeah we're just we're just taking each session as it comes me me and gus know what we've got to do but like i said i'm just gonna see where i end up here um just i am going to be still trying to go for first but at the same time i don't want to do anything reckless so stay out of trouble and see where we end up but that's the classic famous words stay in the race and finish yeah yeah hopefully good luck yes nervy times you'd imagine for century motorsport because of course uh the 57 cars nearest rival in the championship is the sister car the number nine but this weekend 57 very much seem to have the edge over their teammates don't they yes and again you come back to this you know will burns just touched on it scoring points or going for the win everybody wants to win it takes an awful lot of discipline and we've just seen this in an earlier support race here that you in terms of banking points and that's where the intelligent drivers are going to shine through in scoring the point just on the subject two classes two pit windows as well just to try and alleviate the pressure in the pit lane as the green flag is waved uh we're going to have a different pit window for the gt3 from the gt4 cars just to try and make this small pit lane here uh less crowded for the team so the gt3 cars are at the front of their grid anyway they will have an earlier window from the gt4 cars yes let's take a look then at how the grid lines up for raceways paddock motorsports kelvin fletcher and the bentley on pole position with the debutant kevin say alongside him morgan tilbrook for enduro motorsport is third ahead of championship contender mike ligo in the wpi lamborghini row number three then to sam neary making a welcome return having missed the most recent event championship leader leo machitsuki has to come from sixth on the grid just behind them on that fourth row of the grid then ian loggie another title contender for ram racing with nick jones that car will be on pole for race two later on team parker portion for this one though starts from row four row number five then is where we find the balf motorsport mclaren of stuart propter he will start the car adam balon alongside him then in the car won the championship last year uh power motorsports still very much with two dogs in the fight in 2021 at the back then of the gt3 grid is the beach dean amr car of andrew howard after crashing and qualifying yesterday then we move into gt4 where it's another aston martin the new bridge motorsport car started by matt topham on pole ahead of the championship leaders will burns start in the 57 bmw round number two for gt4 is the will more started academy motorsport forward mustang ahead of richard williams in the stellar motorsport audi the third row then for michael ben yaya and harry height compare of rocket rjn mclaren teammates row four is where we find chris salkell starting that second place in the championship bmw number nine whilst ashley marshall's spa winner is alongside him then towards the back end of the gt4 grid james kelly number two rocket rj and mclaren struggled a little yesterday john ferguson has a new co-driver which we'll get to in a moment or two in the toyota then you've got mark sansom in the asceto motorsport geneta they expected big things this weekend dave whitmore in the car gods with sicily motorsport mercedes and then nick holstead at the back who had an off yesterday in qualifying and we'll start from the tail end of the gt4 field nick was one of many drivers that unfortunately had slightly wayward moments on what was a tricky saturday indeed and it has given us a really interesting grid you never know what the weather might do in the next hour but this promises to be very interesting indeed you just caught a glimpse in the background of the toyota supra jamie caroline brought in as the second driver for the remainder of the season this is the fifth different gt4 car he has driven i let andy recite the list in due course if we're getting into an interruption if it goes quiet for a lap also and they're the white fronted aston martin of andrew howard it looks oh so different doesn't it from the front it looks just as ever from the side of the back here we go then round number seven of the intelligent money british gt championship the first of two races here from alton park it is kelvin fletcher on pole position kevin say alongside him when the red lights go out we will be away and racing down towards hall corner they go so important to try and get into this corner first and it looks like it will be the bentley that does so second place for shay third the place is side by side still lasting gt4 matt topham tried to fend off will burns he goes right around the outside in the championship leading bmw they're still side by side then for the gt4 leaders they made their way down to cascade and burns has done it trying to follow him through there was will moore in the academy mustang couldn't quite do it through cascades though so already the bmw leads the gt4 ranks as they head now towards island bend michael igo got roughed up a little bit on the outside at old hall on that opening lap of the race he's done a good job of recovering he's still there uh in fourth place look as the cars go through shell for the first time but kelvin fletcher getting away now kevin's saying the machines driver is second and that's one of the mclarens heading into the gravel and out the other side drama then for harry hayek right at the start of the race he's got away with that but have a look at what's going on in gt3 right now so calvin fletcher leads the way from pole and kevin say the macanese driver new to the circuit learning about this all the time in the ram racing mclaren he's the cork in the bottle isn't he at the moment because he's got them all stacked up behind he's doing a ripper job don't get me wrong but kelvin fletcher is making hay kelvin was three and a half tenths quicker than him in qualifying yesterday as well so kelvin has the experience admittedly not in this car but he knows the circuit better than kevin and had the pace advantage in qualifying yesterday afternoon see the car gods with sicily motorsport mercedes there and dave whitball that's made some ground up it started second to last in the gt4 field it's gained at least three spots from there as the leader singular heads towards lodge corner with a big big gap here well over a second already for kelvin fletcher the rest of the field streaming through interestingly they're in the middle of that pack are leo machitsuki and ian loggy aren't they two of our championship rivals just uh six and a half points between those two cars and their nose to tail at the end of that one so kelvin fletcher leading by 1.6 seconds that was the point it was making around that first lap he knows the circuit so much better than kevin say and nobody else can get past him at the moment for that second spot so calvin fletcher here can just keep on pushing while everybody else has to try to find a way past kevin's saying now morgan tilbrook runs third he's not the most experienced of drivers so you need to be looking really it's a neri or a machitsuki or a loggie that have done a lot more miles around here but at the moment they just can't get through the traffic so kelvin fletcher here has got an absolutely golden opportunity to build a race lead you can see i go and nereo squabbling richard neary trying to get himself up through the traffic but this is michael igo's view that is morgan tilbrook just up the road ahead and now that kevin say has got a bit of heat into the tires he's starting to get into the groove he's getting away from tillburg isn't he so you're right the fight is now for third we're on board with mike ligo in fourth place for wpi motorsport and there is mike ligos wpi motorsport lamborghini from the rear facing camera atop the enduro motorsport mclaren third fourth and fifth place then absolutely together sam neary there in the mercedes looming ominously with that new black livery in their mirrors yeah so richard neary then in that fifth place machitsuki six loggy seventh jones eighth ballon is ninth stuart proctor his tenth andrew howard is still 11 so he's not really making progress yet through the gt3 ranks it might be that he's still not happy with that car might be that he's a little bit diffident after yesterday but as long as he in the pack then that gives johnny adam a chance for the second part of the race and i would still be surprised if we went through this without any form of interruption yes safety cars are a fairly common occurrence here aren't they at alton park but we shall wait and see a clean start for now at least as the field starts to stretch its legs now end of lap number two the first full flying lap then for kelvin fletcher is a 37-0 decent effort that he's got 1.9 seconds in hand over say in second place with morgan tilbuck can you ride on board with again heading down to cascade this roller coaster ride a big bump on the entrance there to the quick left-hander and then they get fired out the other side down past the lake towards the fastest part of the circuit you know i've forgotten just how impressive gt cars are around autumn park they are absolutely fantastic i promise you the pictures you're getting tell you some of the story we've got the advantage of looking out of the window on the pit straight down to old hall corner and they look mighty going through there as well this is the look back and there's damage as well there look so we had a whack in the back there machinski's lamborghini has been savaged rather by the ram racing ian moggy mercedes that ain't gonna help here's how it happened then up through shell presumably this is the left hander at an island there is ian lockheed behind who is later on the brakes he is too late on the brakes and really does ram the lamborghini out wide no real damage done and actually he didn't gain a position but has that done anything underneath that bodywork to the lamborghini what it does illustrate is why the team is called ram racing ho ho so i'm sure it wasn't intentional for me at loggy but he did get a little bit too close for comfort so barwell will have seen all of that so mia michigan if he has now got an arrow problem we'll be reporting back that's going to make dennis lin's life a little bit more difficult clearly we'll have had some effort otherwise that wouldn't be there uh yes absolutely and they have lost ground haven't they to the cars ahead sandy uh not sandy mitchell adam balon they're having a look at the inside of nick jones but didn't quite commit to the move that would have been for eighth position remember the number one car is fourth in the point 20 points or so off the championship leader who leads this pack so really machitsuki is the cork in the bottle isn't he's got loggie he's got jones ballon stewart proctor and andrew howard queuing up behind him and loggie is already back on his tail after their scuffle shell yes darwin said they're at logging heads almost now so it's a pretty serious grudge match this between the two and leo machitsuki will not have taken kindly to that contact ian loggie to be fair to him he's not a dirty driver but certainly wasn't intentional but you can see that partly with that little bit of arrow damage plus the fact that he's having to defend leo machinski has lost a huge amount of time to richard neary and loggie challenges again up towards sheldon he's got to be careful with jones and then balan right there behind andrew howard is still on the back of that q down in 11th place but struggling to get through the traffic but this was always the problem with starting at the map mistake there for machitsuki just outbreak himself into britain's that means loggie who had a big accident at this part of the circuit a few years ago gets a good run over hilltop dummies to the outside tries to find a gap on the inside but bachitsky has it covered and once you get into the braking zone it's too late then really to fire it up the inside so leo hanging on but all of this mirror driving all of this defensive work he's doing is slowing down their pace on the previous lap this group were all in 39 the leaders david in the 37s yeah it's making dennis lin's life more difficult isn't it instead two as they climb the hill once again then we're on lap number four right now kelvin fletcher leading kevin say by 1.9 seconds and kevin said getting quicker and more confident all the time now adam balon he's on his toes relative to nick jones look at the green lamborghini as he comes to the inside line down towards large and then thinks no it's never going to fit there is it so he backs out of it the leaders go by the lead gap is 2.2 seconds kelvin fletcher is just done the fastest lap of the race over the timing line once more goes leo machitsuki and ian loggie right there behind him then nick jones then adam balon and that also staying with them stuart proctor and andrew howard so you've got sixth down to 11th in a queue and he and loggie flashing the lights now at leo muchinski because that's guaranteed to make him pull over and let him through a bit of a wide line there for uh nick jones in the portrait that means that sandy mitchell has a big run on the team park racing car down the lake side straight you just can't do anything with it there because you don't do a lot of breaking into island bend it's all about carrying the speed through the left-hander to attack into the right which again loggy tries to do tries to take that wide line use the banking baby to carry the speed off the corner but machitsuki in the agile mid-engine lamborghini just couldn't rock the turn quick enough and lockheed can't quite draw a level into britain's indeed so accelerating now out of britain's riding the curve is ian loggie leo machitsuki doing just enough to stay ahead and then of course let dennis lind have the hard yards in that second stint and leo machitsuki is experienced enough in gt racing to know how to drive around a problem and here it's not the highest of high speed circuits so he's being able perhaps to to manage that more easily than say if we were at silverstone or donington yeah not quite as aerodependent perhaps although you forget actually quite how fast some parts of this circuit are up there through play hill druid is equipped with apex right-hander you need the car to be underneath you to fully commit to some of these corners and uh it looks like my chit's actually on this lap just finding his feet a little more this is an important battle really for the championship because for machitsuki his nearest three rivals in the points are all in this group second in the championship andrew howard third in the championship the pick mercedes that's right behind him and fourth in the championship the mitchell and balon uh barbell car as well so he doesn't really want to give any places away to this lot from a championship perspective likewise though contact and ending up off the road could be even more disastrous from a points perspective very true indeed and we've seen almost everybody have a drama at some stage this season balance good exit from cascades now tries to get up alongside the porsche he's got the inside line for either bendy commence and he's done it very good move by adam ballen started it early finishes it at the end of the straight that was very good indeed so balan goes ahead of the team parker racing porsche fantastic battle pack that we've got going on here within gt3 in gt4 will burns is ahead of matt topham and then will moore the top three and loggie in gt3 is still staring at the back of that barwell lamborghini down towards his lops is he going to commit to a move on the inside no not quite closely you know if andrew howard in the background taking very odd line into his locks looking on the inside he was nowhere near close enough to stuart proctor to attack stewart by the way one of two drivers already being warned about track limits in fact richard neary is on his second track limits warning as well all weekend long that's been a talking point usually on the exit of old hall corner term one and if you keep doing it then you will get time added onto your race there is still a proctor in the mouth mclaren news from the pits courtesy of brent lucas he's had a word with dennis lind and dennis said leo isn't reporting any problems so that might be because he's got his hands full but even so i think if it were really up drivable he'd be making a lot of noise on the radio so we've seen what the damage looks like from that on board as far as leo mechitzke is concerned he can cope with it he's still there he's hanging on to sixth place but he's 11 seconds back from the race leader now so the margin is increasing all the time and andrew howard now is on his toes looking for a place coming out of old hall corner and drama there i go he's off the road until brooke is off the road that's third and fourth handy i was just about to mention mike ligo was the fastest driver on the track on the previous lap he'd caught till brook and now he's really caught in they made contact through cascades till brook's car is stationary at the side of the road i go has rejoined but behind machitsuki looks and him oginski out of all of that ends up with a buffer now between himself and he and logging what he does and if i go just gone bouncing all over the grass the chances are that won't have done a huge amount of good to his car which will make it go slower which will be a cork in the bottle for logging which will give machitsuki a chance to escape let's see if that pans out yes in a way that's exactly what machitsuki needed although he's slower than i go through britain's michael seemed to have a natural pace advantage over leo in the early part of the race he's already going on the attack look weaving around behind the 63 car so what drama that's now another championship contender then for the 63 car that is in its mirrors rather than further up the road ahead of it so against all of the odds actually buchitsky might be quite happy with the way this has worked out over clay hill they go the other man who's going to be pretty pleased is richard neary who now finds himself in a podium place having not had to do any of the work really he inherits p3 and he's only gonna be about two seconds behind the top too and he had also been laughing pretty rapidly as well of late i still think kevin says doing an absolutely amazing job in second place he's closing on kelvin fletcher here is the leo machitsuki train heading now up towards the completion of a lap that's the recovering morgan till brook so thankfully he's got going he's off the grass and therefore no yellow flag on this lap handy uh yes will he have to bail for the pit lane you'd imagine he probably will as the gt3 pack descends upon cascades they're michael i go looking to the inside line no yellow flags as you said so he's free to attack but he outbreaks himself a little and this might give vloggy a run though he's not really off the corner any quicker than i go so the positions stay as they were by flago then down to fifth position for chitsky up to four you're right about the lead gap as well david is down to one point six seconds now came down by two tens kevin say he's really warming to this isn't he i say well done or something like that he's doing a really impressive job and he's getting more and more familiar with autumn park peter daley the race director with his tongue firmly in his cheeks it's just like macau this place uh there is the drama so morgan tilbury could spun and michael i go had to go off in avoidance let's have a look on board here andy no contact i don't think so yeah absolutely oh you can see tilburg has a moment catches it but then he's offline oh and again even there there was no contact so if there is damage to the wpi car it's through bouncing over the grass rather than hitting the rotating mclaren yeah michael aigo got away with that very lightly so actually did morgan tilbury that could have been a whole lot worse so morgan tilbrook delayed and he's running in 17th place he's now in and around gt4 mclaren's rather than his gt3 playmates uh kelvin fletcher leading by 1.6 seconds as we say leo machitsuki is still well clear in terms of michael i go now because he's managed to build that gap by a couple of lengths although aiko's got other ideas about it under-breaking that's adam ballen who is now having got himself up past the team parker racing porsche and pulled away trying to do the same things we have logging ballon was rapid yesterday but he i think more than any other driver suffered through track limits he had numerous qualifying attempts disallowed from running too wide at that point there over the exit curve through old hall corner so arguably adam should have started a bit further up the order than he did it wasn't his outright fastest lap if you like but ended up counting so he's now starting to show the real performance that he does have like ligo then clearly having felt the car out has decided it's not that wounded because he's starting to apply the pressure once again to machitsuki it's the fourth place yeah bryn again from the pits has had a word with the teams and he's telling us that no damage even that big bounce over the uh the grass from michael i go you can see the pace he's managed to get himself up onto the tail of leo machita here so he's going nicely just came back to adam ballon is it fair to say this is sort of in my mind from previous races that adam is a bit of a slow burn it takes him a little bit longer perhaps to get totally comfortable compared to other drivers once he's there he's very quick but it just takes him a little bit longer than others to get fully to that speed is that fair i'd say so and sometimes when it comes to wheel-to-wheel combat as well he sometimes lacks a little bit of confidence or has done in the past but the movie made on nick jones before was pretty decent and he might now be shaping up for another one because both i go and vloggy ahead of him make a little bit of a mistake out of nick brook that gets those two closer together and it brings adam a little bit closer to their tail as they make their way through it as this is going on by the way the gt4 pack is not that far ahead of them so before we get to that pit window david lapped traffic will start to become a factor and the lead gap is coming down and down it is now one second between kelvin and kevin kelvin fletcher kevin say uh there they are heading down towards cascades right now so kelvin fletcher yes excellent job pole position race leader but kevin say who probably up until a couple of weeks ago never heard of the park he says slightly in jest he's really doing an excellent job there he is hunting him down it's a round racing run car good team he's got tom oslo cole with him as his co-driver and if you like driver coach and tom is massively experienced all the factors are there but come on this is not the easiest of british circuits to get used to you're thrown in at the deep end you don't get much track time very short qualified period but kevin say has done a really impressive job could he be the race leader by the end of the opening stint of the race well let's uh let's see what develops in all of this because right now you could argue this is a sort of seesaw battle kevin c on the tail of kelvin fletcher uh indeed he said on the catching but that around alton park can sometimes be the easier element can't getting past a car especially as large as the bentley might not be easy but his opportunity could come in traffic because they've caught nick halstead out the tail end of the gt4 field if you catch a gt4 car or a number of them together even more so at an uh inopportune moment that can lose you a huge chunk of time so fletcher and say now need to be really careful in the traffic fletcher makes a mistake at lodge corner though he's really wide over the curb and this is says opportunity tries to get the ram racing mercedes alongside didn't quite have the exit speed but as they head towards old hall corner he looks to the inside he commits for the race lead there's contact ahead of the whitmore has been tacked into a spin by john ferguson and somehow kelvin fletcher avoids them it's say that goes into the lead though how that bentley did not collide with the gt4 cars i have no idea but it gives the mercedes the race lead that was a massive moment for kelvin fletcher and now richard neary is almost with kelvin fletcher as well look in the mercedes so we've got a new race leader in kevin say we have got a massive laundry bill in the bentley because calvin fletcher was within that semi crotchet of wiping out not just his own car but also the spinning mercedes john ferguson as you rightly say was involved in that as well uh the asceto motorsport geneta i think was delayed and there was another mclaren that took to the grass there's been a right old sort out and the yellow flags are still waving because the mercedes is still on the grass this the gt4 sicily mercedes is still on the grass at old hall corner it has just got the engine fired up and gets going because there richard neary tries to clear the traffic he's inching up on the back of calvin fletcher but for kevin say to end his stint as the race leader would be something outstanding didn't i just say something about how the traffic could have a bearing complex race i didn't expect something about it i didn't expect it that soon though that was incredible uh so yes say leads the way and now the battle becomes the one for second place richard neary closing in worth making the point by the way that the 88 car doesn't score championship points as it's a race by race entry but they're still gunning for race victories if they can get them right in gt4 century motorsport getting away then from the aston martin behind them looking good so far for will burns it is isn't it it's matt topham behind in the aston martin but will burns here thinking point to all of this being factored in uh we thought got some great battles in gt3 machinski versus igo versus loggie versus balan we'll get to gt4 in due course but right now there is a lot going on and loggies having another go and i go as they come up past the pits look look look the mercedes on the inside is almost level through he goes loggie has done it he manages to get past one of the lamborghini huracans and he ain't done yet and now look i go tries to fight back that's side by side there's contact between them i goes on the grass he's off he's on the grass again past him goes ballon and michael i go drops two places and yet again we had a get out of jail free card because with cars going bouncing over curbs and grass somehow major contact is avoided the race director peter daley i don't think has breathed for the last 20 odd minutes because we've come perilously close to the drama in all of this and still we're getting away with it as balon has to go defensive against igo how did he save that i have no idea i'll get back to you on that yeah that was incredible reflexes from mike ligo and uh adam balon very fortunate that he saved it as well because i think they may well have made contact if he hadn't have done so it's the 18 car then the wpr motorsport lamborghini losing ground here as we are still buried in the gt4 pack here that's mark sansom ahead balan looks to the inside wasn't quite close enough to pass the ginetta though and uh windscreen wiper on actually for the number one car now is that rain or has he just flicked it on in his excitement there would have been a certain element of arm twirling involved there as he tried to avoid the sideways um mike ligo oh is that rain on the windscreen maybe a few drops not enough yet to make the circuit slippery but it seems to have distracted ballon because i go on the attack again there into druids but for now the lamborghini stay in the order they were uh the incident between the mercedes of dave whitmore and john ferguson toyota is under investigation so that's going to be looked at michael i go here fights the lamborghini third gear up dearly grabbed fourth on that paddle shift box in a moment over the timing line but it's kevin say leading by 4.6 seconds from kelvin fletcher richard neary third majitsuki logging balance i go here seventh coming out of old hall corner tell you what the first 20 minutes have absolutely flown by haven't they and yet british gt races at alton park are supposed to be processional if you listen to what the drivers were saying uh the bentley unsurprisingly at the end of this part of the circuit the lakeside strait is registering the highest top speed 134.4 miles an hour uh second fastest then is the number 77 car which is the morgan till brook and mclaren so two completely different cars very evenly matched that's according to the race mission powered by aws top speed charts bentley for mclaren from a pair of mercedes top speed though only so much of the story around such a technical circuit as this so the team manager of the number 15 toyota is having to go to race control so christian did write that making me run to the circuit this morning uh anyway so that i think is a legacy of the incident so the race director wants a word at least but the toyota and the mercedes just getting themselves together and the mercedes coming off worse with that spin but we'll wait and see what pans out from that the mercedes is in the pit lane so it looks as though there was more to it than just a spin calvin fletcher still the man with the fastest lap of the race to his credit press is on but he can't really do much about bringing down the lead gap because he's now going to fend off there the number eight mercedes of richard neary right on his tail uh yes richard neary looks a little bit quicker at this phase of the race we've seen the bentley struggle a little bit on the long run in the past it seems to chew its tyres up a little bit more than some of the other cars out there and again this circuit will work those tires quite hard especially the rears is that maybe playing into near his hands well we are now just about half a minute away from the pit window opening aren't we so they can bail at the end of this lap which will get them out of the traffic we've got the gt4 scrap just up the road ahead and here is near because he's going to try and box in calvin fletcher three of breast on leg side straight is it going to work it is and richard neary goes through clears the bentley goes second that was brave brave stuff uh yes it was and it puts the car into p2 as you said and then he almost locks up a bit going into the shell hairpin but that was a great example wasn't it of how to use the traffic to your advantage he boxed in the bentley used the slower cars as a bit of a pick as they'd say in america and uh richard does go into second place behind the meanwhile gt4 traffic continuing to make friends with lamborghinis and that really delays out of ballot and up the inside goes i go you can't overtake into britain's michael and he realized that at the last second you're right though david i think we'll see a lot of these cars fail for the pit lane partly to try and get the quicker drivers in partly so these drivers can catch their breath and get out of the traffic and for toyota from gt4 10 seconds stop go penalty for causing a collision this is igo's view he's caught in traffic kevin say will be in this time i can see tom onslow cole is ready ian loggie will be in because i can see that yama burman is ready uh they're going to be others up and down the pit lane so it's going to be a really really busy pit road right now kevin say was leading by four seconds now of course the other thing we haven't really yet touched on are those that have the extra time to serve in the pits igo's got five seconds balance got seven and he and logie has got ten so there's going to be another shuffle around thanks to all of that once they come blasting out in the pit lane but there are cars pouring into the pit road that barely any gt3 on the road now i think they have all come in haven't they income say incomes neary incomes fletcher income of that entire gaggle that was boxed in behind machitsuki uh those uh success penalties really play into the hands of the 63 card only because they do not have one and yet all of the cars around them seemingly do have extra time to serve every single gt3 car then that is still running is in the pit lane and now the teams go to work then with tire changes driver changes there is a minimum time anyway for the gt3 cars that is 65 seconds that they must spend in the pit lane you then add on to that the subsequent success penalties so it doesn't mean they can be leisurely about it but it does just give the teams time doesn't it to make sure they're doing everything by the book and not pick up any penalties interesting that they're changing tires because you wouldn't have thought that this was necessarily that hard on tiles not the hottest of days but i suppose you could argue that when you've got the time on your side you'll take it the neary mercedes is on its way but there tom onslow cole is going to hang on ahead of sam neary martin plumbing in the bentley will go there third so there's no change in the top three in the order now we didn't see what everybody did in the pits but if that leading mercedes is on fresher rubber expect toc to get away uh which may explain why it was a fractionally longer pit stop i guess uh we can see the back of the pack just heading out now and there is johnny adam almost getting ahead of yelmer bourbon so that extra 10 seconds uh courtesy of winning last time out of snederson for the number six car has sent them plummeting down the order and just like that they've all gone they're back out on track and this is for the race lead sam neary immediately attacking tom onslow cole around the outside at the shell here bin sam was quicker fractionally than tom in qualifying yesterday he will be wanting now to make his move as soon as he can but he's got to be careful they cannot afford contact absolutely right and we've seen that have a racing mercedes this is home circuit the local drivers aren't they're from stockport heading now uh over the brow we've seen that involved in incidents in previous rounds it's been a winning car of course already this year as well but tom onslow cole massively experienced and he is gonna get himself into a rhythm and then i would expect that he will start to edge away but sam neary knowing that that was his chance to challenge now martin plowman third in the bentley do not rule out him either 34 minutes on the clock and they're the top three in the same order that they were just before the pit stops but look onto cole brother two-thirds point of the lap he's starting to edge away yes we still have over half the race to go there they're going to catch those pesky gt4s again before that point and we saw how exciting that became uh first time around so after the gt3 pit window is complete it is car number 88 that leads the way tomoz local now at the wheel but it doesn't because morgan tillbrook still hasn't pitted through dura motorsports and marcus clutch will eventually get into that car for the time being it does lead the orange mclaren four seconds then clear of these two who will inherit those first two positions then sam neary will go second then it's part of cloud but then it's dennis linton 6.7 seconds back in the 63 lamborghini scott mulvan fastest man in the second qualified session yesterday remember he's in the porsche now in sixth position ahead of lewis proctor phil keane sandy mitchell galba berman and johnny adam another fascination of this second stint is going to be who does the fastest lap of the race now martin plowman uh was looking quick but tom onslow cole is already doing purple sectors then as he tries to edge away meanwhile what's going on in gt4 because they've yet to get to that pit window so 57 bmw there it is the century motorsport car nathan for each team will burns at the wheel of it still being chased by matt topham and of course matt topham will relay darren turner into the second stint so this car equally looking very strong and remember the bmw ahead is a silver cup entrance so they have an extra 14 seconds to serve in the pit so in a way as long as topham stays within that 14 second window which he is they should inherit the lead anyway he'll top them all yes he will indeed yes so we're currently on lap number 16 we have got still 33 minutes of the race to go he's been absolutely blind so far good battles in gt4 further down as well number 61 mustang uh will moore at the wheel of the academy mustang snatterton winner and up behind him richard williams in the audi r8 the stunner motorsport car that's had all sorts of bad luck over the course of the season that is a competitive car when everything goes its way and this is another of the great joys for me of gt racing whether it's gt3 gt4 you couldn't have two more different cars than a ford mustang and an audi r8 but look how evenly matched they are uh yeah the audi getting out of the corners a bit better maybe but the mustang we know is strong in the speed traps they drop down into the hislop chicane then this fight for what is third place in the gt4 category continues the 61 car of course is our most recent gt4 race winner so that car has 10 extra seconds to serve in the pit lane and the number nine century motorsport bmw has seven and the number three team rocket rjn car has five and then a whole host of these silver cup cars which have the extra 14 seconds as well so expect the gt4 order to shuffle somewhat once the pit stops happen uh it will not shuffle to the benefit of the sicily mercedes which is out of the race with a gearbox drama dennis lynn fastest lap of the race certainly that one's flying that dennis the menace goes fastest of all i know i go on about dennis lynn but i find him not only a good guy out of the car but he is a very exciting driver when he's on track he knows lamborghini's inside out richard williams has just pitted in the audi from gt4 marcus clatton is on his way down the pit lane that's the last gt3 stop and now you've got the gt4 field andy pouring into the pit lane uh yes although not pouring in quite the same way the gt3s did some of these silver cup entrance choosing to leave their first driver in a little longer so we've got the 42 audi in the number three mclaren is in that's michael bennier handing over then chris sulkeld is in it to give the number nine car over and then we've also got ashley marshall i just saw driving in in the baltimore sport mclaren so we've got four of them in the pit lane then and you can see a little bit of uh damage there to the left of the audi that was done at the end of the second free practice session yesterday when center fielding had an off at druids i've got the car back out there again will be a little bit dented now look at this for second place sam neary has been reeled in by martin plowman so the bentley which did lead while second dropped to third is fighting back flowey we know is a class act so let's see what he can do sam neary in fairness is not slow but whilst they're squabbling that enables tom oslo cole to get away and we do suspect don't we that the bentley is quicker over the first half of a stint than the second so plowy knows that he needs to try and get on with this now get ahead of the mercedes and maybe try and do something about closing in on tom onslow cole who all of a sudden is nearly three seconds clear of these two three seconds though can evaporate very quickly once you get into the traffic plowman late on the brakes takes a lot more curb in the paddock motorsport bentley through the britain chicane and tries to convert that now into exit speed over the hill there is onslow call the leader the battle for second behind him the bentley tried to find a way through and look at who is closing in on them dennis lind on the previous lap was almost a second and a half quicker than these two 4.2 seconds back at the start of the lap there should be a regulation that has a dennis lind in every gt race because he's just outstanding uh the gt4 shuffle is going to come we'll confirm it all at the end of the lap so dennis lind is seven seconds off the lead never mind off the car ahead of him uh so if you can get through the traffic there's a chance for victor here i'm just trying to remember when tom onslow cole's last outright race win would have been he's done a lot of class winning of late whether it's been in world challenge europe or the international gt open or creventi races but an absolute outright win for tom probably hasn't been for a while um hopefully somebody might be able to give us the news but he's doing a very good job up front and he's being helped likewise by this battle now starting to take up attention for second place and with 29 minutes to go dennis lindy's now 6.6 seconds off the leaders and another fastest lap of the race dub yeah three quarters of a second there quicker than the race leader it will all depend on how quickly if at all he can clear those two won't if he gets past them without losing too much time you never know they could win the race and that will help them in the championship there meanwhile speaking of championship is the gt4 championship leading car once the pit stops and we'll try and work out how likely it is that that title might get settled in this race but for now second third and fourth in gt3 make their way out of the shell hairpin linda was 2.1 seconds behind martin power at the start of the lap on the previous lap he was a full two seconds quicker than him though so he could be there by the end of the lap especially given the fact that there's more traffic on the horizon it's just a joy to watch i mean i'm not suggesting that the others are not trying but dennis lin in a well-run car he's absolutely on the money and that was braved by plymouth and it didn't work and he's gonna possibly lose out of all of that because it's the slow run up through nick of brook chicane dennis lyndon will stay behind him so sam neary benefits but linda will be much much closer dennis lynn had a short race here last year with a problem with the front end he doesn't know the car or the circuit as well as others around this circuit but even so he is pressing on and that's going to get him up onto the back of the bentley in a short amount of time now uh in meanwhile comes matt top of men so this is the pro am aston martin which we anticipate should take over the gt4 race lead uh once this pit stop cycle is completed as that happens the overall race leader top onslow cold comes through you can see there the number nine bmw which has now been taken over for this second stint by andrew gordon coleman that's the car that remember really needs to gaming for a top five as a bare minimum to keep this championship alive into the second race so uh as the pit stops continue darren turner prepares to get in darren is on pole position in gt4 for the second race as well later on so we know that he is quick absolutely right so darren turner will take over that car the aston martin factory driver and so he will then blast back into the race in a moment and he's also caught on pole position for his race later on in the day so the aston martin looking very very strong darren did his pole position left absolutely right yesterday he did one lap very early but then stayed out so he had to respond he was on the track he could cycle back up to speed easily plowman gives the curve a massive whack he's being delayed by the mclaren here comes lind again the bentley gets boxed in three wide over hill top this is brave brave stuff and dennis linda has just about got in front but plummet fights back on the inside line goes through under-breaking and dennis lynn knew exactly when to bail out of that and not risk anything i had a feeling there that one was going to repeat his trick from aleppo so earlier and straight line this game but somehow he got the bentley stopped this is hurting lyndon though isn't it because it's allowing sam neary there to get away look at the gap they've got two gt4 cars now between them and a good number of seconds as well so lind needs to clear the bentley he's quick through druids he takes to the curb there's a gt4 mclaren her head sorry yeah plummer goes to the inside of it linda does so as as well but he's a little bit too far back into lodge the bentley runs wide though and linda again he's up the inside this time surely he's level as they come over dear leave he'll have the inside line for old hall corner they're going to catch this center for two car as well though and plumbers gonna try and crowd into the inside it's to no avail though and lingo's third fantastic that marker ahead though so dennis lynn has to suddenly dodge to the right martin planner right there behind him fantastic battle all of this so dennis lind is now six point two seconds away from the race leader he's got to get past sam neary of course and the traffic but hats off to dennis lin for the way that he's managed to carve his way through the slower cars and the not so slower cars there's another incident involving uh michael igo's car and also lewis proctor and it's a pit stop incident that is being investigated so maybe there was a uh an unsafe release or a blocking in the pit lane that's being looked at but look lin the head of the bentley and straight away he starts to clear that car yeah i'm interested to see the sector times this time around then dennis lind in the first sector was 210 slower uh here is the unsafe release there's the number five mclaren gets released into the fast lane here comes the red lamborghini ah right so they had to dodge the elmer berm and mercedes didn't they as it was being backed out so that will be the defense from mouth motorsport that they were dodging the other car uh of course the upr motorsport might not quite see it that way although wpi are already ahead of the valve car anyway so it matters little really to the number 18 team but if anybody is doing things badly in the pics that needs addressing there's a finger wag or a lesson you know don't do that again and here's a penalty to make you remember not to do it again yelma berman trying to get up through the traffic sandy mitchell just ahead of him lewis proctor just up the road as well coming out of druid slower gt4 mclaren in the way and this absolute freight train dives down towards lodge corner we have had some fantastic racing in this i can't quite work out whether we are witnessing some very brave absolutely outstanding driving or we're standing on a knife edge but so far we've managed to get through this without a safety car without much in the way of yellow flanks and those that have dramas largely have carried on from them but tom onslow cole leads by 2.8 seconds and he's edging away whereas dennis lind in third place was quicker last time because he was in the 35s as there through the traffic goes ballon oh now sandy mitchell goes younger birtman behind him and the rjn mclaren is getting forced out while johnny adam is still busy he's down in 10th place uh yes he is johnny adam then uh is one and a half seconds behind you albert berman as well so not really catching this group is he just done some quick gt4 related uh calculations by the way with the 57 car after the pit stops have been completed of course burton second in class now and it's teammate carl the eighth in class that's not quite enough it will go down to the second ratio as it stands but there is plenty of potential for positions to change not only gt4 but gt3 as well there is currently the aston martin of darren turner which is leading in gt4 that pit stop release we've just been looking at no further action so all is good that was just one of those things so the race director is happy uh other teams are going to have to go and see the race director about other dramas marcus class and i understand uh his team currently being looked at but there in gt4 darren turner accelerates through so continuing this long a very successful association with aston martin uh darren newly appointed as a director of the british racing drivers club and putting something back into the sports as well as still driving still winning and still being quick yes he is and uh very quickly makes his way down towards ireland ben then through the left-hander it goes and now unbeknownst to us we've lost the 60 oh oh drama at lodge corner and that is the number nine car that is andrew gordon colebrook he's tangled uh with the valve motorsport car of jack brown and that has huge championship implications for gt4 because that might now give the title to the sister car replay here what happened david and not only that but if that car's in the gravel in a dangerous place it's got huge race implications because it could be an interruption there's the contact that was overly ambitious from the bmw said andrew gordon-colebrook has put himself in the gravel and i fear that's going to be a safety car which will have big implications for the race lead because all the gaps will come down right just before that drama i think brynn had news um andy was trying to get to the point about the academy mustang which is retired from the race let's see what goes on there but bryn what can you tell us from other dramas in the race just looking at the screen at the minute and watching the bmw trying to get restarted there on the gravel but i'm here with the the muscle gun the academy motorsport mustang there is starter motor failure on this so it doesn't look like they're going to be able to get back out right now which is a real shame since they started third in this race absolutely great thanks very much so big big disappointment for academy motorsport the good news is there's another race to come more reviews andy people were trying to dig themselves out of the gravel at lodge uh yes did they succeed in doing that though the bmw is in the pit lane i can see out of the window that car is not but he's in less of a dangerous position you would say if one car could end up there another one could i suppose is the argument but with uh how long left 21 minutes to go we do hope that we can avoid a safety car now there is the damage on the gordon colebrook car left from suspension damage steering damage you'd assume as well and uh we'll get the calculations done very shortly but that might just have handed the championship to the 57 car andrew is furious with the situation but the bite a bit i mean that was on him really wasn't it it was an optimistic move he was never fully alongside he wasn't gonna work and i suspect he's just crossed with himself as with the situation uh tom onslow cole still leads by 2.7 seconds big break far now the bmw as well uh but it's onslow cole neary and lynn now dennis lindy's 4.7 seconds off the race lead the answer to when did tom onslow cole last have an outright race win was 2018 at silverstone in the sps run uh mercedes thanks very much dailysportscar.com for the news well having researched all of that it might be in vain because the way that dennis lindy's going still with what have we got 20 minutes left that gap is coming down and down and down meantime number five mclaren of lewis proctor has to clear the traffic and he has to do that and a hurry because sandy mitchell is right there behind him yeah sandy mitchell wants to make progress needs to make progress really does need for his championship hopes he is in eighth place at the moment if he can clear the mclaren that gives him seventh spot and they're about two and a half to three seconds behind uh phil keen ahead of them every time you go for a point something else happens i need to update you on in terms of penalties 77 marcus clatton drive through penalty for track limits okay right so that's uh we haven't noticed him being warned but then our timing screen is lighting up with notifications all the time so i may well have missed it so drive through penalty for him mata's little really they're running 40 seconds off the back of the gt3 pack but uh marcus's local circuit a weekend he had high hopes for unfortunately a little bit of bad news there now the other gt3 mclaren is still in this battle and this is lewis proctor he's seventh place sandy mitchell behind him as they make their way through old hall corner no move coming though for the time being right then century motorsport the number nine car we assume is out of the race bring lucas though has more information for us yeah i'm with andrew now andrew we just in the car get wheeled into the garage a fair bit of damage to the front end suspension on both sides it appears talk us through what happened yeah so coming into um final corner just had a bit of a better run than any amount of druid so i had a bit of momentum and yeah went for it dived down the inside and then just at the last moment i knew that he wasn't gonna gonna leave the space so kept on the break trying to back out of it went all up the inside curve trying to avoid it but if you don't leave room where can i go you know so from you it was the fact that he didn't leave you the space i yeah he didn't leave any space at all he took the normal racing line when i was up alongside he should have seen me there but he didn't so yeah that's my view of it anyway what about the next race isn't the car will be ready for that one uh well we hope so um yeah disappointing if that's that's the end of our day completely um especially with second in the championship up for grabs and trying to keep some sort of pressure on our teammates in that regard but yeah so we'll keep keep our fingers crossed and hope that yeah hopefully we can get back out later yeah all right thank you very much thank you for you to pick through the boat oh you coward lucas you coward right uh we've had another drive-through uh doug marcus clapton has gone through the pit lane and serve his drive-through yeah pick out the bones of that green invites us to i i would still argue that andrew was never fully alongside but he reckons he was standing on the brakes anyway um that can rumble on post race this is the race leader but 2.9 seconds first and second it's 3.9 seconds first to third lind is catching number eight mercedes and still has 17 and a half minutes left to try and get there doesn't he the number eight car in second place by the way sam neary on his final track limits warning a drive-through penalty for the break car would help dennis lind as well but the rate he's going he wouldn't bet against him passing that car on the road down through his lobs they go and we also whilst we were hearing from bryn and andrew gordon colbrook in the pit lane saw the shuffle that was going on uh towards the back end of the top ten sandy mitchell now up to seventh and then around the outside of his lobs yale mcburman also cleared luis proctor to move the number six car into eight so those two sort of moving through the field together fascinating fact 37 tom onslow cole's last autumn park win uh was in 2010 in the days of the lpg powered arena international ford focus in the british touring car championship thank you matt james the editor of motorsport news who has that fact to hand in the local pub uh sorry in his notebook there is leo machitsuki who watches what dennis lind is up to with everything crossed but dennis lin has been the fastest man in the race the incident between andrew gordon colebrook and jack brown's going to be looked at after the race hopefully we're not going to get caught as witnesses are waiting but so that's going to rumble on but dennis lin right now is absolutely flying he's 3.6 seconds off the lead and there he's what three lengths back from the second place mercedes and he looked better through cascades that lamborghini carrying the corner speed a bit better they've got the uh returning jamie caroline ahead of them i don't think we've actually had a chance to mention jb caroline yet but the reigning gt4 champion uh welcome return back to british gt at the wheel of that toyota kazoo racing supra which is about to go another lap down to the second and third place gt3 cars and there was a bit of a miscommunication there sam neary went to the right but that was the way that caroline was going it works out though because neary clears the toyota before the chicane and lynn has to wait and you can see that just loses him a car length or so it does but he'll quickly be able to make that back up again i think given the way that he's been going trouble is that the higher up the order you get the tougher the nut to crack becomes and sam neary ain't just going to let dennis lin go by he's going to fight for everything he can possibly get out of this race so dennis lin's chances of a win are going to be really hinging on how long it takes him to get past if he can get past sam neary uh fastest drivers on the track right now by the way are sandy mitchell and scott mulvane so uh those two are pretty quick at the moment in the mid pack holding mitchell seventh but they're both catching the cars ahead of them at a rate of knots dennis lind not really closing in on on the samurai at this particular point on the racetrack but uh a bit more clean air ahead of them now as they head over to elite to complete the 27th lap with what has been an enthralling seventh round of the intelligent money british gt championship through the right-hander they go there are thomas local with a 3.2 second lead over sam neary who's half a second clear of lint and lynne lost out last time partly because of the traffic partly because he's still stuck behind niri although that mercedes looked a bit nervous didn't it going into cascades there so dennis lyndon is trying everything as ever he does but up front thomas loco with now 14 minutes left on the clock he's still in the box seat isn't he because lynn has yet to really catch never mind make a move on everybody's about to catch him because he breaks as late as he does at shell oil's corner and sam neary now is about to have to try and fend off one of these stars of the championship yes but where does the move come where is the lamborghini sufficiently quicker than the mercedes to actually make an overtake stick he was good through britain's but he's not going to be alongside as they go over hilltop sam neary though still driving down the inside line there before he realizes that lynn wasn't close enough and takes the normal racing blood into the sugar dennis hops over the curves the suspension on that lamborghini won't be thanking him for that but uh he manages to keep it on the island sam neary there with the torque of that mercedes gets out of nickelbrook well and just starts to build the gap once again dennis lin pops over the curves dennis hopper therefore possibly down towards druid he turns now into that double apex right still hunting down sam neary he was quicker than sam was quicker than dennis in the uh first sector by terms of the personal best but we're talking hundreds here down towards lodge corner into the right now through now towards dear lee so at the start of the lap the margin between them was six tenths of a second it's going to be about that by the end isn't it this now illustrates the problem that dennis linder's got because sam neary is not going to be an easy driver to get past it's still about half a second and for every lap he's stuck there it's one lap less opportunity to get past tom oslo cole but there might be salvation up the road andy because there is a slower mclaren and he's got jamie stanley at the wheel yeah jamie stanley just delaying sam neary through no fault of his own he had to make his way through the corner as well it's just bad luck that it is down to complete fortune as to whether you capture that marker at a good place or a bad place a good place is down a straight to pad places through a high speed corner like cascades you can see the way that lind is able to use that to get back underneath the rear wing of the number eight mercedes then which has not been on the podium of course since its victory at donington park midway through the season it's in second place at the moment linda a little bit scrappy over the curve but still gets out of the chicane at britain's pretty well heads over hill top once again i don't think some niri will have too much to worry about as they hit the brakes into the chicane of course one thing that is a little different in this second part of the race than the first is that the back markers that they're catching are not sort of in big groups anymore are they they're sort of catching one back marker at a time that just makes it a little bit less stressful uh to negotiate them stressed though definitely something that leo mujitsu is feeling here because he knows they're on for a good result here but again he's got that championship uh conversation to think about as well hasn't he they just need to finish they're ahead of everyone that matters in a way yes second place would be nice it would actually score them first place points because the 88 car doesn't score but is it worth the risk well indeed i mean that's the good thing isn't it that does not score points it's invisible for the purposes of points so what that really gives you between niri and lind is the battle for the win isn't it uh yes i certainly does matter absolutely yes because you score 18 points for finishing second 25 for winning an extra seven points given how tight this championship is could be the difference between winning it and losing it when we get to dominant park in a few weeks time down through cascades they go there niri hanging on but linde does look quicker through the fast corners doesn't he he looks more stable he looks that that car looks less nervous than the mercedes i mean sam leary is working hard i get that but dennis lind knows exactly how to find a way by he's a more experienced driver barwell motorsport massive experience at running that lamborghini so little by little i still think that the emphasis is shifting dennis lin's way but can he find a way through on pure pace or does he have to force an error out of sam neary and if so where and when and how can that come yeah it will either be a mistake or a stumbling traffic you feel is that about to happen maybe they have a gt4 car ahead into his lobs sat near he wants to commit to the inside he does commit to the inside and gets that number four car between them and dennis almost runs into the back there of katie milner who now gets out of the way into knickerbock corner and again that's the best part of a second gone in an instant there just because of where they caught the slower car and it ain't gonna be the work of the moment to make that up again is it so dennis lynn charges on illustrates sometimes you can win in the traffic sometimes you can lose it but i would imagine that the chitsky and linda focus more on that car ahead rather than the uh invisible for the purposes of point 88 tom onslow cole and kevin say could be on for an absolutely famous win here i can't imagine there are many macintosh drivers that have won at orton park um there's another one for the anarch pockets to try and trace but there tom onslow cole with more back markers to worry about gets up on the inside of the charlie robertson driven ginetta that will get a grid drop in race two for his path in an incident at snatterton but the assetto motorsport car is busy squabbling as well isn't it there to the outside line of mclaren number three this is for position and robertson goes around the outside of alan that was brave brave stuff yes but the mclaren i think is better down the street so veloco comes back at it but as much as robertson tries to crowd him over to the left-hand side of the road it's not going to work is it there still side by side and look who arrives on the scene sam neary in second place there's nowhere for him to go dennis lynn knows this is his opportunity goes to the outside the mclaren gets out of the way the ginetta is still there and dennis lyndon almost pushes sam neary out of the banked hairpin and down towards britain's but that was a bit of a heart-stopping moment that for sam neary he survived it in second place still though really gave up his own battle there didn't need to get out of the way but linda's got the pace he has benefited on this lap from the traffic but now where does he go because near he quite rightly covers off the inside line down towards his watch we've seen stripe here early on in the race from others so dennis lin doesn't even think about trying on the outside line there but where can he do it he's going to be lodged corner i would suggest and the move now starts here to make sure he's close up behind the mercedes try and force a tiny error coming out of druids and then pounce on the inside line coming out of this corner down the straight they are nose to tail yep through the double apex right hand of them but maybe a bit of aero wash there because lynn wasn't quite as quick through the corner as sam neary apparently leo machitsuki has been telling bryn lucas that their strategy is to force samiri into a mistake either a mistake that opens the door or a mistake that sees them exceed trap limits because remember they're still on we think their final track limits warnings so the the plan here is to apply the pressure rather than force the issue but of course if that opportunity does present itself dennis linde is a racer and will go for it for sure now i would suspect as well looking at the evidence that the mercedes is good in a straight line with the grudge certainly coming up to elite whereas the lamborghini has the aero advantage so up dearly there you saw the talk of the mercedes really helping it as it powers up the hill back here down towards island bend another batman is in the way this is dennis lin's chance to go to the outside line but he ain't gonna go around the outside there because the mclaren will be in his way so he switches to the inside he could not be closer to the back of sam neary and sam is doing a really good job of soaking up the pressure but dennis lin absolutely within striking distance now this is brilliant driving from both of them as you said lind going on the attack but doing so sensibly and safely and with a championship in mind and sam neary so far has not put a foot wrong either even in amongst all of the traffic down towards his lops we go again there are seven and a half minutes left of what has been a brilliant seventh round of the championship this is pretty much letting tom flo call off the hook now you'd say he's built the gap uh over these two up to around four seconds now even if lind passed sam neary immediately i don't think he's quite got the time uh to catch tommy that sort of uh in the time that's left in the race but getting into second place could happen because sam neary has to go up the inside of katie milner through druids actually he's still pretty quick off the corner and so lin's still not close enough yeah katie miller just made another pit stop incidentally he's down towards large goes dennis lim so a bit of correction needed there this is where all that grunt to the mercedes just helps it coming up dear deep over the timing line so we've got just six and three quarter minutes to go as they're heading towards old hall corner now break turn right land a little bit nearer i would suggest under breaking bear but even with the traffic he hasn't really been able to pounce uh also spotted out of the window there that uh martin ploughman has really been caught by scott molve and scott was maybe six seconds back at one point but for fourth place the porsche has caught the bentley you don't know where to look and that's always a sign that this has been a good race isn't it you've got the battle for second the battle for fourth gt4 battles raging on as well up through arlen bender goes dennis lin full commitment through the quick left-hander one of the few properly quick left-handers in the country really then into the tight ride still nowhere to go uh another one from the pits uh you remember that the toyota supra had a stop go earlier for its part in the incident with the mercedes it's now got a drive-through for tracking him his abuse jamie caroline at the wheel of it at the moment so that is going to drop further away however tom oslo cole is leading by nearly five seconds that is the plowman versus melbourne battle so the porsche pole for race two as andy mentioned earlier on inching up on the back of the bentley then you've got phil keane charging along in sixth spot johnny adam by the way he's still marred down in tenth behind lewis proctor yama burma he's eight sandy mitchell is seventh but up front tom ontolo cole and kevin say are on target for a win i'm pretty convinced this is the first time a macanese driver has won at alton park but i will be prepared to stand corrected dennis lynn out of druids sam neary hat tipped to him for the way that he's responded to the pressure yes and for the time being no real traffic around them although they will probably catch the top three or four gt4 cars before the race is over they're just going across the start finish line now as these two head over deer lead then so five and a quarter minutes just less uh remain in the race dennis lind has he got anything left has he thrown everything he's got here at the mercedes ahead of him or is there maybe one last trick in the armory that he can use to get this second place away which as we've said would give the 63 car the race winning number of points so seven championship points on the line here again david as you mentioned earlier on the mercedes squirming around a bit through cascades but it's sam knows that he's got then the torque and the horsepower advantage down the straight he almost doesn't have to come off the corner as quick as lind he should still be safe at the other end of the straight exactly right but danny threw the twiddling bits in the lamborghini closes up once more so here we were lap 34 four and a half minutes to go there is a bit of traffic up the road not much but a bit dennis lin tightens the line in the middle of britain's rides the curb but again the mercedes is able to haul itself over the brow up the hill better so that gap is clearly increased by length maybe by two down towards his lops gap comes down two back markers now evident one of which is the second fielding audi that's the first car they're going to catch so again i think they're going to find that traffic exit of druids down towards lodge and not far ahead of seden is gus burton in the second place bmw either so two of them that are fighting for podium positions ahead of the inside of fielding into druids go sam neary but does not go dennis lin so dennis again and druid just getting delayed a bit there by batman he's cleared him by the time they come off the corner but that little hesitation getting off the throttle for a split second just let sam leary off the hook for now and behind them fourth and fifth place being caught by sixth and seventh actually because phil keane and sandy mitchell have been consistently quicker than martin plowman and scott malvin i don't know if they're gonna get there in time but they are definitely getting closer and closer together this group indeed so michael i go inching up on the back of them as they go down through old hall corner martin plowman in that bentley hanging on the fourth place actually fourth sounds like poor reward doesn't after the way that it started on pole kelvin fletcher did a great job early on in the first stint and it was that incident that uh came about later that delayed him now a track limit infringement for the bentley will be investigated after the race so you're looking at the fight involving it for fourth but it could be a story that rumbles on in the stewart's room post race this damocles investigation now looms over martin plowman's bentley never mind the fact that scott malvin he's all over him like a rash and then behind phil keane trying to carve his way through the traffic as well two minutes 50 seconds to go uh yes and again as we saw at the end of the first stick in the race that penalty just does not want to go around the corners does it through britain's they go we're getting a warning by the way that martin plowman uh was on his fourth uh track limit infringement then i think the next one would have been the one that's going to be investigated they were on their final warning essentially and then he's done it again at the inside of the 57 bmw they go that delay scott malvin now phil keane suddenly sees a chance to move into fifth place here because he has a wider line through like a brook cuts back to the late apex but the rear engine porsche all of that traction gets it out of the corner still pretty quickly and he keeps the gap quick word about gt4 gus person leading center fielding there the gap between them is only three seconds bmw uh sorry darren turner i should say still leads then you've got within the silvers burton ahead of fielding four seconds between them down turner's 14 seconds to the good he's well clear but the aston martin heading for another victory as the two lamborghinis here getting themselves together phil keane versus sandy mitchell well sandy's not in a mood to give up just sitting there either is he uh no need to the point so does uh keen ahead though of course the wp i've had a couple of off weekends and then that shunt at donington earlier in the year didn't help either martin plowman is being shown as having a penalty applied to him now we were told that was going to be post race but the timing screen has now a little penalty marker next to martin plowman's name right i wonder if he was on his last warning then they suspected that he'd done it again and then he's done it again and can't really argue it because it was obvious that he'd exceeded track limits that time who knows 30 second penalty ah there we go right so a drive-through penalty being converted to a 30-second penalty for martin plumbing so that is what the exclamation mark is for and that now will lose them a whole heap of places 30 seconds we'll put them to the back pretty much of the gt3 field perhaps still ahead of enduro motorsport but that will still only be 10th place in the end for the car that started on pole and led much of the first half of the race he's being caught again by scott mulvan for whom this is a particular frustration because he's ahead of the bentley now corrected times but it is still physically there getting in his way holding him up and allowing the lamborghini there to catch him absolutely right now we have got less than a lap time left in the race there is one more lap for dennis lin to get up past sam neary for the maximum points in gt3 won't be a win on the road but actually sam neary you've got to say has driven really impressively in this he took the battle to tom on slow coal early on couldn't crack him but has also settled down to take the points and dennis lind tries he might just can't stay close enough for the entire lap you've seen it stretch this elasticated situation where it's the grunt of the mercedes that's needed very definitely sam near he capitalizes upon that dennis lind able to bring down the gap through the twisty bits darren turner doing his usual outstanding job in gt4 quality act quality drive darren turner comes down towards cascades and he will see the gt3 traffic behind so he'll hop out of the way in a moment martin plowman still just ahead there of scott malvin with phil key charging along behind but tom ontolo cole is heading up front for a very overdue park win after what 11 years and from 2018 his first outright race win and a great result for him at autumn park rookie kevin say yeah you couldn't script these sort of stories could you over the top of hilltop they go then the 88 ram racing mercedes the uh sister carl number six not having quite such a strong day but for the 88 car it looks as though the race victory is theirs the question is who joins them on the podium and in which order because dennis lind is still tucked up behind sam neary as they head towards the hislops and nick brooks section of the circuit someone's local there just negotiates jamie caroline's toyota once again as it goes over the hill and that should now be the last car that he sees because he's got clear air ahead of him just two corners from home now then and tom on local on his return to the championship kevin say on his debut in the championship are about to become race winners it looks more likely now to be a mercedes one two as well some nearly clear of dennis lind but out of lodge corner comes the ram racing mercedes through the dip over the crested deer leaf tom onslow cole and kevin say are winners in the intelligent money british gt championship for ram racing it is celebrations for the 88 car second place i think will go the way of sam neary yes it does from dennis lind in third but remember that sam neary will pick up the 20 uh the uh uh sorry yes 25 points for winning the race essentially with linde 18 there for what will become second as far as the points are concerned scott malvin is fourth on corrected times of course ahead of phil keane sandy mitchell yelmer berman and martin plowman he's gonna fall right to the back of the gt3 field in gt4 it's darren turner and matt topham that take the victory second place though and with one hand now on the championship trophy it is the 57 bmw of wilbur's and gus burton mathematically they haven't quite wrapped it up i think if they score a single point in race two then they will be champions but that certainly puts them one step closer and that david was rather enjoyable one of the best races i've seen from this championship at all mark in a number of years absolutely one of the best anywhere actually because he was full of drama full of surprises uh some excellent racing driving standards were a lot lot better than you could have feared i mean you know you've seen races like me at spa you were there at donington watching the drama at the first corner you know mid-season the the press like to wag the finger at british gt and talk about driving standards well there we had a couple of near misses i'll grant you but that was absolutely on the edge racing with proper drivers in proper cars at a proper circuit and we got through it without a safety car without any interruptions fantastic stuff yes the circuit at which it's supposed to be almost impossible to overtake as well but it was one of the races of the season it was a race that was won by ram racing then kevin say and tom onslow cole victorious ahead of richard and sam neary with dennis lind and leo machitsuki in third then it was the mulvane and jones porsche the keane and i go lamborghini ahead of sandy mitchell and adam ballen ian logging yelma berman after that early contact and a success penalty was seventh ahead of the proctors then it was the beach dean aston martin the paddock bentley drops to 10th after that time penalty with enduro motorsport having endured a pretty tough race there in 11th place gt4 won by newbridge motorsport once again their second victory of the year then for darren turner and matt topham whilst in second place gus burton and will burns one step closer to the gt4 overall title zenon fielding and richard williams get the uh number 42 audi onto the gt4 podium as well uh further batman while there were those that were in stride the number nine car damaged at lodge corner they were retirement motorsports car involved in that incident also failed to get going again academy motorsport then had that starter motor failure so they retired at the pit window and the car gods with sicily motorsport mercedes getting tapped into that spin by john ferguson at all corner uh also non-finishers there is kevin say who is jogging his way up the pit lane then to join thomas local and eventually bring lucas who will be down there hopefully to get some interviews with our podium finishers there is onslow cole and tom onslow cole then who i'm sure will be delighted i mean starting on the front row at alton park you always feel david that that will give you a shot at a race victory but there was so much that happened in that race at any point it could have gone wrong for them they managed to get through the drama and actually most of that drama happening in the stint for the least experienced of the two drivers yeah i mean it would have been very easy for kevin say as a rookie to walk apart to make a mistake to have gone off the road to crack under the pressure to be a little bit slow to to plod around but no he did everything absolutely right and did an outstanding job very talented driver for sure is kevin say there are darren turner and matt topham it's a shame that they had a bit of misfortune uh midway through the season they were caught up in a shunt at donington park of course and then snetterton they had a dnf as well had it not been for those two results they may well have been championship contenders despite the fact remember they didn't even turn up to the season opener at brands hatch but that is their second victory of the season in gt4 their first since the uh silverstone 500 at round number two so just like that a little bit of peace and quiet descends upon the parkland circuit at alton park but we get to do it all again later on this afternoon with our penultimate round of the championship meanwhile though we can head down into part firmware where brent lucas is with uh alton park winner once again tom onslow cole well i'm with you on your own it made it look like it was just you on your own that won the race but here's your teammate look how about that congratulations what timing what timing well that was a fantastic win for you both your return and your first ever race all in parks let's start with you kevin why not your first ever race here well ram racing prepared a fantastic car it was perfect throughout the race um it was a bit slow in the start but then the tire temperature went up and then it was all good and then tom great gt driver and then he also be coaching me for the last few days and that helped me get up to speed and what a great drive wow made it look easy i think kevin did hard work to be fair handed me the lead and you know all i have to do is maintain that so yeah massive elation for us really to take on the challenge of coming to autumn park uh it is one of uh britain's finest and one of the most difficult as well to pick up so congratulations kevin you've really nailed this this is uh yeah what a cool uh cool win and uh great for the team as well i was going to say it's a very hard circuit to learn from from the off you've raced here so many times so it's like the back of your hand for you but for kevin a brilliant job as well and for both of you congratulations thank you very much thank you thank you so tom onslow cole and kevin say victorious that means they will carry success penalty into the second race of course later on which will potentially change the complexion of that race again uh in gt4 me while david uh i said earlier on a second victory for new bridge they did of course win on the road at spa didn't they had a post-race penalty so it's been a bit of a win or bust season for them hasn't it has been a very good uh result and darren turner and matt topham i think will be delighted with that both of them working really well as a good team now you made qualifying look pretty easy yesterday both of you and the race itself it wasn't as easy as qualifying look let's start with you matt well done talk us through that i i already kind of decided if the bmw is alongside me you know will's got a ton of experience and just let him go and try and keep up i managed to do that very well actually and we had the car was mega um yeah it just i knew if i kept with him we had a chance and there it came and now the next race darren because of this it means you've got a bit more of a penalty to put up with so we stay in race two yeah i'm not worried about race two just yet just enjoy race one i mean it was a great effort by matt you know did a sterling job in qualifying yesterday with the aston vantage gt4 perfect laptop you know you look at the data and it's absolutely nailed it and so he really made today's race easy starting on the front row on pole position did the right thing into turn one um and you know didn't fight just made sure that we were close on the pit stop when when he came in we'd be close on the pit stop and then uh you know went out and i had a nice healthy lead and just uh went round and tried to conce keep consistent all the way through but yeah i loved it you know enjoyed driving around autumn park and this particular car is great around here but it's a tricky one isn't it because with gt3 and gt4 the gt4 cars are a fair bit slower than gt3 so you're having to contend with that as well yeah but it makes it fun out there you know you can see the the racing that's going on you can see them coming the blue flags are out you know the packs coming and trying to manage it and traffic manages is all part of of multi-class racing and it's all that makes it exciting not just for people watching it but also from the driver's point of view sometimes it goes in your way sometimes it doesn't but you know it's good fun out there well you know multi-class racing pretty well well done to both of you to matt and to darren thank you very much cheers the most shocking piece of news out of that david is that the drivers actually enjoy that i always sort of imagine they were sitting there sort of gripping the steering wheel for dear life i think when you're experiencing darren turner you probably can uh do that but uh interesting as well to um look at the the two pro-am combinations and how they work with the driver highlights then of the seventh round of the championship it was the calvin fletcher bentley that held on to the lead in gt3 into old hall corner whilst further back the 57 bmw of gusberg managed to wrestle the lead away from matt topham within gt4 there was drama up at the island hairpin for the number four mclaren that round wide through the gravel trap and then a lap or so later ian loggie rammed into the back of the leo machitsuki lamborghini damage was done but the place didn't change hands that was kind of the story over the next 10 minutes or so as long he tried to make progress past the lamborghini whilst the lamborghini's teammate car was making progress there with adam allen getting past the porsche into island bend then a spin for the third place mclaren and morgan tilbrook said michael aigo bouncing across the grass at cascades he rejoined but behind the 63 car with lots of time uh lost but thankfully no damage done the battle was intense as the whole queue of cars got congested behind the 63 car and then as the gt3 leaders were side by side there was contact amongst the gt4 cars ahead and that ultimately cost kelvin fletcher the race lead then ian logging in his second bid of lamborghini contact side to side contact there with aigo somehow igo collected it there was an unsafe release investigated as the lewis proctor mclaren was released into the path of phil keane whilst in gt4 the 61 academy mustang was a podium contender before a starter motor failure in the pit window after the pit stops were complete then for gt3 there was a mistake down at the chicane for martin plowman which almost cost him a spot on the podium whilst the 57 car that had been leading gt4 came back out in second after the pit stops side by side over the top of the hill dennis lind was on a mission twice he tried to get himself ahead of ploughman eventually making the move stick into old hall corner whilst there was an issue for the number nine car andrew gordon colbrook into the side of jack brown the bmw out on the spot and that had big championship ramifications towards the end of the race it was all about the fight for second place dennis ling was comfortably the fastest driver on the track but try as he might he could not find a way past samiri who defended brilliantly and at times relied on the traffic to help him out as well the two circulated together though for much of the final third of the race pass further back charlie robertson was making some progress passing hugo over alan polant i should say through cascade's corner thomas local brought the 88 car across the line to win with sam neary second though and third for dennis lind so the podium presentations then about to get underway as a lot of other relieved drivers you'd say are about to start celebrating uh having finished well but also having survived what could have been a very bruising race because david made the point earlier on driving standards were exemplary in that one and it is a solid and important david third place finish there for the 60 team from a championship perspective that really is about as good as they could have hoped that would go yeah third on the road settling points excellent stuff well done to the nearest because that point is a race win uh they both kept out of trouble the car was quick you get the feeling this is a mercedes circuit don't you but kevin say first time here wins the race tom onslow cole's first outright win since 2018 and there's an example of a pro working with the am to get him as close to the best pace as possible and he's paid dividends and tom you know he sits with a lot of ams in different championships he's a great driver coach and that input has just been rewarded with a race win uh yes so now they get to celebrate the moment then uh with the champagne up there on the autumn part podium so nice that we can get these podiums uh as we like them and um tries the isn't it lando norris that's made that particular method of champagne opening popular of late he eventually gets it done and they will now clear the podium then for the next group of drivers to go up we tend to have four podiums in total with the overall podiums within the classes plus then the uh sort of pro-am and silver cup elements as well you can see all the drivers ready and waiting whilst they prepare the next podium let's take a look then shall we at the championship standings dennis lin got 135 points with leo machitsuki the gap then back to ian loggie and yalma berman goes out but they are then just four points ahead of andrew howard who could have actually lost more points when you consider what's happening to happen to him this weekend ballon and mitchell then are fourth ahead of igo and keane who round out the top five but still all of the names that you see on that list could mathematically wrap up the 2021 title now the next to the podiums is the uh silver am element of gt3 it's the nearest that are victorious and they get to step on the top step of the podium in that one the proctor's second it's been a very family affair silva in 2021 and it's the they will vacate the podium once again and we prepare them for gt4 which as we've said mathematically the gt4 title has not yet been won it will go down at least to the second race here today though would have to come down to a count back results essentially to keep them in minecraft in contention but there are the stellar motorsport pairing of center fielding and richard williams solid drive for them a weekend that didn't start that well did it though with that shunt for cenon in practice indeed but that is a team that has put so much effort into the championship for relatively poor reward to get him on the podium i think it's a well-deserved result let's say that uh yes their best results is a second place which they had at silverstone but they haven't visited the podium since so you're absolutely right had a mechanical issue at donington park of course and uh issues at snetterton last time out second place then goes to the 57 squad who as i've said are almost champions but they will have to turn up and score a point in the second race the winning gt4 though matt topham and darren turner for newbridge motorsport their second win the third time that they've crossed the line first in gt4 in what has been essentially a part season campaign really having missed that season opener at brands hatch been great to have them along though darren turner we know and love already matt topham though really making his mark on the championship isn't he he is i mean a bit like kevin said you know he's with a really good driver that you don't just look to for a result but will help matt along you know teach him coach him nurture him and that's what you need invest in the al to get yourselves up to a class winning position it's going to be fascinating now with that extra pit stop penalty to serve in the second race but don't rule them out well no because remember they're likely to be battling against the silver cup competitors again add 10 seconds onto the pit stop for the aston martin sort of balances out the 14 seconds for the silver cup cars doesn't it yeah there is confirmation then of this gap so in theory if gus burton and will burns didn't score this afternoon and didn't score at donington park and andrew gordon-colebrook and chris solgel won both of those races they'd be tied on points they'd have the same number of race victories but the nine car would have one more second place finish apparently so that is how it mathematically could still go the way of the number nine team they are the only two cars though that can win the championship so we can say for certain that century motorsport after a a pretty torrid season in 2020 will win the gt4 overall championship it's just now a matter of working out which of their two cars will lift the silverware speaking of which there is more silver silverware being lifted there amongst the pro am podium finishers because of course we now welcome the fox motorsport jamie stanley uh and uh also the assetto motorsport janetta there charlie robertson and mark sansom who have had ken had a bit of a bad luck over the last couple of races charlie leaving mark sampson the difficult job of uh holding the trophy and spraying champagne which apparently is hard to do one-handed yes i would go along with that matt topham has just disappeared he's not around for getting soaked is he um this is where you realize you needed to pack a second set of overalls for race two later on but another day another podium for darren turner who wins in gt4 uh jamie stanley there halston makes his way off the podium he's gonna be a touring car racer next week he will make his debut in the british touring car championship darren turner class winner excellent race very definitely one of the best we've had all season and there's more to cam andy later in the day yes that second race of the day for the intelligent money british gt championship scheduled to kick off at 25 past four i'm sure if you enjoyed race one you'll be along then to enjoy race two [Music] you

Channel: GTWorld

Views: 66,201

Keywords: BlancpainGT, Blancpain, GT, GT3, Endurance, Sprint, Series, Cup, Motorsports, watch, FIA, driver, sportscar, racecar, car, events, Spa, 24h, team, europe, pro-am, pro, racetrack

Id: 7LVxBpnFFzI

Length: 88min 0sec (5280 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 12 2021