Will Aspin and John Bennett retain second and third respectively in the Pro Drivers Championship, Harley Haughton moves up to fifth while Harry Mangion still heads Am with Karim Sekkat now fourth.
Will Aspin achieved his maiden GT5 pole-position for Race 1 on Sunday but was shuffled down to third at the start. He ran in either P1, P2 or P3 such was the incredibly hectic nature of the race which saw a seven-car “train”. Unfortunately, Will made the overtake from third into the lead at the exact same moment “no overtaking” flags came out preceding the SC and although he crossed the finishing line first, was later given a 0.8secs time penalty which dropped him to a third place classification.
Race 2 was like the opening race around the 3.66-mile Grand Prix circuit with multiple changes to the leaderboard on every lap. With just over 10mins to go, Will took the lead in an eight-car battle for victory but soon afterwards was tagged into a spin. He recovered to 10th at the chequered flag, bringing an end to his 100% podium finishing record in the seventh race of the season.
John Bennett, who arrived at Silverstone having scored four podium finishes, ran as high as third in Race 1 and recovered to 10th at the Red Flag having been forced off the track, damaging the rear left suspension, which then caused another spin. John started Race 2 from the front row for the second time this season and having always been in the mix for a podium, benefitted from Aspin’s demise late in the race to record his third win of the season.
Harley Haughton equalled his best quali performance with a sixth place grid start and went on to equal his best race result of fifth in Race 1 after a titanic battle at the front of the field. He looked to be heading for his best result of the season in Race 2 but spun on the last lap, a likely fourth becoming a seventh place finish, Harley having set the race’s fastest lap.
Harry Mangion’s 100% Am podium record came to an end in Race 1 when he was unluckily unclassified due to not running at the Red Flag. Having scored two class “pole” starts, he was in a podium position but as the race resumed after a Safety Car period, Harry coasted to a stop after the engine expired. Fantastic work by the Elite crew to change the engine enabled Harry to bounce back in the best possible way in Race 2 by scoring his third class win of the season – despite a gravelly moment in the closing stages after a strong tussle for Am honours.
Sekkat recorded his best quali positions of the year with fourth in Am for Races 1 and 2 before equalling his best race result of the season, with second in class in Sunday’s opener before third place in Race 2. Peter Dilnot placed fourth and fifth in the G40 P5 Am class. The next Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge races are staged at Donington Park (GP) over 10-11 July.
Eddie Ives, Team Owner & Manager:
“As a team, we were rapid all weekend. It’s a shame that Will [Aspin] and John [Bennett] both suffered some bad luck at Silverstone.
Harley’s progress is starting to show and I don’t think a podium is too far away for him now. The team did a mega job in getting Harry [Mangion] out for the second race while Karim had a strong weekend too.”
