HOISTS CHAPMAN BACK INTO GINETTA CHALLENGE SERIES TOP TWO
Pole position performance for track debutant sets-up Rd14 successChapman adds P2 in Rds15 & 16 to move back into second in standings
British racer Matt Chapman produced an eye-catching series of performances at Spa-Francorchamps over the weekend, during the penultimate Ginetta GT5 Challenge event of 2016, with his second victory of the campaign and a hat-trick of podiums – all on his first ever visit to the Belgian track.
Lapping fastest in testing and carrying that high level of competitiveness through into qualifying, where he scorched to pole position, the Oxford driver starred in his maiden contest at the famous Formula One venue to claim victory by the slimmest of margins, just 0.027 seconds.
Trading the lead of race two with third year category veteran Ollie Chadwick, Matt just missed out on another win by a mere 0.3 seconds. Although leading the third and final contest at the point it was red flagged, as a result of an on-track incident, officials declared a result from the end of lap four which meant the Total Control Racing driver was classified in second place once more.
Ahead of the championship finale at Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit a couple of months from now, 16-year-old Matt holds second position in the driver standings with an 18-point cushion over his closest pursuer – leaping up from fourth in the title race at the start of the Spa weekend. His podium tally for the year now stands at nine rostrum results.
“We definitely exceeded expectations”, said an elated Matt, “Thursday’s practice was the first time I’d ever been on the track, I’d only ever ‘raced’ at Spa before on the Playstation and they wouldn’t let me test on Wednesday as I’m not 18 yet and there was an age limit. We lost some valuable time and experience there but it didn’t hold me back.
“I really looked forward to Thursday and topping the timesheets on my first time at Spa was amazing, we knew we had a good car and to then qualify on pole was something else. Each race was a huge battle with Ollie [Chadwick] and it was incredible to pip him to the win in race one. It really has been an amazing weekend and it’s definitely boosted our confidence further for Donington.”
Despite his complete lack of experience at the demanding Belgian track, Matt was very impressive in qualifying on Friday, 8th July, where he out-paced Chadwick by 0.5 seconds to bag pole position for race one.
Making a great start to Friday afternoon’s race, the TCR driver led the field through La Source and proceeded to open up a cushion of around one second by the end of lap one before he and Chadwick intensified their battle. Racing door handle-to-door handle, into the eighth and final lap Matt was in second position but he saw his chance to retake the lead at the end of the tour.
As they approached backmarkers into the chicane, Matt seized the opportunity perfectly to edge past Chadwick and on the drag to the line he claimed victory in his maiden race at Spa by just 0.027 seconds. Notably, he also posted the fastest lap of the race by a mere 0.002 seconds.
Lining-up at the front of the grid again for race two later in the day, Matt converted pole into the lead before he and Chadwick resumed their close quarters scrap from the opener. Trading the lead with some fantastic racing, this time the TCR driver had to settle for second place just 0.3 seconds adrift at the chequered flag.
Matt realistically won his second race of the weekend in the final contest on Saturday, 9th July, but as a result of a red flag stoppage the finishing order was classified from the end of lap four – which he completed in second position.
Beginning the race in eighth place, he made good progress to move up into the top five on lap one and although edged back to sixth at the start of the second tour, he threaded his way brilliantly into second place at Les Combes after a shake-up of the order.
After a Safety Car period on lap four, when the action resumed the next time around Matt managed to get ahead of Chadwick and he stayed at the front into lap six just as the red flags were shown. With officials declaring the result from the end of lap four, though, the Oxfordshire driver had to settle for second again.
“It was almost a surprise to win the first race”, said Matt, “It was a very close battle and we swapped positions three or four times on one lap at certain points. I was in second on the last lap but we caught traffic into the final chicane, I got the cut-back and managed to just beat Ollie to the line.
“We didn’t set any specific goals going into the weekend, I didn’t know how things would go on my first time at Spa but in the end it was amazing. With Ollie in his third year in the championship and it being my first season, the results we’ve had help us believe there are more good things to come.”
There is now a lengthy nine week break in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge calendar with the final event of an action-packed season taking place over the weekend 10th/11th September at Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit in Leicestershire.
2016 Ginetta GT5 Challenge Driver Standings (after Rd16):2nd Matt Chapman, 390pts
