WHILE POINTON TAKES MAIDEN PODIUM IN GINETTA GT4 SUPERCUP
Remarkable GT4 recovery gains 12 places for Mark Davies in Rd19
Ginetta Junior Championship racer Dave Wooder produced a series of outstanding performances for Total Control Racing at Silverstone National Circuit over the weekend, 17th/18th September, to secure a terrific podium hat-trick, including two race victories, and a return to the series top three.
On a highly successful weekend for the Wednesbury team, in the sister Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup series front-runner Callum Pointon delivered more silverware for TCR after racing to his maiden category podium with a richly deserved second place finish in round 18.
Team-mate Mark Davies, meanwhile, only just missed out on the podium himself with a top four finish in the third and final GT4 Supercup race of the weekend, having earlier starred in round 19 with a terrific drive from the back of the grid into the top six.
“Dave’s done an incredible job in the Juniors”, said TCR team principal Lee Brookes, “We knew the pace was there and it should’ve been three wins – we nearly got there! Some of the moves were outstanding, he’s doing stuff I haven’t seen other drivers do, showing his true talent really.
“It was fantastic to get Callum on the podium in the Supercup, he did a great job and was unlucky to miss out on another in race two. Mark was unfortunate in the first race with some contact, but his drive from the back in race two was superb. He only just missed the podium in the last one.”
Wooder dominates Ginetta Junior with two wins from threeFrom second on the Ginetta Junior grid in round 21 on Saturday, Wooder made a perfect start to take the lead at Copse and never relinquished the place with a faultless drive, despite relentless pressure throughout the 11 lap contest. Never more than a couple of tenths of a second ahead of his pursuers, he didn’t put a wheel wrong to deliver a stunning second win of the season.
Team-mates Jordan Collard and Connor Grady began the opening contest from 14th and 17th on the grid respectively and the former came through an action-packed outing inside the overall top 12, fifth in the Rookie class. Grady’s race came to an untimely conclusion in the pits at the end of lap eight as a result of damage sustained shortly before, costing a possible top 15 result.
Round 22 later on Saturday afternoon almost delivered another victory for Wooder, the TCR racer only just missing out on his second success of the weekend by a mere 0.1 seconds after an incredibly dramatic contest. Starting on pole, Wooder was edged back to second at Becketts and then dropped to third but he hit back and was in a position to challenge for the lead the next time around.
Nudged wide and dropping to fourth, he actually slipped to fifth but bounced back remarkably and a shake-up on lap eight enabled him to superbly slice his way back through into the lead. On course for win number two of the weekend, on the final lap he was put on the grass and so finished second.
Grady was again forced into retirement, this time at the end of lap nine due to damage, having climbed through into 16th place from the back of the 20-car grid. Collard, starting from 12th place, progressed into the top 10 and fourth in class by lap four but after a moment at Brooklands on the subsequent tour, he dropped to 16th overall and eventually finished 14th, eighth Rookie.
From fourth on the grid in round 23 on Sunday, Wooder immediately sliced his way into third on the inside at Copse and went on to take second place with a stunning move at Brooklands around the outside. Grabbing the lead at Copse on lap two, although never having the luxury of much breathing space he never looked back to post his third victory of the season and second at Silverstone.
Collard started race three of the weekend from 14th, with Grady in 20th at the back as a result of his retirement from the second contest, and both made progress at the start with the former gaining one place while Grady leapt into 16th spot. In the end, Collard finished the race in the overall top 12, fourth Rookie, while Grady took 14th place.
First Supercup podium for Pointon as Davies stars with stunning recoveryMark Davies started just ahead of GT4 Supercup team-mate Callum Pointon on the round 18 grid on Saturday, the pair lining-up fourth and fifth respectively, but it was the latter who enjoyed the best of the opening lap to slice into second position at Becketts after a couple of rivals ran wide.
Into the second tour, Pointon was just a few tenths adrift of the leader and stayed there until lap three when edged back to third. He then remained there all the way to the chequered flag to secure a superb maiden podium but, post-race, was moved into second due to a penalty for Tom Wrigley.
Davies climbed through into the top four by lap 11, the move up from fifth coming after running wheel-to-wheel with Ben Green through Luffield and Woodcote. Unfortunately served with a time penalty for track limits soon after, Davies was then forced into retirement after contact from Green at Brooklands on lap 12.
Starting round 19 on Sunday morning from second on the grid, Pointon made a perfect getaway to instantly take the lead on the inside into Copse. Coming under some pressure after a couple of laps, the TCR driver performed impeccably during the first half the race but on lap nine he was edged back to second and ultimately slipped to fifth place.
From the back of the grid in 18th position, a result of his enforced race one retirement, Davies produced an eye-catching first lap to slice his way through the order superbly, storming into 11th place and then breaking into the top 10 on the second tour.
Gaining positions hand over fist, Davies grabbed ninth soon after and then set the fastest lap of the race at that point on the fifth tour confirming his excellent pace. Rising into eighth, seventh and then sixth before the race reached the halfway point, he eventually ended the race just 0.8 seconds shy of team-mate Pointon after a remarkable drive.
Davies started the ‘reverse’ grid weekend finale, round 20, from pole position with Pointon alongside on the front row and the TCR duo maintained their positions early on. The latter slipped back to third on lap nine, before eventually finishing the race 12th after an unfortunate spin, while Davies continued to lead all the way to lap 14 when he was served with a track limits penalty.
Third on corrected times, even though leading on the road, he was actually shuffled back to second on the road on lap 16 and went on to finish in third place on track but fourth on corrected times, missing the podium by just 1.4 seconds.
Both the Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup and Ginetta Junior Championship will come to a conclusion a fortnight from now, over the weekend 1st/2nd October, at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent.
Ginetta Junior Championship Driver Standings (after Rd23):3rd Dave Wooder, 479pts; 12th Connor Grady, 211pts;16th Max Bird, 141pts; 17th Jordan Collard, 137pts
Ginetta Junior Championship Team Standings (after Rd23):4th Total Control Racing, 786pts
Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup Driver Standings (after Rd20):5th Mark Davies, 348pts; 6th Callum Pointon, 340pts
Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup Team Standings (after Rd20):1st Total Control Racing, 688pts
