Amigos backed Ginetta GT4 Supercup ace George Gamble got his title hopes back on track at the weekend, with three podium results at Croft Race Circuit (10th/11th June). Having failed to appear on the rostrum for the past two meetings in the series, Gamble had his eyes set firmly on a return to form at the North Yorkshire circuit and duly delivered. Two second places and a third in the final race of the weekend sees the Nottingham driver head into the summer break in second spot in the
Ginetta GT4 Supercup standings.
Team mate
Seb Perez suffered several knock backs during the weekend which blighted what was otherwise a positive meeting for the sister Amigos Tequila Beer, Simpson Race Products Ginetta. Being on the back foot for much of the three races, the Chesterfield ace took an eighth, eleventh and seventh to remain in eighth place in the series.
Similar to the preceding round at Oulton Park, the weather closed in on the super-fast Croft Circuit during Saturday’s qualifying session. Unfazed by the changeable conditions, Gamble fired the Amigos GT4 onto P4 for the opener later that day with Perez backing him up with P9.
Gamble would waste no time in making up places in race one and by the end of the opening tour of the circuit, Gamble vaulted from his P4 grid position to P2. Despite the desire to repeat his Brands Hatch double victory, Gamble elected to play the long game and brought the Amigos GT4 home in second.
Having to battle through the midfield, Perez had a realistic goal set for himself for the weekend opener. With the wet weather playing its part for those unlucky enough to have to follow the spray in front, staying out of trouble would be the main priority to start the meeting off on the right foot. A relatively trouble free race saw Perez take eighth.
Sunday would see two races for the GT4 series and a distinctly drier double header brought the racing back up to maximum speed. Starting second on the grid was a blessing for Gamble who managed to avoid an incident at turn one on the third tour. The impending safety car bunched the field for the run to the flag but he held his own, taking his second podium of the weekend.
George Gamble - Amigos Ginetta GT4 - Image credit Jakob Ebrey Photography -
Click to download high resolution image
Perez would not be so fortunate in race two thanks to a tussle and loss of front splitter. The aerodynamic synergy of the GT4 was disrupted which left the Simpson backed ace with an ill-handling car for much of the race. 11
th was a small consolidation.
The final race of the weekend saw Gamble take his hat-trick of podiums with a confidence boosting third. By the end of lap one however, Gamble was down in forth thanks to a slow get away but by lap two, he had regained third and that’s where he stayed for the remainder.
“It’s been a perfect weekend for our championship aspirations and to take three podiums here is an ideal way to head into the second half of the season” said Gamble on Sunday evening.
”Two fastest laps have also helped with the extra points on offer as well.” “We had a pretty low scoring round at Oulton Park so it was important to head into the summer break with a decent shot at the championship. We have that now and will need to keep that momentum up when we resume the season at Snetterton. “It’s still all to play for”. Perez endured a tough final race. After running wide during the opening lap, he spent the remainder of the 15 tours trying to climb back up the field. An impressive comeback saw him find seventh by the end, picking off positions one by one over the closing laps.
Seb Perez - Ginetta GT4 - Image credit Jakob Ebrey Photography - Click to download high resolution image
Whilst the score board may not have been quite as healthy for Perez, he still had plenty to take away from the weekend.
“I`m feel really positive after the weekend to be honest” he said. “Of course there is still work to do, but I was really pleased with some of the passes I made and the lap times are tumbling too. We had a bit of misfortune in race two but I can see the progression in my pace this season and that’s the important part”.
With seven weeks off over the summer, the Ginetta GT4 SuperCup resumes at Snetterton on the 29th / 30th July.
Ginetta GT4 Supercup Championship standings after Croft
| POS & DRIVER | TOTAL |
| 1 | C Pointon | | 291 |
| 2 | G Gamble | | 238 |
| 3 | B Green | | 213 |
| 4 | T Hibbert | | 210 |
| 5 | C Ladell | | 176 |
| 6 | D Jones | | 172 |
| 7 | T Jones | | 172 |
| 8 | S Perez | | 165 |
| 9 | C Boadley | | 138 |
| 10 | R Somerfield | | 138 |
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