Gough and Wrigley Win In British GT Opener At Oulton Park

The Pace Motorsport Finance supported McLaren Artura of Gough and Wrigley started their 2023 assault on The British GT Championship in fine style in difficult conditions this Easter weekend at Oulton Park, leading the overall championship standings in the highly competitive GT4 grid after two dominant class pole positions and a commanding win in the second race of the day, bouncing back from early setbacks in race 1.

Gough commented on the opening weekend;

“We qualified incredibly well, fastest in our respective class, which meant we’d be starting the two races 4th and 2nd on the grid respectively. But the sub lap record speed we showed in qualifying bought along with-it a success penalty to help equalise our performance relative to the competition. It’s part of the game but it meant we’d be starting the races with a heavier, higher and slower car than qualifying so we had no idea what to expect when we lined up for race 1, our debut in The British GT Championship.

Initially in race 1, when the track was at its wettest, we looked pretty fast. But as the track dried out, we suffered from unexpectedly high tyre degradation and started to lose touch with the leading trio. Ultimately, with about 20 minutes of race to run we suffered contact from another car which put us out of the running. It was a disappointing start and we needed to refocus and rebuild the car for race 2.”

Race 2 would start later that afternoon in full wet conditions and immediately the form of the Race-Lab prepared car was clear to see. With Wrigley at the wheel, the Pace Motorsport Finance supported car was in a breakaway battle for the lead and clear of 3rd place by over 10 seconds at the first pit stop. At the mandatory driver change, Gough found himself leading the race, 5 seconds up the road of the chasing pack. A series of fast, consistent laps and efficient clearing of traffic extended the lead over of the race to secure an incredible race 2 win.

“We did not expect to win here on our championship debut in such a competitive and experienced field of teams and drivers. The conditions were difficult, heavy rain in parts of the circuit whereas other parts of the track were drying. Every lap brought change and I think ultimately, the mind set I had to control the gap to 2nd, meant that I didn’t overdrive the car. I focussed on consistency, zero mistakes. In my head that was going to be enough to win. And it was.

I just want to thank the team at Pace Motorsport Finance for their commitment to the programme and in particular the opportunity it’s giving us to raise awareness for suicide prevention and the incredible work of The Lions Barber Collective. We’ve already raised close to £11,000 on their behalf and I know many of the fans took the opportunity to grab a free haircut at our track side pop-up barber this weekend. We’re already thinking about Silverstone in three weeks time – we’ve got a championship lead to defend.”