Pace Finance hit the front in Ginetta GTA at Brands Hatch GP
Returning to action this weekend (11th September) was Pace Finance supported driver, Ian Gough with RaceLab and SVG Motorsport in the hyper competitive Ginetta GTA Championship, narrowly missing out on a brace of podiums on his championship debut.
Ian took to the track on Friday and quickly acclimatised himself to the Ginetta G56 GT car, setting the 9th fastest time of the day on the shorter Brands Hatch Indy circuit.
Saturday would present a new challenge with qualifying taking place on the full GP loop, a configuration he’s never raced before.
“We’re close to announcing our plans for next year. At the moment our focus is on gathering as much GT experience as possible in 2022. So the Brands Hatch GP Circuit was on the list of tracks I needed to race at. With thanks to my partners at Pace Finance, WPP, The Lions Barber Collective and RaceLab, we’re here today.
Qualifying was my first time on the GP loop and there was a lot to learn, the pace was good but I need to work on the consistency. It will come with more laps.”
Ian would start race one from 13th place and immediately made his presence felt among the season regulars. A brilliant start and opening set of laps would see him reach 8th place before losing ground and slipping back to 10th at the flag.
“I’ll take that! We moved forward and we ran well. Our speed is putting me in the mix for a top 6 this weekend. But I’m still suffering from a lack of seat time, the Ginetta GTA is incredible to drive and the racing is close – it’s dogfight after dogfight out there - but the car is low grip and will punish over confidence with corner entry and return to throttle.
I’m having to unwind years of single seater racing to adapt to a new set of dynamics with heavier GT cars. If I can, times will improve and importantly they will be more consistent. We start race two tomorrow (Sunday) from 13th, so we’ll see how well we show up.”
Sunday saw full grandstands and action packed racing for the penultimate round of the Ginetta GT academy. Starting from 13th, Ian made another electric getaway, settling inside the top 10 and in 8th position by the mid race point.
A series of fast laps saw Ian bridge the gap to the pack ahead, with from 3rd to 7th engaged in a battle for position, that had the crowds on their feet. With the last lap approaching, he was positioned well to move forward.
“Another incredible race. I think we’re proving our race-craft and times are consistently where they need to be. The pack ahead gave me a great reference point and I spent five laps just edging closer. With a couple of laps to go I was on the back of the pack when there was contact going into Surtees ahead. I had a 50/50 choice. I dived to the right to avoid the incident by the smallest of margins. So I think that’s a fourth place, just off the podium and that’s where we will start our final race, later today. It’s all to play for now.
Ian lined up for the final race of the day at 4:20pm from fourth position, with a podium finish in the Ginetta GTA series now a real prospect with the Pace Motorsport Finance backed car. As the lights went out, he reacted first and moved into third position, leading a small break away group with Mackenzie Walker and Ed Proctor in chase. As the group turned into Surtees on lap four, Walker attempted a pass on the inside which resulted in contact, spinning him out of contention for the race. Ian would ultimately trail home in 18th place after a safety car disrupted race.
“It’s a shame to end the weekend like that. We were in the hunt for a podium and I think by rights it could have been ours today. Walker made a late dive into Surtees, it’s a tough place to pass and I just don’t think he was quite alongside enough. It was avoidable, a racing accident – no malus was involved and we’ve spoken after the race to clear things up.
But all great experience and that’s why we’re here. Running in the podium positions on our first time in the car, first time on this circuit and towards the end of the season against this quality of competition is encouraging. Thanks to Pace Motorsport Finance, WPP and the team at SVG Motorsport for a faultless car and a great atmosphere all weekend. A pleasure racing with you, and the rest of the GInetta team.”
About Pace Finance
Pace Finance are Motorsport Finance specialists. We are proud to support numerous teams in UK motorsport, from BTCC to Britcar, with affordable and competitive motorsport finance. We are helping some of the biggest teams spread the cost of their investments across multiples seasons as well as helping smaller outfits establish themselves on the grid. Contact us for help financing your motorsport equipment and cars today.
