Carl Breeze was on lightning form to take the win in race one of the Ginetta GT Supercup at Rockingham. The TCR driver qualified on pole just 0.182 seconds faster than the returning George Murrells, with Nathan Freke third in a thrilling qualifying session.

When the lights went out  Breeze initially moved away from the line in the lead but his start wasn’t the best, Nathan Freke made an electric getaway from the second row and into turn one  he boldly threaded his Ginetta G55 in between Breeze and Murrells to take the lead of the race.

Breeze managed to hold on to second position but Murrells was caught out and went down the order to sixth as Morgan, Sharp and Hetherington all moved ahead. The pole-man, intent on retaking the lead, closed back in towards the end of the opening lap and Breeze was well placed to gain a great tow on the start-finish straight.

Diving to the inside of Turn One, Breeze brilliantly grabbed the lead and from that point there was no looking back.

“We had some really unfortunate luck at Knockhill – we went from leading the championship to being 18 points behind so we knew we had to come here all guns blazing this weekend,” commented Breeze. “Not only did we have to beat Tom Sharp and (Adam) Morgan, we also needed to try and stop the momentum that Nathan (Freke) has had in the last few rounds.”

Speaking about his second place, Nathan Freke said, “I keep getting good starts, I got through the middle but I don’t think (George) Murrells saw me as he came down and hit me. I had a great first lap but this is a proper bogey circuit for me, I’ve never done that well here. Carl was just a bit quicker than me today, our car is good but I can’t seem to get the final sector sorted so considering that it’s another solid finish and puts us in a good position on the grid for tomorrow.” 

At the finishing line the top six didn’t change with Morgan, Sharp, Hetherington and Murrells coming in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th respectively.

The win along with bonus points for pole position and fastest lap brings Carl Breeze within three points of the championship leader after race one.

Provisional Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup Championship Positions: After Round 21

1st Tom Sharp, 521 pts

2nd Carl Breeze, 518 pts

3rd Adam Morgan, 514 pts

4th Nathan Freke, 492 pts

5th Colin White, 328 pts

6th George Murrells, 322 pts

 

Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey (http://www.jakobebrey.com)

Nico is our designated Ginetta GT Supercup correspondent for the 2012 season. Nico is currently studying Journalism at Solent University in Southampton, and you can contact him on nico@btcccrazy.co.uk or on twitter @UgbajaF1 .