Thomas Balfe scored his maiden victories in the Ginetta GT Academy and Mike Taylor picked up his sixth win of the campaign during an action-packed weekend of racing at Snetterton (13-14 July).
Saturday
Balfe (W2R) kicked off the Snetterton racing weekend in style, going fastest of all in qualifying to score his first GT Academy pole positions. A close-fought session saw only half a second split the top six drivers, with Harry Gamble (Elite Motorsport) finishing up closest to Balfe.
W2R pair Taylor and James Nicholas were next up. Jamie Caudle (E3 Sport) and Ali Juffali (Elite Motorsport) made it a rookie lockout of the top six places. Seventh overall was Emma Tomlinson (W2R), as she secured her first GTA class pole position of the season.
Balfe converted pole position into the race one lead heading through Riches for the first time. However, he almost lost his advantage at the next corner as he ran wide at Wilson. Contact between Gamble and Taylor on the inside slowed them up though, allowing Balfe to retain his lead.
Further battling between Gamble and Taylor into Agostini resulted in a spin for the latter. Nicholas went on to grab second from Gamble into Brundle. Nicholas set the fastest lap of the race as he got just over a second behind Balfe at one stage, before the leader pulled clear to his maiden Ginetta win.
A wild slide through Palmer from Gamble opened the door for Caudle to pick up third position as he built on his impressive breakthrough podium result at Anglesey last time out. Gareth Thomas (W2R) finished fifth on the road, however 15 seconds of track limits time penalties dropped him to tenth.
Almost nothing separated GTA class winner Emma Tomlinson and Juffali over the line as they fought for what became fifth overall after Thomas’ penalty. Behind, Julian Wantling (E3 Sport) and Marc Elman (SVG Motorsport) were battling over second in the GTA class before a spin for Wantling.
Elman therefore took the place in seventh overall. Taylor recovered from 15th after his early drama to finish eighth. Paul Thomas (W2R) took the chequered flag next. Mike West (E3 Sport) ultimately picked up a GTA class podium finish in 11th overall from Peter Thompson (W2R) and Paul Livesey (MDD Racing).
Sunday
Balfe led away from pole position once again in race two. An early change behind saw Nicholas dive down the inside of Gamble into Wilson for second. Taylor was another to make opening lap progress, passing both Juffali and Caudle to settle into fourth place.
Taylor attempted a move on Gamble for third into Riches on lap two, but had to slot back in behind. The top two initially broke clear in the early stages, however as Nicholas dropped back from Balfe, Gamble and Taylor closed the gap to make it a three-car battle for second.
As Balfe marched to victory, there were no further changes behind as Nicholas and Gamble picked up silverware. Caudle and Juffali rounded out the top six ahead of Gareth and Paul Thomas, with rookie class runners impressively holding the top eight places overall.
Wantling started from the GTA class pole position, however he lost ground on the opening lap. Elman took advantage to ultimately take the class victory. Wantling finished up second ahead of West. An early incident for Emma Tomlinson dropped her out of podium contention.
Balfe’s hopes of completing a perfect hat-trick from pole position in the final race of the weekend were ultimately dashed. An issue on the opening lap forced him into retirement. That combined with a wide moment for Nicholas into Riches opened the door for Gamble to take the early lead.
As Nicholas slipped back to fifth by the end of the lap, Taylor passed Caudle at Brundle for second place. Caudle then came under pressure from Gareth Thomas. However, an attempted move into Wilson on lap three led to him running wide. This allowed Nicholas to pass them both for third.
Posting the fastest lap of the race in his pursuit of the leader, Taylor stormed down the inside of Gamble into Coram on lap four to take the lead. With clear air ahead of him from there, he stretched his legs and went on to take the victory by over three seconds.
Gamble briefly came under pressure from Nicholas but shook him off and took the flag in second. Nicholas ensured the three 2024 rookie title contenders shared the podium at the finish, with Caudle having challenged him for third before a spin dropped him off his tail.
An incident ended the race of Gareth Thomas and dropped Juffali down the order. Paul Thomas equalled his best result of the season in fifth overall. Thompson impressively fought forward from 12th on the grid to a top six result ahead of the GTA class winner Elman.
Elman came under late pressure from Emma Tomlinson and Wantling. The GTA top three split by less than half a second at the finish. Juffali completed the top ten overall ahead of West. W2R team-mates Amy Tomlinson and Lucie Hodgson took weekend high finishes in 12th and 13th respectively.
The Chairmans Cup is a class for drivers aged 45 and over. In this race, West picked up his first win of the season. He shared the spoils with Wantling and Thompson. The latter two secured podium hat-tricks over the weekend. West took two and Livesey make one trip to the rostrum.
Full Snetterton racing results can be found at: www.tsl-timing.com/event/242805
Re-watch this weekend’s racing at Snetterton at: www.youtube.com/user/ginettatv
Two rounds remain of the 2024 Ginetta GT Academy season. The penultimate event will take place at Donington Park over the weekend of 07/08 September.
