Mckenzie Douglass and Scott McKenna shared the spoils as the 2024 Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship season burst into life at Oulton Park over Easter weekend.
The GT Championship launched its sophomore season with an exciting collection of drivers split across the Pro and Am classes. All of them racing with identical Ginetta G56 GT Pro’s. These thoroughbred GT racers that serve as the ideal learning tool for aspiring Pro and Am GT drivers. It was a late addition to the grid for the season opener that set the pace in qualifying on Saturday morning, with 2019 GT5 Challenge Pro champion Scott McKenna scoring a double pole position on the championship debut for both himself and the MDD Racing team.
Mckenzie Douglass (Fox Motorsport) was second quickest as he looked to build on an impressive debut outing in the 2023 season finale. A great performance from last year’s GT Academy rookie champion Matt Shaw (Raceway Motorsport) saw him take the Am class pole in third overall. Rolling starts have been introduced to the championship for the first time this year. It was Douglass who made the strongest getaway in the opening race that afternoon. He held on around the outside at the first corner and taking the lead into Cascades.
Less than a second split the top two for the majority of the race, as McKenna kept the pressure on the leader and Douglass fended off his challenges. The advantage changed hands on lap nine though. McKenna got the better run out of Old Hall and grabbed the lead into Cascades. McKenna went on to take the race win on the road. However, a five second time penalty for track limits infringements dropped him to second behind maiden race-winner Douglass. Behind them, a great drive from Shaw saw him run untroubled in third throughout for the Am class win.
Reigning GT5 Challenge Pro champion Luke Garlick (Xentek Motorsport) marked his GT Pro debut with a strong drive to fourth. However, he was another penalised for track limits. He lost a place to a fellow 2023 Ginetta champion, GT Academy victor Nick White (Raceway Motorsport).
One of the most exciting battles of the race came for sixth position between Conner Garlick (Xentek Motorsport) and Alex Toth-Jones (Breakell Racing). After swapping the position multiple times through the race, Garlick took sixth on the road before a penalty of his own switched them again.
Consistent pressure through the race eventually reaped its rewards for ex-GT4 SuperCup racer Carl Garnett (Breakell Racing). A late move on James Townsend (W2R) out of the last corner earned him an Am class podium alongside Shaw and White. Paul Livesey (MDD Racing) and Shawn Fleming (SF Racing) completed the finishers.
A change of conditions for Easter Monday morning lead to torrential rain falling for race two. McKenna produced a wet weather masterclass to bounce back from his race one frustration. He went on to score a dominant maiden GT Championship win by over 13 seconds. He was able to immediately shoot clear of the pack after slight contact in the battle for second place at the first corner led to a retirement for Shaw and a loss of momentum for Douglass, with Luke Garlick seizing the moment to rise from fourth on the grid to second.
Douglass tucked under his rear wing for a number of laps though and eventually made a move into Cascades on lap six. That left a Garlick v Garlick battle for third in the closing laps. It culminated in a thrilling photo-finish that saw Conner pip his younger brother Luke by just 0.035 seconds.
Toth-Jones rounded out the top five, with White taking the Am victory in sixth overall. It was far from easy for him though. A trip over the grass to avoid Shaw on lap one put him back to third in class. Townsend led early on, before Garnett moved to the front and then White passed them both. The track had dried out again before the field returned for the final race of the weekend. The grid was set by the race two result, with McKenna therefore leading away from pole position ahead of Douglass and the Garlick brothers.
A tense race saw the Pro class contenders running in close proximity throughout. Overtaking opportunities were limited as each put in faultless drives. As McKenna secured a lights-to-flag win, there would be a change of position behind though as Douglass received a track limits penalty. That dropped him to fourth as Conner and Luke Garlick shared a Ginetta podium for the first time. Not far behind the leading pack was White as he doubled his Am class win tally. The main action of the race came in the battle for the other podium places.
Shaw was a man on the move as he started from the back after his race two retirement. He passed Fleming, Livesey and Townsend before setting his sights on Garnett. Unfortunately contact between the two at the last corner led to retirements for both, gifting trophies to Townsend and Livesey.
Read all race results here: www.tsl-timing.com/event/241305
Your can rewatch all three races at: www.youtube.com/user/ginettatv
The 2024 Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship will next be in action on 27/28 April. Two races will take place on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in support of the British GT Championship.
