Archie Clark secured a sensational double victory as a new era for the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship got underway with the 2025 season opener at Donington Park (05/06 April).
Qualifying
Reigning GT Academy rookie champion Mike Taylor (Triple M Motorsport) enjoyed a perfect start to his GT Championship debut by going fastest overall in qualifying. The PRO-AM contender just edged out the top two PRO runners, Hadley Simpson (Xentek Motorsport) and Clark (MDD Racing).
Two-time Ginetta champion Nick White (Raceway Motorsport) and fellow PRO-AM driver Harry Gamble (Elite Motorsport) completed the top five overall, with Luke Shaw (Raceway Motorsport) setting the pace in the AM category in sixth position.
Race One
The opening race of the season that afternoon saw Simpson get the jump over the line to lead into Redgate for the first time. Taylor and Clark ran side-by-side over the first half of the lap, with the latter emerging in front and setting his sights on the leader ahead.
The top two ran in close proximity for a number of laps before a dramatic moment saw Simpson slow on circuit. Ginetta Junior graduate Clark swept past into the lead as Simpson fell down the order, eventually able to get going again and slotting back into 13th place overall.
Clark took full advantage of the opportunity and led every remaining lap on his way to his maiden Ginetta race victory. Gamble climbed up to second place overall and the PRO-AM class win, having successfully fended off late pressure from pole-sitter Taylor.
Robert Cronin (Elite Motorsport) and Jack Collins (E3 Sport) completed the top five overall to secure PRO podium finishes alongside Clark. The AM honours went the way of Shaw, with a close battle for second in class seeing Dominic Paul (Triple M Motorsport) edge out Peter Mangion (Elite Motorsport) and Carl Garnett (Breakell Racing).
In front of those three was PRO runner Cameron Pratt-Thompson (SVG Motorsport) and Nick White. After being spun out of fourth place on the opening lap, White put in a supreme fightback drive to charge from 20th to eighth overall, securing third in PRO-AM in the process.
Alex Duncan (Xentek Motorsport) finished 12th overall in his first ever car race ahead of Ali Juffali (Elite Motorsport). Simpson ended up classified 14th and fifth in the PRO class after recovering from his issue, classified ahead of AM pair Colin White (CWS Engineering) and James Townsend (SVG Motorsport).
Race Two
A format change for the 2025 season sees the second and final GT Championship race of the weekend become a 40-minute endurance race featuring a mandatory pitstop. Taylor started from pole position again for this milestone race, with Simpson alongside him.
The front-row starters were leapfrogged on the run to Redgate for the first time though, with Nick White squeezing down the inside to take the race lead. Cronin followed him through for second, with a tough opening lap for Taylor seeing him slip back to sixth place.
Collins enjoyed a strong opening lap to climb from seventh to fourth behind Simpson, while Paul briefly grabbed the AM class lead in the pack behind before a wide moment at the Esses opened the door for Shaw and Emma Tomlinson to move into the top two places in class.
A driver on the move in the early stages was race one victor Clark, who passed Collins for fourth and then set the fastest lap of the race as he hunted down those ahead. Simpson and Cronin were his next victims, with slick moves down the Craner Curves on consecutive laps earning him second place.
Clark set his sights on Nick White at the front of the field next and when the pitstop window opened, he was the first to dive in and serve his mandatory stop. Rapid laps when he returned to the action ensured he moved into the race lead when his rivals completed their stops.
It was Simpson who emerged in second place overall, having passed Cronin on the road before jumping White in the pitlane. That came due to a pitstop that was timed shorter than the minimum 75-second regulation though, earning him a 33 second penalty to be added to his race time.
As Clark comfortably completed his double victory for the weekend, Simpson crossed the finish line in second but was demoted back to eighth with his penalty applied. PRO-AM class winner Nick White was therefore classified second overall, with Cronin and Collins completing the PRO top three behind.
Taylor and Gamble picked up PRO-AM trophies as they rounded out the top six overall, while Shaw secured a dominant AM victory in seventh. In that class, an exciting battle in the closing laps saw Emma Tomlinson (DTO Motorsport) make a move stick on Juffali into Goddards for second position.
Paul came home 11th overall ahead of Duncan, those two finishing fourth in AM and PRO-AM respectively, while Ginetta veteran Colin White finished fifth in AM. Amy Tomlinson (Raceway Motorsport) was sixth in that class ahead of Townsend.
Mangion and Garnett fought back to eighth and ninth in AM respectively, having been caught up in a first corner incident with Pratt-Thompson that led to his retirement, while Fox Motorsport duo James Rolling and Oliver Fordham completed the race finishers to sign off their debut Ginetta weekend.
Full race results can be found at https://www.tsl-timing.com/event/251405
Both races can be watched back at www.youtube.com/user/ginettatv
The 2025 Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship season continues later this month (26/27 April) with two races on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.
