Stuart Pearson Racing - 2014 Champions! Reigning champions Stuart Pearson Racing lifted the championship crown at Donington Park this weekend after dominating the 2014 Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge in the G20 class. SPR finished the season with an impressive tally taking 13 wins from 19 starts with an amazing 18 podium appearances along the way! “A lot of the hard work was done last time out at Brands Hatch,” said driver Stuart. “We extended our lead considerably and needed to finish third or higher in race one at Donington to get the job done” Opting not to test on Friday, Stuart headed out to qualify on a dry, but seemingly slippery track. Early victims included G40 newcomers Darren Cox and James Taylor – the latter beached in the gravel at the Fogarty Esses. Drama struck on lap four as Pearson was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop with mechanical gremlins.“It was lucky that we managed to get our minimum of three qualifying laps in, so all wasn’t lost,” said Pearson as the team made the decision to retire the car. Season rival Alex Preston in the Tolman Motorsport car also suffered problems in qualifying and pitted with steam billowing out from under the bonnet. An action packed race started from the off in race one as G40 pilot Stewart Linn was sent spinning into the pack less than 100 metres from the start. Shortly after Century Motorsport’s Frederick Mortensen clashed with Academy’s Matt Flowers at the fearsome Craner Curves; kicking up a cloud of dust as they each took a trip through the gravel trap. “Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise starting from the back. We were able to avoid all the first lap incidents and then it was a case of moving up through the field. Again, as luck would have it we ended up in third place; exactly where we needed to be. From then on it was a case of looking after the car for the remainder of the race. Of course I’m delighted to win the championship but a podium finish is the icing on the cake,” said Pearson. The team opted to sit out Sunday’s races and took to the spectator grandstands to watch old rival Brian Murphy and Preston duel it out for the runners up spot. In the G40 class a four-car dice mid-pack took a turn for the worse early in the race. With the heavily damaged cars of Nick Zapolski and Rob Gaffney returning to the paddock on a recovery truck, and Optimum teammates Nick Firth and Finlay Ractliffe suffering similar fates after the second corner shunt; perhaps lady luck shone on the team one final time that weekend. When the chequered flag dropped at the end of race three, and the season, it was Pearson ahead of Murphy and Preston in the G20 class. Congratulations to George Gamble in the TCR prepared car who won the G40 championship ahead of Ollie Chadwick in the Xentek car and Academy’s Dennis Strandberg. “As a driver I’m really pleased to be able to add another title to my racing CV but that’s only part of it. We were badly let down at the start of the season with plans to be in a G40 so to be able to turn the focus around and defend the title in a G20 is testament to everybody in our team and how they approach things. Everybody in the team has given 100% this season and I cannot ask for any more.” Special thanks to J & T Autobody, Optimum Motorsport for their ongoing support, and VRG (Bradford). Stuart Pearson Racing would to thank all their supporters and sponsors this season and are already looking to 2015!
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 18:48:56 +0000
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