Marc Warren of Optimum Motorsport and Ross Gunn of Beechdean Motorsport Ltd claimed impressive pole positions at Snetterton during the British GT Championship’s split-GT3 Qualifying sessions.
Warren was the class of the AM field in Qualifying 1 and will receive the pleasure of lining up from the best grid position in Sunday’s first race. He pipped the rival McLaren 720s Evo of Morgan Tillbrook and Barwell Motorsport’s Rob Collard to top spot, marking the first time that he has ever claimed a pole position in British GT.
A red flag at the end of the session was brought out for the other Barwell Motorsport machine of Alex Martin, who crashed chasing improvements to his lap time.
Paddock Motorsport’s Mark Smith managed fourth, while Martin ended up fifth, despite his shunt. Simon Orange for Orange Racing by JMH will line up on the third row in sixth.
Qualifying 2 saw the Beechdean Motorsport Ltd Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo of Ross Gunn set a searing pace with a 1m45.737s, followed by Marcus Clutton in the Orange Racing by JMH McLaren 720s GT3 Evo just under two tenths behind him.
Championship-chasing Ben Barnicoat ensured that he and Morgan Tillbrook will start both races inside the top three this weekend, leading their Optimum Motorsport McLaren 720s GT3 Evo to third among the Pro drivers.
Cameron Campbell will start Sunday’s second race from fourth for Rodin Motorsport, while Kevin Tse will line up from fifth in his Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo for 2 Seas Motorsport.
Hadley Simpson produced a stellar effort after the chequered flag in the first of the GT4 Qualifying sessions but fell just 0.010s shy of pole position, which was claimed by Optimum Motorsport’s Josh Stanton.
George Gamble, competing in just his second-ever British GT Championship weekend and his first for nine years, fell just short of completing a perfect Saturday for Optimum Motorsport’s GT4 outfit. Jack Mitchell beat him to pole position by just 0.267s in his Toro Verde GT Ginetta G56 GT4 Evo.
The results from each class’s opening session will set the grid for the first of two one-hour British GT races tomorrow with the race two taking its grid from the latter sessions.
British GT Championship, GT3 Qualifying 1, Snetterton
1. Warren/Brown, Optimum Motorsport, McLaren 720s GT3 Evo, 1m47.494s
2. Tillbrook/Barnicoat, Optimum Motorsport, McLaren 720s GT3 Evo, 1m47.650s
3. Collard/Cook, Barwell Motorsport, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2, 1m47.717s
4. Smith/Plowman, Paddock Motorsport, McLaren 720s GT3 Evo, 1m47.877s
5. Martin/Waberski, Barwell Motorsport, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2, 1m48.170s
British GT Championship, GT3 Qualifying 2, Snetterton
1. Gunn/Howard, Beechdean Motorsport Ltd, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, 1m45.737s
2. Clutton/Orange, Orange Racing by JMH, McLaren 720s GT3 Evo, 1m45.896s
3. Barnicoat/Tillbrook, Optimum Motorsport, McLaren 720s GT3 Evo, 1m45.967s
4. Campbell/Buchan, Rodin Motorsport, Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, 1m46.197s,
5. Tse/Green, 2 Seas Motorsport, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, 1m46.225s
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