Third British GT Podium At Donington
RAM Racing came away with a best result of the British GT Championship season for its GT4 pairing at Donington Park last weekend (7/8 September), Harry George and Luca Hopkinson steering the Mercedes-AMG to second place in the Silver class.
A two-hour contest faced the RAM squad in East Midlands, and ended with mixed emotions for its two crews. George and Hopkinson snatched a third Silver class podium for the team’s Mercedes-AMG, but it was an early bath for its BMW M4 GT3 as John Ferguson and Max Hesse retired early on when in a great position.
The team came into the penultimate round of the season with optimism following a strong GT3 Pro-Am showing at Snetterton over the summer, while the Mercedes pairing hoped to replicate their previous Donington performance when they scored a podium finish in the Silver category back in May.
Unpredictable conditions mixed up the pecking order in Saturday’s practice sessions, but drier conditions greeted the field for Qualifying. Ferguson was first to test the 2.49-mile circuit, clocking the eighth-fastest effort in Pro-Am with a strong showing in Q1. GT World Challenge Europe regular Hesse then stepped forward with a mighty effort of 1m25.645s which proved the quickest of the day, bumping the #15 BMW up to fifth on combined times. George and Hopkinson planted themselves fifth and sixth in the Silver category from their respective outings, firmly in contention for silverware once again.
Ferguson started the BMW when the two-hour race commenced on Sunday, and showed no mercy by storming through to third from the rolling start as he escaped contact in a squeeze with Kevin Tse’s Mercedes at Redgate. With the leading Lamborghinis in sight, Ferguson’s charge was blighted abruptly when terminal driveshaft problems forced him to park the BMW inside the opening 10 minutes.
Attention then shifted to the GT4 attack, George taking the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG for what was a fast-paced first stint. He handed the car over to Hopkinson in a solid fifth place in class, and a rapid stop from the RAM mechanics meant the #17 climbed to second-best of the Silver runners heading into the last hour.
With a podium finish in sight, Hopkinson suddenly inherited the class lead after an accident for the Ginetta ahead, causing a lengthy full course yellow period and setting up a tense two-lap dash to the chequered flag.
Hopkinson fought hard to fend off his nearest rivals, but was usurped by both the McLaren of Jack Brown and Erik Evans’ Mustang in the dying moments. As the trio crossed the line in sixth overall in GT4, it was enough to seal a third Silver class podium for RAM Racing – later becoming their best result of the campaign after a post-race penalty for the Optimum McLaren promoted Hopkinson and George back up to second in Silver.
“It’s not quite the overall podium that we wanted, but it is our best result of the season, which is a good outcome. Fair play to Luca, he did really well and brought it home, but obviously we’re both a bit gutted as it would have been amazing to come away with that first class win and overall podium. It will come soon, and considering where we were before Sunday with the car, I guess we can take that. Brands Hatch GP is up next. I’ve driven around there and I think Luca will pick it up quickly. I feel I was strong there last time, so an overall podium is the goal.” - Harry George