Elite Motorsport’s Isaac Phelps reignited his GB4 title aspirations with a faultless day on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit today (Saturday). The British driver claimed both pole positions on offer in qualifying, and then converted the first of those into victory in the opening race of the weekend this afternoon.
Qualifying
Phelps dominated the 15-minute qualifying session, lapping the Grand Prix circuit with a time of 1m24.108s, putting him over half a second clear of the opposition, headed by teammate Ary Bansal, with championship leader Dan Guinchard less than half a tenth further back in third.
The third Elite car of Alex Kattoulas was a similar distance behind Guinchard in fourth ahead of Douglas Motorsport’s Luke Hilton, with Arden’s Leon Wilson sixth.
Such was Phelps’ speed, was that his second quickest time of 1m25.511s would also have been good enough for outright pole. As it was, that secured him race two pole instead, with that grid formed by each driver’s second quickest times from the session.
Guinchard was second quickest on that particular chart, two tenths behind this time, while Bansal was third. Kattoulas was fourth again while Wilson and Hilton swapped positions to take fifth and sixth.
Race one
Phelps made full use of his pole to lead the field on the run to Paddock Hill Bend on lap one, holding off Bansal and Guinchard who were in close contention.
From there, Phelps steadily built a lead, growing his advantage to over four seconds before a late safety car, deployed when Luke Hilton beached his car in the gravel at Stirling’s. The race ended under neutralised conditions, with Phelps claiming his third win of the year ahead of Bansal and Guinchard, who completed the podium.
Kattoulas held on to fourth while Hillspeed’s Leandro Juncos was a star again as he surged from 10th on the grid to fifth ahead of a similarly combative Alex O’Grady (KMR Sport), though the positions were reversed post-race after Juncos was found to have caused a collision.
Guinchard’s title advantage has been trimmed to 30 points with five races remaining, including tomorrow’s pair of contests. Bansal and Phelps are separated by just two points, with Phelps again on pole tomorrow morning.
Race winner Phelps said: “It's been a tough fight [with Guinchard] throughout the season because we've been able to match each other at every round other than at Oulton Park where we had some bad luck.
“It's been a tough season so it's nice to get plus-ten on him. I was able to find a good consistency in the race, and then think about the tyre more and try to work on being smooth and not being too jagged or anything through all the bumps in the back section.”
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Brands Hatch qualifying result:
1. Isaac Phelps, Elite Motorsport, 1m24.108s
2. Ary Bansal, Elite Motorsport, +0.511s
3. Dan Guinchard, Hillspeed, +0.550s
4. Alex Kattoulas, Elite Motorsport, +0.596s
5. Luke Hilton, Douglas Motorsport, 0.705s
6. Leon Wilson, Arden Motorsport, +0.732s
Click here for full result
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Brands Hatch GP, race one result:
1. Isaac Phelps, Elite Motorsport, 10 laps
2. Ary Bansal, Elite Motorsport, +1.733s
3. Dan Guinchard, Hillspeed, +2.741s
4. Alex Kattoulas, Elite Motorsport, +4.096s
5. Alex O’Grady, KMR Sport, +10.292s
6. Leandro Juncos, Hillspeed, (penalty)
Click here for full result
GB4 Championship, drivers' championship standings after race 16 of 21:
1. Daniel Guinchard, Hillspeed, 317pts
2. Ary Bansal, Elite Motorsport, 287pts
3. Isaac Phelps, Elite Motorsport, 285pts
4. Alex Kattoulas, Elite Motorsport, 249pts
5. Alex O'Grady, KMR Sport, 214pts
6. Leandro Juncos, Hillspeed, 207pts
Click here for full standings
GB4 Championship, teams' championship standings after race 16 of 21:
1. Elite Motorsport, 656pts
2. Hillspeed, 524pts
3. Fortec Motorsports, 457pts
4. Douglas Motorsport, 434pts
5. KMR Sport, 325pts
6. Graham Brunton Racing, 295pts
Click here for full standings
For more championship information, visit www.gb-4.net