Forsetti P1-P2 at Brands Hatch

After paid testing on Friday using the iconic Indy loop, the first time all the GT Cup drivers would experience the full Brands Hatch GP loop was Saturday morning with a short 15-minute practice session ahead of the Group Two qualifying session, which had ‘Pro-Sporting’ drivers Porter and O’Meara-Hunt nominated at the wheel.

Saturday Highlights

Qualifying:
The qualifying session for Group One, containing GT3, GTO, and GTC cars, was red-flagged midway through due to extensive barrier damage on the GP loop. This unfortunately condensed the subsequent day's program, not only shortening qualifying and races but also bringing them closer together, meaning little time to debrief and work on areas for improvement.

This tested our team's resilience and hard work, while pulling resources from both sides of the garage to ensure the cars were set up correctly for the performance envelope, as well as requiring all drivers to work together to quickly adapt to and learn the recently resurfaced circuit. Porter secured a fantastic P1 in qualifying, and O’Meara-Hunt finished in P3, narrowly missing out on P2 and a front row lockout after being held up by traffic on her final flying lap. The Mercedes #31 car driven by Charles Dawson just pipped the #10 car. This shortened qualifying session set a positive tone for the weekend ahead of the first sprint race.

Sprint Race (R5):
Due to the delays, the sprint race was shortened to 20 minutes instead of the usual 25. Porter started in P1 (P10 overall), while O’Meara-Hunt began in P3 (P13 overall). As the race commenced, Porter maintained his P1, whilst also setting the fastest lap in the GTH class. The following Ginetta in P2 was fast and raised eyebrows with its pace and placement in the GTH class. O’Meara-Hunt had an unfortunate start, being forced out wide and then subsequently tussling for positions with overtaking opportunities limited throughout the short stint. She finished the race in P5, whilst gaining further valuable laps on the circuit.

Endurance Race (R6):
With the endurance race shortened from 55 minutes down to 40 minutes, the applied success penalties carried over from Donington would be a more difficult time penalty to overcome for not only Forsetti’s car #9 (20 seconds) but also rivals in the Team Parker #31 car (15 seconds) and the #11 Paddock McLaren (10 seconds).

Higgins and Sloss started the endurance race in P9 and P13 overall (P1 and P4 in class based on the fastest laps achieved by their teammates in the R5 Sprint Race). After a good start by both drivers, the pit stop window opened between the 23rd and 28th minutes of the race, offering a driver change and positions to be cycled through in the pit lane and back out on track. After bringing the #9 car in from P2 on the road, Higgins duly handed over to Porter, who was jumped by the #31 in the pit lane due to a shorter stationary time. Ray Harris, with his Ginetta and vastly shorter pit stop time, remained in the lead, meaning Porter settled in and brought car #9 home in P3 (P8 overall). Sloss had sustained contact in her opening stint and struggled to make headway up from the P4 in class starting position. Dropping just a couple of positions on track and finding the handling characteristics of the car changed meant the final stint for her teammate would be about damage limitation and collecting good points. The final stint was tricky, but O’Meara-Hunt drove well, finishing in P6 (P12 overall).

Sunday Highlights

Qualifying:
Sunday continued with impressive performances in qualifying for the nominated ‘Sporting’ drivers. Qualifying saw Higgins clinch P1 again for the #9 car, while Sloss secured P3, improving times throughout the session. The welcome sunshine and brighter weather assisted with increased track temperatures, yet the slightly cooler morning ambient meant the track conditions were strong for the turbocharged V8 Astons. The rapid Ginetta of Ray Harris was moved to the GTC class, meaning that the battle throughout the day would be between the Forsetti cars and the #31 Team Parker pairing of Dawson/Morris. Dawson once again split the cars in qualifying, lining up P2 on the grid ahead of the endurance race.

Endurance Race (R7):
The standard 55-minute endurance race was eagerly anticipated. With the sporting drivers required to start the endurance stint, and success penalties from yesterday’s race applied (Car #9 10 seconds), the emphasis given to both drivers were the requirements of clean starts, getting ahead with clean air, and gapping the cars behind. Higgins started in P1 (P7 overall), and Sloss in P3 (P9 overall). Contact at the first corner for the #31 Merc, spinning and dropping time and positions, meant the Forsetti cars came through after the first lap in a favourable P1 and P2 placing and they set about pulling the gaps to hand the cars over in great track position. After the mandatory pit stop and driver changes cycled through, Porter brought car #9 home to P1, achieving another win and the fastest lap. O’Meara-Hunt finished in P2, building on the fantastic work Sloss had done, creating a gap between the cars behind with a lower mandatory stop for their driver pair ratings. O’Meara-Hunt lapped quickly and consistently, never dropping the relative advantage, meaning the team secured a fantastic 1-2 finish for the first time in the endurance format, following up the 1-2 finish in the sprint round at Donington.

Sprint Race (R8):
For the final race of the weekend and the Sporting drivers' sprint, Higgins started P1 in class (P7 overall), followed by Sloss in P3 (P10 overall) based on their lap times secured in the previous endurance race. Dawson, starting once again in P2, briefly took the lead from Higgins, but Higgins fought back calmly with an impressive overtake to reclaim P1 and pulled away to create a substantial gap, never looking under threat. Unfortunately, a tough start for Sloss in the sister car meant being pulled into the chasing pack, and substantial damage to the front of her car occurred into T3 on the opening lap with the #11 McLaren driven by Jake Poole. Despite valiantly fighting for a further lap, engine water temperatures increased and forced Sloss to retire early due to the damage. Higgins brought car #9 home in P1 (P6 overall) for another impressive win, extending the #9 car and Forsetti’s team championship standing.

Weekend Summary
The team wrapped up the weekend with three wins and two additional podiums (P2, P3), including the great 1-2 finish in Sunday’s endurance race. This, as well as registering fastest laps in all the GTH class races, amassed a total of 176 points to add to the championship tally.

A strong team performance keeps Forsetti in P1 in the overall team standings with a total of 289 points. Higgins and Porter also retain their top position in the overall driver standings with 190 points.

We now look forward to the next GT Cup race at our home circuit in Snetterton on the 1st and 2nd of June. Stay tuned for updates on our campaign in the British GT Championship, where we'll be racing at Donington from May 23rd to 26th.

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