GT4 silver cup win and P2 P3 overall at Spa
Round 5 of the British GT took place at the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps which was highly anticipated as this seasons European away trip, returning after previously being held in 2022. Mixed weather conditions where expected, with both Paid Test sessions on Friday succumbing to various showers amongst bursts of sunshine. Saturday began with heavy rain, but the weather cleared up later in the day, allowing some warmer weather to break through and rising track temperatures. Unfortunately, both FP2 and Pre-Qualifying sessions were cut short by red flags due to on-track incidents, not only causing disruption to session time but also preventing the true pace of the cars from being fully reflected on the timing sheets.
Despite the interruptions, the Silver pairing of Car 7 achieved P5 in class (P6 overall) with a fastest lap of 2:31.938, while the Pro-Am pairing of Car 47 also secured P5 (P12 overall) in class with a lap time of 2:33.508.
Qualifying faced further delays and was eventually cancelled following a major crash and barrier repairs at Eau Rouge for Ravi Ramyead Century BMW #71. The grid positions for the race were determined based on the combined pre-qualifying times, placing Car 47 in P2 overall and Car 7 in P13 overall. Both #7 and a large proportion of the field falling foul of track limits and deleted lap times. This meant a prediction of great racing for Sunday with unknown true pace of all the GT4 cars and a mixed field with respects to grid order.
Race Day:
Sunday brought sunny and warm weather, a welcome change from the previous days. Marc Warren took the first stint for the Pro-Am pairing in Car 47, starting from P2, while Jamie Day started from P13 for the Silver pairing in Car 7. The race began with immediate chaos, as multiple GT3 cars made contact in Turn 1, leading to a significant crash and a safety car deployment.
Making way through the debris and before being the race being neutralised by the safety car, Warren had dropped a place to P3 overall but remained in P1in class, with Day moving up to P7 in the Silver class and P11 overall after a solid overtake into La Source. A red flag followed shortly after to facilitate barrier repairs. The race resumed an hour after it had started, with a shortened duration of 75% of the remaining race time, meaning a tougher hurdle to climb for those with success penalty in the pitstops.
Upon restarting, Day quickly climbed the pack, with some impressive overtakes and majestic driving, underlying his raw speed and skillset in the Vantage platform. His effort saw him advance further when Day switched positions with Forsetti sister Car 47, overtaking Warren to secure P2 overall, setting his sights on the leading Ginetta, ahead of the mandatory pitstop window. Whilst ensuring the cars the remained on the road in P2 and P3 overall, Warrens speed and consistency allowed a good gap to not only Pro-Am pairings but also the Silver-Silver rivals behind, underlying once again his great abilities and impressive form thus far in the championship.
As the pit window opened, the team executed smooth fast pit stops, with new fresh Pirelli slicks and full tanks of fuel, Day handing over to Porter, jumping the DTO Ginetta in the pitlane race, and Warren passing the 47 to Orton.
Orton rejoined in P2 in the Pro-Am class and P2 overall, while Porter emerged in P2 in the Silver class and P5 overall due to the longer Silver success penalty. With 30 minutes remaining, Porter swiftly moved to P1 in class and P4 overall after coming out with great pace and continuing the #7’s car fantastic overtake count for the day ticking up. Both drivers managed to keep their driving fast and clean, mindful of the potential drive-through penalties looming over their rivals, Cars 31 and 29. Everyone pushing track limits to the maximum, searching for extra tenths of pace per lap to make the difference.
With 18 minutes remaining, Team Parkers Car 31 driven by Morris put pressure on Orton, eventually overtaking him for P2. However, a drive-through penalty for Car 31 due to track limit violations allowed Orton to reclaim P2 overall and in class, pushing Porter up to P3 overall while maintaining his P1 class position.
The hectic and fascinating race concluded with Orton bringing Car 47 home in P2 overall GT4 and P2 in the Pro-Am class, followed closely by Porter in Car 7, crossing the line in P3 overall GT4 and P1 in the Silver class.
Championship Standings:
The Forsetti team continues the lead in the GT4 teams' championship with 197.5 points, a commanding 95.5 points ahead of Optimum Motorsport (102 points) and 121.5 points ahead of third-place Team Parker Racing (76 points). Warren and Orton top the Pro-Am drivers' championship with a 23.5-point lead over Team Parker Racing's Dawson and Morris. Day and Porter lead the Silver drivers' championship by 9.5 points over Optimum Motorsport's Brown and Meakin. In the overall GT4 drivers' championship, Warren and Orton are in P2, just 3 points behind Brown and Meakin, with Porter and Day close behind in P3, only 0.5 points from Porter and Day. The battle for the GT4 overall championship remains fiercely competitive with 4 races coming up and 3 rounds remaining at Snetterton, Donington and the season finale at Brands Hatch.
Looking Ahead:
The team celebrates a successful weekend with a significant points haul, reinforcing their standings in multiple championships. We now turn our focus to the European GT4 Championship at Spa this coming weekend (June 27-30), where Mikey Porter and Aston Millar will be competing. Stay updated with our latest race news and content by following our socials and joining us on this exciting journey!
