Luis Beilicke and Tom Walker have increased their advantages at the top of the Rookie and GTA standings respectively after producing dominant performances in the Ginetta GT Academy at Snetterton (15-16 August).
Qualifying
For the fourth time in five qualifying sessions this season, it was Beilicke (Want2Race) at the top of the timesheets on Saturday morning. The rookie points leader left it late though, snatching pole position from GTA pace-setter Connor Blackburn (Performance One) with his final lap of the session.
As Blackburn secured his maiden GTA pole, Will Fallon (Privateer) also recorded his best qualifying result of the season in third overall. Walker (E3 Sport) and Joe Ostholthoff (Want2Race) made it four GTA contenders in the top five, with Ian Beaumont (SVG Motorsport) the second-best rookie in sixth.
Race One
As Beilicke led the field through the opening lap of race one, there was early progress for Walker behind as he climbed from fourth up to second. Blackburn slotted into third, as Beaumont was another to gain ground as he moved up two places to fourth.
Beaumont continued his progress at mid-distance, getting down the inside of Blackburn into Palmer for third overall. There was a change of position behind one corner later too, as Ostholthoff picked off Fallon for the final GTA class podium position.
Beilicke had no such issues out front though, leading from start-to-finish to take a near four second win and the rookie spoils. Walker secured the GTA class win behind ahead of rookie Beaumont, while a penultimate lap move earned Ostholthoff second in GTA from Blackburn.
Fallon finished up fourth in GTA ahead of a trio of rookie contenders, with Ben Wiseman (Want2Race) securing the final spot on the podium ahead of Ash Young (Performance One) and Faye Goff. The latter’s Want2Race team-mates Damien Duffy and Allan Wright completed the finishers after an action-packed race for the duo.
Race Two
It was a case of déjà vu at the start of the second race of the weekend, as once again Beilicke led the field while Walker made immediate progress from fourth to second. Beaumont was also on the move, gaining three positions to slot into third overall ahead of Blackburn.
Beaumont continued on the offensive on lap two as he passed Walker into Riches, however a lockup into Agostini later in the lap led to the positions switching back. That proved to be the last action for Beaumont, as he cruelly had to retire from the race on lap three.
Taking on the mantle of being the driver on the move was Ostholthoff, who picked off Fallon and then Blackburn to move into third overall. He couldn’t do anything about the two ahead though, as Beilicke and Walker once again emerged as winners again in rookie and GTA respectively.
A post-race penalty demoted Ostholthoff one position behind Blackburn as they rounded out the GTA class podium, while Wiseman finished a seasons’ best second in the rookie category. Young picked up his third rookie podium of the season behind, while a late change of position saw Wright pass Goff into Wilson on the last lap.
Race Three
The final race of the weekend saw Beilicke briefly lose the race lead, as a fast-starting Walker moved ahead. The German racer fought back into Agostini though and from there, he proved unstoppable again as he pulled clear to a near ten-second victory – the third biggest win of the season.
Behind, Ostholthoff moved up to third overall on lap three and set about hunting down Walker for second. Their battle intensified in the closing stages and Ostholthoff made a move into Agostini on the penultimate lap, however contact led to him spinning himself around.
Blackburn took the fight to Walker on the final lap, but the latter held on for victory. In their mirrors at the finish line was Beaumont after a tremendous drive from the back of the grid. Gaining four positions on lap one alone, he then picked off Fallon and Wiseman to secure second in the rookies.
Wiseman and Fallon went on to complete the rookie and GTA podiums respectively, with Ostholthoff having to settle for fourth in class at the chequered flag. Young was fourth of the rookies meanwhile ahead of Goff, with GTA contenders Wright and Duffy completing the finishers.
In addition to his triple rookie win, Beilicke also completed a clean sweep in the Silver class. In the Chairmans Cup, Wright took a pair of victories either side of a first win of the season for Duffy.
Beilicke also picked up the Sunoco Fastest Driver of the Weekend Award, with his 2:05.696s lap in race two proving to be both the quickest racing lap of the event and a new GT Academy lap record for the Snetterton 300 circuit. He’s now set four new lap records from four events this season.
Full race results can be found at TSL Timing. All three races can be watched back now at GT World on YouTube.
