For the third weekend in a row it was Jamie Caudle and James Nicholas who shared the race victories in the Ginetta GT Academy, as Snetterton played host to an exciting triple-header in the summer heatwave (12-13 July).
Qualifying
Under the scorching Snetterton sunshine, the weekend began with Charlie Digby (MDD Racing) topping the qualifying timesheets for the second time this season. The former GT5 Challenge racer lapped a tenth of a second quicker than championship leader Jamie Caudle (E3 Sport).
James Nicholas (E3 Sport) ensured the three main title contenders slotted into the top three overall, finishing half a second off the pole lap. Sam Shrimpton (W2R) was the quickest of the rookies in fourth overall, with class rivals Shiv Sapra (Paradine by Xentek) and Joe Edge (W2R) hot on his heels.
Race One
Digby converted pole position into the early race lead in the opener, however an unfortunate trip across the grass through Williams for the first time dropped him to sixth. Caudle grabbed the race lead in the process ahead of Nicholas, Sapra and a fast-starting Allan Wright (W2R) from ninth on the grid.
Digby mounted an impressive comeback drive from there though, picking off Alex Deighton (Paradine by Xentek) and Wright in consecutive laps to move up to fourth. Sapra was his next target and he got ahead just past mid-distance to move into third on the road.
Ahead, not much distance separated the top two but Caudle kept his team-mate at bay throughout to secure the race win. As Digby completed the GTA podium, Sapra pulled clear of Wright to secure the rookie class honours in fourth.
Louis Darling (MDD Racing) completed the top six overall ahead of Deighton and Lucie Hodgson (W2R). After an unfortunate spin on lap one, Edge recovered well to complete the rookie podium in ninth, with Lexie Belk (Privateer) rounding out the top ten on her GT Academy debut.
W2R duo Damien Duffy and Makesh Parekh were next up, the latter completing his first ever Ginetta race, while their team-mate Peter Thompson completed the finishers after being caught up in an opening lap incident. Shrimpton meanwhile missed the race and the remainder of the weekend after being called away from the circuit for personal reasons.
Race Two
Sunday’s action began with a tense battle at the front of the field. Caudle got the jump on pole-sitter Digby into Wilson for the first time, while a bold move around the outside at Riches moved Sapra up from fifth to third overall.
Nicholas picked off Sapra into Brundle on lap two and gave chase to his title rivals ahead. The top three ran in close formation throughout the race, with Caudle successfully soaking up the pressure to double his victory tally for the weekend ahead of Digby and Nicholas.
Sapra remained fourth throughout to pick up another rookie class victory, just ahead of his Paradine by Xentek team-mate Deighton. Edge and Wright rounded out the rookie podium in sixth and eighth overall respectively, those two sandwiching Thompson in the final classification.
Belk made quick early progress from 12th on the grid to ninth at the finish, despite accumulating 15-seconds of track limits penalties through the race, with Duffy rounding out the top ten ahead of Parekh and Hodgson.
Race Three
Caudle started the final race from pole position looking to complete his hat-trick for the weekend, but his hopes were dashed as he was tagged into a spin at the Wilson hairpin on lap one. Whilst he was able to continue, a loss of his rear wing left him unable to regain any lost ground.
Nicholas emerged in the lead of the race and he didn’t look back, charging clear to his ???? win of the season by over eight seconds. Deighton was second early on, but his Paradine by Xentek team-mate Sapra picked him off on lap five to secure the highest overall finish by a rookie driver this season.
As Sapra completed a perfect hat-trick of wins in the rookie class, Deighton scored his third GTA rostrum of the campaign. Digby just held on to the final GTA podium position on the road in a photo-finish with his MDD Racing team-mate Darling, who impressively fought forward from 13th on the grid.
Post-race however, Digby was handed an eight position penalty to put him below Caudle in the final result following their opening lap incident. Darling was therefore promoted to a maiden GTA podium, as Edge picked up rookie class silverware behind.
Thompson recovered from a mid-race spin to finish sixth ahead of Hodgson. An action-packed race for Wright concluded with a rookie podium in eighth overall ahead of Duffy, Belk, Caudle, Digby and Parekh.
In the Chairmans Cup, a class for drivers over the age of 45, Wright picked up his first win of the season before Deighton enjoyed a double victory on Sunday to complete a podium treble. Hodgson secured her first two podiums of the campaign, as Thompson picked up two trophies as well.
Full race results can be found at www.tsl-timing.com/event/252805
All three races can be watched back at www.youtube.com/user/ginettatv
Six races remain in the 2025 Ginetta GT Academy season, with the next triple-header coming at Brands Hatch over the weekend of 23/24 August.
