Nick White and Ravi Ramyead continued their fascinating title duel in the Ginetta GT Academy race series. They shared the wins over the weekend at Cadwell Park (22/23 July).
As rain fell in Lincolnshire, it was Ramyead (Century Motorsport) who adapted best to the conditions to top the qualifying timesheets for the sixth time this season. Title rival White (Raceway Motorsport) was only a tenth of a second adrift though and secured the race two pole on second best times.
With the wet conditions worsening later in the day, the decision was made to postpone race one after the formation laps. Rescheduled for Sunday morning in drier conditions, the original start was then red flagged after three laps following an incident for Marc Elman (SVG Motorsport) whilst running third.
After fending off an attack from White into the first corner at the restart, Ramyead stormed clear to take a comfortable first win of the weekend. There was drama behind though, as White and then Thomas Shelley (Century Motorsport) both had off-track moments whilst running second, giving the position to rookie class points leader Matt Shaw.
Mackenzie Walker (Assetto Racing) was hot on his heels at the finish, while White recovered to fourth overall. Amy Tomlinson finished fifth ahead of Shelley, with Michael Orant unfortunately having to retire in the pitlane after a spin.
White bounced back from his opening race frustration with by converting pole position into victory in race two. He didn’t have it all his own way, with Ramyead posting the fastest lap of the race in pursuit as the title rivals took the chequered flag less than a second apart.
Walker fended off a challenge from Shaw to secure third overall, while Elman finished fifth as he adapted to a spare car after his race one incident. Tomlinson was next up, with Shelley back in seventh after an early issue.
The pendulum swinging between the top two went back in Ramyead’s favour in the final race of the weekend, as a great launch got him ahead of pole-sitter White off the line. Those two ran in formation for the remainder of the race, with Ramyead securing his 11th win of the campaign.
Shaw grabbed third place off Walker on the opening lap and held it throughout the race, with Walker remaining large in his mirrors throughout. Shelley enjoyed his best result of the weekend in fifth ahead of Elman, Tomlinson and Orant.
White now holds a two-point championship lead over Ramyead heading into the penultimate meeting of the season at Brands Hatch, when the series returns to racing alongside the British GT Championship over the weekend of 09/10 September.
See full GT Academy race results at www.tsl-timing.com/event/232921
Watch all three races back at www.youtube.com/user/ginettatv
