Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography
The inaugural running of GB4’s single-event winter series took place last weekend at Snetterton, and Elite Motorsport’s Jesse Phillips took the crown.
A 19-car grid was attracted, and action kicked off with a qualifying session that set the grid for races one and two.
Douglas Motorsport’s Conor Grant set the pace, earning pole for race one by just 0.02s over team-mate George Proudford-Nalder and with a 0.279s gap to Phillips in third.
Drivers’ second-best laptimes were used for race two, and Proudford-Nalder claimed pole by 0.267s. Grant was second, and Phillips was third again.
Grant converted pole into victory by keeping his team-mate at bay, and his winning margin of 0.487s was close to his average gap up front but did not reflect Proudford-Nalder’s last-lap challenge at Agostini. Phillips was dropped on lap one, and they continued to pull away from him until their late battle for victory.
It was soaking wet and visibility was low for race two, with first place being advantageous due to the lack of spray. That position went to Phillips who cleared the slow-starting Grant then made a bold pass on Proudford-Nalder as they entered Nelson corner for the first time.
A safety car and then red flag interruption caused by a three-car crash prevented Phillips from romping away, but once green flags waved with two laps to go he put 4.613s between himself and team-mate Harrison Mackie, who overtook John O’Donnell on the final lap for an Elite podium lockout.
During those two laps, Proudford-Nalder dropped to seventh then recovered to a distant fourth.
Qualifying two was the next day, and Mackie secured race three pole by 0.189s and race four pole by 0.256s based on second-best laptimes. Phillips was second both times, with Proudford-Nalder third on race three’s grid while O’Donnell was third for race four.
An amazing launch cast Proudford-Nalder into the lead at the start of race three, and he created a 21.65s lead that was then whittled down over the race’s 11-lap duration.
R Racing’s Chase Fernandez rose from fifth to third on lap one, and Phillips pressured him at the end of the race but finished eighth rather than fourth due to a 10s penalty for being out of position at the start.
The title-deciding race four was dramatic, as it crowned two drivers. After an early safety car period, poleman Mackie led the field unter intense pressure from Proudford-Nalder for two-and-a-half laps before he got ahead. Except that move resulted in a collision, and Phillips took the lead as the previous top two dropped to fifth and sixth.
They each gained back a position, then some teamwork may have been at play as Grant created the opportunity for a damaged Proudford-Nalder to pass him and then Mackie. That was enough to earn his Douglas team-mate the title, but Proudford-Nalder then got a one-place penalty that meant race-winner Phillips was crowned instead.
Results round-up
Race 1 (11 laps)
1 Conor Grant Douglas Motorsport 20m32.183s
2 George Proudford-Nalder Douglas Motorsport +0.487s
3 Jesse Phillips Elite Motorsport +3.539s
4 John O’Donnell Elite Motorsport +9.365s
5 Lewis Goff KMR Sport +10.983s
6 Harrison Mackie Elite Motorsport +11.798s
7 Chase Fernandez R Racing +12.030s
8 Archie Bullard Fox Motorsport +19.924s
9 Jamie Leverton Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing +26.361s
10 Qarrar Firhand Fortec Motorsports +30.986s
Pole: Grant, 1m49.604s
Fastest lap: Proudford-Nalder, 1m50.326s
Race 2 (8 laps)
1 Phillips 32m08.983s
2 Mackie +4.613s
3 O’Donnell +6.826s
4 Proudford-Nalder +10.339s
5 Bullard +12.592s
6 Firhand +15.632s
7 Goff +16.678s
8 William Rohan Pace Performance +16.977s
9 Jasser Iskander Fox Motorsport +17.940s
10 Grant +19.546s
P: Proudford-Nalder, 1m49.652s
FL: Phillips, 2m11.655s
Race 3 (11 laps)
1 Proudford-Nalder 20m22.413s
2 Mackie +0.343s
3 Fernandez +9.389s
4 Goff +11.561s
5 Grant +17.586s
6 O’Donnell +17.755s
7 Leverton +18.504s
8 Phillips +19.552s
9 Firhand +19.855s
10 Alexander de Benedittis Pace Performance +34.496s
P: Mackie, 1m49.581s
FL: Mackie, 1m49.494s
Race 4 (9 laps)
1 Phillips 20m13.682s
2 Fernandez +2.498s
3 Mackie +5.848s
4 Proudford-Nalder +5.672s
5 Goff +6.556s
6 Grant +6.642s
7 O’Donnell +7.080s
8 Firhand +7.733s
9 Iskander +16.038s
10 Solenn Amrouche KMR Sport +18.064s
P: Mackie, 1m49.585s
FL: Phillips, 1m50.623s
Championship standings
1 Phillips 107 2 Proudford-Nalder 106 3 Mackie 99 4 Grant 82 5 O’Donnell 77 6 Goff 74 7 Fernandez 68 8 Firhand 53 9 Iskander 44 10 Bullard 41