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7th April 2009
Wrathall off to a winning start
The 2009 curtain raiser started the G50 Cup Championship at Brands Hatch circuit. The new format of one race on Saturday and two races on Sunday means plenty of track time for the Ginetta's, coupled with the step up to the British Touring Car Championship package, audiences are in for some fantastic racing and gritty performances.
QUALIFYING
Frank's pre-season testing and preparation paid dividends in Saturday morning qualifying. The 20 minute session saw Frank put the Dynojet backed G50 on outright pole position.
Frank: 'Before qualifying, changeable conditions looked inevitable, but the track remained dry. Some last minute tweaks to the car by the Team worked perfectly'.
RACE 1
The new for 2009 standing start rules, saw Frank loose a place and slot into second going into Paddock Hill bend. The 16 lap dry race saw hectic pace on the Indy circuit, with the leading former BTCC driver Carl Breeze and Frank pulling a comfortable gap on 3rd place man Nathan Freke. Frank's ideal of taking the lead was diminished by some very defensive driving by Breeze. Frank crossed the finishing line just 0.4 secs from taking the win, with the second place netting 30 championship points.
Frank: 'Unfortunately I made a mistake at the start of the race and bogged the car down off the line. This ultimately cost me the race win, but its still great to start the season on the podium. the car was great today, and I'm confident we have the pace to take a win this weekend.'
RACE 2
Frank started second on the grid for race 2, he maintained this position, but was caught on lap 6, by Nathan Freke, the 2006 British Formula Ford champion. The two front runners of Freke and Breeze had a momentous battle resulting in contact, which didn't put them out of the race. Frank was following closely enough to take advantage to muscle through to second. The remainder of the 24 lap race was run at a hectic pace with Frank, Breeze and Freke maintaining close and exciting racing. Frank crossed the line in second position, but was evaluated to first following driving standard's penalties being allocated to Freke and Breeze.
Frank: 'I didn't quite have the pace to challenge for the win in that race, so once Nathan and Carl started battling, I just used my head and made sure I was in the perfect position to pick up the pieces. Its fantastic to get a win under my belt so early in the season.'
RACE 3
The start of the race saw the top three of Breeze, Freke and Frank pull away from the pack once more, as their battles from the previous races looked set to continue. This proved true as Frank engaged in an entertaining scrap with Freke fighting over second place. Frank made the perfect pass into clearways on lap 14, to gain the 2nd place advantage. The dual for second had allowed Breeze to slip away into a comfortable lead. Still battling hard, it was Freke who edged out Frank at the flag, with Frank bringing the Dynojet car home in third place and completing a clean sweep of podiums for the weekend.
Frank: 'We had saved two new tyres for the last race, so should have been in a good position, however, I used up all of my advantage trying to pass Nathan. Then I was caught out at the end of the race as my car started to slide. Overall, its been a good weekend and a solid start to our season. The team worked really well and I'm sure we can improve and build on these results.'
Championship Table
1st |
Carl Breeze |
104 |
2nd |
Frank Wrathall |
92 |
3rd |
Nathan Freke |
83 |
TELEVISION COVERAGE
ITV4's regular Sunday afternoon broadcast will begin earlier to include as much coverage as possible. In addition, ITV will extend the duration of it's highlights programmes by 50 per cent from 60 to 90 minutes - whilst also increasing the number of repeats. These will be broadcast as follows:
ITV1 on the following Monday evening
ITV4 on the following Tuesday afternoon.
Men & Motors on the following Friday evening
ITV4 on the following Saturday afternoon
Men & Motors on the following Wednesday evening (ten days after the race event)
Image courtesy of Jacob Ebrey Photography
--ends--
Dynojet UK
Lower House Barn
Strickens Lane
Barnacre
Preston
Lancashire
PR3 1QJ.
Tel: 01995 600500
Fax: 01995 604724
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