Latest news with #Ginetta
Belfast Telegraph
27-04-2025
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Dan Harper thrilled to see gamble pay off after clinching second Silverstone success
A one-off appearance at round two of the 2025 British GT Championship was rewarded with a hard-fought win for the Paradine Competition duo at the Northamptonshire venue. Starting fifth, they placed their faith in an unconventional driver changeover strategy that relied on safety car periods and Full Course Yellows coming to their rescue, and not being held up by back markers, or those competitors taking part in slower GT4 machinery. The approach left them out of sequence with the rest of the GT3 field and meant Harper had to play catch-up for most of his stint. However, the 24-year-old produced yet another trademark driving masterclass, and with 26 minutes remaining, he moved into the lead as Kiern Jewiss served a drive-through penalty in his 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG. A nail-biting game of cat and mouse ensued, with Harper having to go on the defensive in his BMW M4 GT3 Evo in an effort to thwart Jewiss and his barrage of overtake manoeuvres. Despite being nose to tail as they started the final 3.661-mile lap, Harper did just enough to take the chequered flag first – by six-tenths of a second – and spark wild celebrations. 'The strategy was a gamble at the beginning – but we had seen in qualifying and Darren's opening stint that we weren't going to win this race on pace alone, so had to try something different,' reflected Harper, who returns to action at Laguna Seca in under a fortnight's time. 'The guys made that decision and it didn't always look like it was going to pay off, but we got some luck in our favour, which is something you will always need in a race like this. 'I knew it was Kiern behind me, and having raced with him during our Ginetta days, I was fully aware of what he is capable of. 'I know how good he is, so I was really under pressure. 'The guys in the garage were updating me every lap on the gap – I could see him coming. 'I was just praying that the GT4 cars would be kind to me – and on this occasion they were. 'I knew I just had to make the car as wide as possible whenever he got close to me,' he added. 'I think the BMW's strength is its ability to defend against other cars and first was not something I was going to give up easily.' Meanwhile, Chris Smiley opened his Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship account at Donington Park in strong fashion by scoring Independent wins in races two and three having brought his Restart Racing Hyundai home 10th overall earlier in the day.
BBC News
05-03-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Teenager swaps racing games for competing on the track
Jude Peters is about to race a car that can do 160mph even though he has never driven on a 16-year-old, from Malmesbury, Wiltshire, was a sim racer, but has gone from racing in his bedroom to a real endurance racing contract in just two contract with Team Virage in the Ligier European Series will see him compete at famous European circuits, including Le Mans and Silverstone."My dream goal was just to be able to do endurance racing, and now I'm doing that at the most iconic tracks in the world," he said. Jude's rise to professional racing has been two years ago he had never driven a racing car of any kind, nor taken part in competitive karting, which is the usual had been racing for years at home with a basic simulator set up in his bedroom - a racing wheel and some pedals that plug into a how much Jude loved sim racing, his parents booked him onto the simulator experience at the Ginetta Race Cars HQ near was immediately quicker than the factory invited Jude to take part in a competition for its Junior Scholarship, which he won, giving him a partly-funded drive in the Ginetta Junior Championship. The next step, the Ligier European Series, is the first on the endurance racing ladder and Jude's new team, Virage, has won the championship for the last three was at the Paul Ricard circuit last week to test his new car."It's a difficult career to get into and there are so many people that want to," said Jude."For the people that make it, it's a small percentage, but it's a goal I have and I'd like to get to the top."Jude's mum, Kirsty, watched nervously through her fingers as her son competed in the Ginetta series."I was terrified the whole time," she said."Jude has put in a lot of time, a lot of dedication and a lot of hard work, and this hasn't come easy to him."We've become his managers, supporting him in making sure he eats the correct food, making sure he's exercising, booking accommodation, doing the PR."It feels like it can be a full time job."
