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Spirit of Race Provisionally Wins at Rockingham After Bizarre Ending

Spirit of Race provisionally wins at Rockingham in hectic final 20 minutes…

Photo: British GT

Photo: British GT

Matt Griffin and Duncan Cameron have provisionally taken the win after a hectic end to the British GT Championship race at Rockingham, amongst confusion following a wave-by for the Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3.

Griffin was allowed past the safety car while the field was neutralized with less than 20 minutes to go, which initially appeared to give the lead to Seb Morris and Team Parker Racing.

It is expected that the Ferrari was given a wave-by because it was carrying a five-second penalty for a track limits infringement earlier in the race. 

This gave Griffin a 30-second on-track lead as the race got back underway with 12 minutes on the clock, and despite his time penalty he survived out front with a 23-second winning margin. 

Further adding to the confusion, contact between the leading Spirit of Race and Team Parker Racing cars will be investigated after the race.

Morris held onto second for Team Parker Racing, with Jack Mitchell third for Macmillan AMR, only just defending from Phil Keen out of the final corner.

It is the first British GT win for the Ferrari 488 GT3, and the first for the Italian manufacturer since Rockingham 2014.

Derek Johnston started from pole in the No. 1 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 but he and Jonny Adam dropped down the order while also handed a five-second penalty for track limits, as well as with a 15-second success penalty in the pit stops.

The reigning champions eventually finished down in eighth.

Stuart Middleton and Will Tregurtha secured the GT4 class win for HHC Motorsport.

A late pitstop for the polesitting No. 55 Ginetta G55 GT4 helped HHC to take the class honors, after Black Bull Garage 59 had led most of the race with its No. 100 McLaren 570S GT4 driven by Sandy Mitchell and Ciaran Haggerty.

Mitchell crossed the line second, as Optimum Motorsport was third with Mike Robinson and Graham Johnson’s No. 501 Ginetta. 

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.

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