Duo are on top form at Brands
Max points for Randon, Marsh
A CLASS win and a class second place made it another good weekend overall for Ashbourne drivers Sam Randon and Richard Marsh in the GT Cup Championship at Brands Hatch.
For the second round of this year’s championship, racing was condensed into one day featuring two endurance races but not the usual shorter sprint races.
Randon got the day off to a great start by posting pole in qualifying with the first and only lap he did.
“It wasn’t a totally clear lap but it was good enough,” he said.
“I knew what I did last year for class pole so once I saw it was faster we just parked it and saved the tyres.”
A record grid of 46 cars made for a busy day’s racing, although there was a hiccup for the local duo in race one when they lost a strong position owing to a series of time penalties.
However, second place in class still brought the Team Hard pair, in their Porsche, maximum championship points as the winner, Sam Allpass, in a BMW Evolution, was competing as an invitational and not part of the championship.
In race one, Marsh took the rolling start and was ahead of the BMW until incurring a five-second penalty for a safety car infringement.
When Randon took over at halfway, he was able to build a five-second lead until it was cancelled out by the appearance of the safety car again, then the team were hit by another penalty, for a miscalculated short pit stop.
The complex rules of GT racing take some understanding, even for the competitors and the pair had to settle for second in class.
“Richard did a great job leading the class for so long despite the power of that BMW,” said Randon.
“It’s the points we need but it just doesn’t feel as sweet, we like to win on track”.
“We need to tighten up the pit stop and driver change – not to mention our maths!” added Marsh.
Race two went better. Marsh made up several places, even leaping past the queue of faster GT3 cars at Druids at the start and, as the race settled, was in 12th overall, the best of the rest behind the big GT3/GTO class cars.
However, a slip allowed a few others through and when Randon took over, he was 17 seconds behind Allpass’s BMW.
That proved a gap the 26-year-old could close with a series of consistent lap times and he eventually not only passed the BMW but pulled out a 16-second lead of his own to claim an emphatic class victory.
“We were then hungry for race two,” he said.
“We needed to have that win on the track and we’ve managed it. It was tough, the BMW brought the race to us, but it worked in our favour in the end.
“It was a really busy one out there. What a grid of cars, it’s made for some great racing.
“The BMW was very quick in a straight line, we didn’t have it easy, so it was a great battle to get past him.
“There was no clear air, you’d get through one group of cars and then you’d be on the next group, and then the next group. The traffic from behind as well, it was just full-on.”
Marsh is certainly enjoying being part of Team Hard for the first time.
“It was a great day – 46 cars on the grid is always going to be fun,” he said.
“We’ve taken home full points, we’re happy, the car is in one piece apart from that I took the wing mirror off but that’s what happens.
“It couldn’t have gone any better for us really. I’ve got quicker, as this is my second time in the car.
“I’m a bit closer to Sam this time, which is part of my objective because he is the constant in the car.”
The GT Cup continues at Snetterton on June 5 and 6.