WRIGLEY JOINS THE HAT-TRICK TOMS
Wrigley wins all three races, matching namesakes Ingram and Sharp
Tom Wrigley joined a very elite group of Toms at Donington Park. He is now only the third driver to win all three Ginetta GT4 Supercup races in a weekend since the category switched to its current format in 2011, matching the achievements of his namesakes Ingram and Sharp.
During the whole of 2015, Rob Boston Racing driver Wrigley managed two victories. He has now doubled that already this year with his impressive hat-trick adding to a win at Brands Hatch last time out.
The first two wins were relatively straightforward as he was able to lead away from pole, but he still had to deal with safety cars eroding his lead in both contests.
In the first race, stranded Amateur driver John Wall caused a caution at one-third distance, but Wrigley made a good restart to head home his main title rivals: Jamie Orton (Triple M) and Will Burns (Douglas Motorsport).
Second time around it was Mark Davies who caused the safety car with a spin at Redgate mid-race, but again Wrigley was able to pull an advantage when the green flags waved. Orton and Burns duelled for much of the early stages but the battle for second was settled when Orton made a small mistake at Old Hairpin.
Wrigley started fifth for the partially reversed grid finale but that didn’t stop him from completing a memorable hat-trick.
He made a couple of excellent moves to pass front row starters Carl Boardley and Tom Hibbert through the Craner Curves and Redgate, respectively, to take another victory.
“That was amazing – it’s not been done for three years,” he beamed. “I was hoping for a podium in race three but also in the back of my mind I knew I had a chance as I had been dominating the weekend.”
Wrigley’s path to glory was made a bit easier by Orton hitting Burns at Redgate, with the former team-mates dropping to the tail of the field after Orton suffered another spin. Their struggles meant Wrigley left Donington with a massive 50-point lead over Burns in the standings.
Burns and Orton’s collision paved the way for Ben Green to take a brilliant maiden podium after passing Hibbert on the brakes into Mcleans.
“That was hard work,” he said. “The plan was to be fighting for podiums in the second half of the season so I’m really happy.”
At Brands, Colin White achieved an Amateur hat-trick but couldn’t match Wrigley’s feat this time. A lastlap collision with James Guess denied him in the opener, handing the win to Grahame Tilley. White made amends in the second race after a mistake from Fraser Robertson on the penultimate lap allowed him to win, and he followed that up with another triumph in the finale.