GINETTA GT4 SUPERCUP
In a season featuring just four winners, consistency was key to success in the Ginetta GT4 Supercup. Charlie Ladell delivered just that.
Ten wins were his party piece, but a total of 20 podiums from the 23 races dealt a killer blow from the 22-year-old as Rob Boston Racing stepped up to become the dominant force.
“A really mega year which exceeded expectations,” was Ladell’s assessment of his year as he was victorious by 60 points. “The team came back stronger and we never really struggled.”
Compared to previous seasons, 2018 featured an inexperienced grid with noticeably fewer contenders than some years.
Carl Boardley was the only driver who ever looked like halting Ladell’s march to the title. This was his fourth full season in the series and he transformed his unpredictability of the past into level-headedness to grab six wins. Tyre management earned him a hat-trick at Croft, but he was often playing catch up thanks to Ladell’s other key trump card: qualifying.
“Coming from Clios, qualifying was where I struggled,” adds four-time polesitter Ladell. “Now with some experience, I’m understanding the car, the tyres and where to get the most out of it. It’s still been difficult even with less experienced guys out there – they’re quick.”
While Ladell was only once plagued by mechanical gremlins (at Snetterton), fortune was not on the side of the championship’s other two race winners.
Tom Roche and Harry King’s flashes of speed spiced up the fight at the front on numerous occasions, Roche’s overtaking prowess guiding him to three much-deserved wins during his first full season – after impressing on guest outings last term.
A fourth victory was cruelly snatched from his grasp at Silverstone when he lost drive, dropping him behind Ginetta Junior graduate King, who ended his maiden season on four victories, in the final standings.
A Croft altercation and a blunder in the wet at Donington cost him more silverware, but a spate of reliability woes across the summer frustrated King and derailed a potential title challenge for the maturing Elite Motorsport rookie.
Lack of experience was arguably the one significant buffer preventing Angus Fender from a debut win meanwhile. Sluggish starts hampered him, but one pole position and seven podium visits offered flashes of potential as he was best of the rest ahead of a consistent Jac Constable, the 2017 Am winner stepping up to the Pro class this season.
When discussing experience, Colin White has more than any other driver in the championship, but he had to play second fiddle in the Am class to a popular rookie.
Despite a rocky Oulton visit, Michael Crees made his adaptation from G40s look seamless on his way to the class title. A mid-season surge even brought the Century Motorsport man within sight of the Pro runners, batting off close attentions of White and Jack Minshaw to end a “dream season” with 11 victories to his name.