CREES HOLDS HIS OWN AGAINST THE PROS
In 2016 Michael Crees was an onlooker among BTCC fans watching from the grass banks at Brands Hatch. Two years on, the Century Motorsport rookie is a standout performer in the Ginetta GT4 Supercup’s amateur class after three competitive outings.
The ever-smiling Crees admitted he was “living a dream” after mixing it with the Pro drivers at Oulton Park, in a weekend when his results did not reflect his true potential. A race-one mistake at Cascades led to overheating problems and, mired in the pack for race two, a trio of off-track excursions stymied his chase of Colin White, who was one short of 150 Ginetta starts.
“I’m riding the crest of a wave at the minute,” says Crees, twice an Am class winner this season. “Two years ago I was watching at
Brands Hatch. Now I’m winning trophies.”
Qualifying at Oulton Park offered a glimpse into the Kent racer’s potential. A minor tracklimits indiscretion meant his best lap – good enough for fourth on the grid – was deleted, but he still outqualified his nearest Am rival by almost eight tenths of a second.
“I’m hoping that I’ll get among the Pros by Snetterton [in late July],” was his response to taking on the theoretically quicker drivers as he aims to cut out his errors.
“This is the quickest I’ve been. We’ve made a few mistakes as I’m obviously still learning, but we came through it. Donington was great but we had a bit of bad luck in the end [with gearbox problems], so we’ve had a bit of everything already really.”
Crees made a strong first impression in a karting outing, following in the footsteps of his brother, who was a racer himself.
“When I was a kid, my brother used to race Caterhams, but unfortunately didn’t have the budget to carry on. I’ve always been interested and thought I’d have go, then two years ago I got my lucky break when I was noticed racing hire karts.”
Crees graduated to the Supercup after winning the 2017 Ginetta G40 GRDC+ title as a car-racing rookie, swiftly adding more silverware in ’18 with Am class wins at Brands Hatch and Donington.
Experience may not be on his side, unlike main rival White, who Crees greeted in parc ferme with a handshake after his toughest weekend to date. “I’ve raced in Ginettas since the start”, said 61-year-old White. “When you think about it, I’m up against a lot of young chargers at the moment.
“Michael is very quick so you need to use some racecraft to beat him. He’s learning the ropes a little bit still, so we’re trying to take advantage while we can.”