Pepper pips it for Bentley
Bentley driver Jordan Pepper won the opening SRO GT Series Esports event at Silverstone, while 2009 Formula 1 champion Jenson Button and Ferrari F1 star Charles Leclerc hit trouble.
Pepper claimed the lead when polesitter Fabrizio Crestani collided with fellow Mclaren driver Ben Barnicoat as they diced for first place among an impressive 49-strong field. Crestani was handed a drivethrough penalty as Barnicoat fell to eighth.
Thereafter, Pepper was dominant and bagged the glory in the one-hour enduro ahead of Barnicoat, who recovered to second ahead of karting graduate Luigi di Lorenzo.
Mercedes’ Raffaele Marciello initially took third, but the 2018 Blancpain Sprint Cup champion was handed a two-second penalty for his move on di Lorenzo’s Aston Martin.
Leclerc finished 21st after serving a drivethrough for twice colliding with Aston Martin driver Luca Ghiotto, his ex-real-life Formula 2 rival. Meanwhile, Button was denied a top-10 finish following a collision at Abbey as he battled ex-renault junior Arthur Rougier and David Perel.