KELLETT SHINES ON HIS LONG-AWAITED GT4 SUPERCUP DEBUT
Considering he was Ginetta Junior runner-up, twice won the highly competitive GT5 Challenge title and has spent the past two seasons racing a G55 in the GT Cup alongside Alex Stevenson, it was somewhat surprising that James Kellett had never raced in the Ginetta GT4 Supercup prior to the Donington Park event last weekend.
Kellett had long targeted a move into the category but was never quite able to get the budget together after his GT5 triumphs – in 2015 and 2018 – to make the step up. But he was finally able to fulfil the “kids’ dream” of racing on the British Touring Car bill once more after putting together a deal with Century Motorsport to contest the final two rounds of the season.
The 23-year-old began the weekend full of confidence having topped the Thursday practice timesheets, but was unable to quite convert that pace into qualifying – where he was fourth. He described it as “disappointing”, despite being less than two tenths behind polesitter Josh Rattican, but Kellett felt much more was possible as the yellow flags came out on a lap where he was on course to take pole.
Kellett admitted that qualifying was never his strongest point and he was relishing the prospect of battling with a competitive field in the races – and looking forward to a return to one-make competition. He got a “bit bullied at the start” of the opener and dropped to sixth but was soon on a fightback – making a particularly good move on Reece Somerfield at Redgate and passing Adam Smalley late on for second.
“I got into the rhythm and I was picking my way through the field,” said Kellett.
“I was two tenths faster than anyone else so the pace was really strong. If it was a longer race, I could’ve won! I’m too much in my endurance racing-spec!”
But Kellett had no such problems in race two, pouncing on a slow start for Rattican to take an impressive win – and in the process becoming only the third driver to have won a race in Ginetta Junior, GT5 Challenge and GT4 Supercup. Although he lost out on the first lap of the final race, and could only fight back to fifth, he had certainly achieved his objective of demonstrating his pace against some quick opposition and has done his prospects for 2022 no harm at all.