Polished Matt’s just so quick to impress
STAMFORDHAM-BASED racing driver Matty Graham laid down a statement of intent at the British GT meeting at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
The 21-year-old sealed his first and second wins in GT4 racing with a pair of sublime last-to-first drives.
They are a pair of results Graham hopes will be the springboard from which he can add real impetus to his career and make bigger strides towards his ultimate goal of proving himself one of the best racing drivers in the world.
Having started the season driving a McLaren 570S GT4, the championship’s annual pilgrimage was Graham’s first outing alongside fellow North Eastern driver Charlie Fagg in the Ebor GT Maserati GT MC GT4 - and one which saw him finish the fastest GT4 driver in every session he ran.
Such was the pair’s level of performance, they were able to make light of a broken actuator pump which forced them to miss the gridsetting qualifying sessions and storm their way through from the back of the grid to victory - twice.
Graham in particular revelled in the challenge, taking over from Fagg half way through the first race in 11th position after a good stint from his team-mate. The former under18 world karting champion stormed his way to the lead, setting the fastest race lap which broke the GT4 lap record for the track by almost three seconds to take the win by nearly six seconds.
Starting the second, Graham charged from last to first and handed over to his team-mate with an eight-second lead and, while success penalties saw Fagg drop down the order, he was able to build on Graham’s excellent work and get back into contention for an unlikely second win.
When the two cars Fagg was hunting down encountered problems and penalties, his way to the front was smoothed - the Durham driver crossing the line with a 35-second lead, such was the two drivers and Maserati’s dominance.
Graham said: “I think at the weekend everything just came together well.
“The car was really good around Spa I was really on form and it all came together.
“If you look back at my form over the last few races, a win has been coming.
“It has just been little things which have not quite fallen my way in terms of luck.
“I was really excited going over to Spa and it was quite a weird feeling.
“I knew the Maserati was so different to the rest of the field and it was either going to be really quick or really slow.
“Having tested it in the winter, in my head, I was pretty confident it was going to be the really quick side of things - but it still managed to surprise me just how fast the car and myself were.
“I have always said the Maserati is the car which feels the most like a single-seater and I think it allows me to call on the experience I have in those so I can do things I would not be able to in a McLaren or an Aston Martin.
“Those cars have lots of gizmos and things and they restrict you quite a lot, whereas the Maserati is quite bare and basic, which means I can do a lot more as a driver to make a difference and unlock the potential of the car.”
While he was hopeful of the latent pace in both the car and himself, Graham insists the margin of advantage he enjoyed was way beyond any expectations he had but is indicative of where he finds himself at present.
He added: “I surprised myself a little bit and I think it just goes back to the form I am in that I just feel comfortable and confident with everything I drive at the minute.
“I am enjoying the whole experience.
“Every time I am out on the track I am really going for it and hitting everything as hard as I can.
“I am getting to the point in my career where I really want to start getting somewhere and get noticed and I guess that is just giving me more determination and drive to push everything as far as it can go.”