Breakell Racing have continued their superb start to the 2022 race season with more notable successes in Ginetta and Radical competition, securing a great haul of podium finishes from the latest events this month.
The team produced a fantastic performance during the latest Ginetta meeting at Oulton Park (11/12 June), picking up a pair of class victories in the Millers Oils Ginetta GT4 SuperCup during a busy double-header weekend.
As Reece Somerfield and Wes Pearce tackled the second meeting of the GT4 SuperCup in their new-for-2022 Ginetta G56 GT4 cars, Leo Karavasili was also in action in Cheshire for the third round of the GT Academy season.
Following on from a great G56 Am class win during his debut weekend in the championship at Brands Hatch last month, Pearce was straight back on the leading pace at Oulton as he picked up a maiden class pole position.
He duly converted that into a dominant lights to flag victory in the opening race, before mounting a great fight back in race two. Having to stop on track to avoid a spun car ahead, he then hunted down the leader and overtook them on the final lap to complete a brilliant double win.
Somerfield meanwhile was fighting right at the front of the field. After qualifying fourth, he impressively moved his way up to second early in race one. Unfortunately contact from another driver dropped him to fifth, though the culprit was later penalised, putting Somerfield fourth in the final result.
The West Midlands based racer produced a stunning start to race two as well, battling his way into the race lead. After leading the field for a number of laps, he was on course for victory until the final corner on the last lap. Further contact from the same rival as race one led to an incident, which Somerfield was later unfairly found at fault for and removed from the race results.
Karavasili meanwhile continued his fantastic start to his first ever season of car racing, battling for podium finishes once again as he competed alongside the BTCC for the first time. The international alpine skiier started the weekend strongly by qualifying third overall for both races.
Slipping to fifth at the start of race one, he kept pressure on the driver ahead throughout and eventually pulled off a move for fourth overall and third in the GTA class for his second podium of the season. After unfortunately slipping to eighth in race two, a good recovery drive secured him another good points haul in fifth place.
James Breakell – Team Principal:“What a performance from Wes. He’s making fantastic progress in the car and really got to show what he can do this weekend. It was a commanding win in race one, while his comeback drive in race two was a joy to watch.
“It was a shame how the weekend ended for Reece, as the way he’s been driving over the last year with us, he really did deserve that win. He qualified well, showed great pace and pulled off some fantastic overtaking moves in the races.
“Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Leo is only in his first season of racing. The way he’s adapted to the Ginetta and gone wheel-to-wheel with much more experienced drivers has been very impressive and we’re delighted he could pick up another piece of silverware.
“This was our busiest Ginetta event of the season with both championships in action and I must give a huge thank you to the whole Breakell Racing team. They did a faultless, professional job and made sure our drivers had fast, reliable cars to go racing with.”
The Lancashire-based team followed on that great weekend of results with another brilliant outing in the Radical Challenge Championship, as rising star Noah Degnbol recorded a pair of podium finishes at Snetterton (25/26 June).
Building on a superb start to the season, which featured multiple podium finishes including a breakthrough win at Brands Hatch last time out, Degnbol was once again battling right at the font of the field from the off around the fastest and technical Snetterrton 300 circuit.
After topping the timesheets for a long spell in qualifying on Saturday morning, the Danish talent ended up second on the grid for the two sprint races that day. In the opener, he stormed clear of the pack behind and kept tabs with the leader throughout as he finished second, before delivering a repeat performance in race two.
Degnbol was confident of challenging for more silverware in the endurance race on Sunday as he qualified second quickest in qualifying once again. A great run in the early stages of the race saw him stay in contention, however a couple of penalties ultimately dropped him back to seventh overall, albeit still third in class.
James Breakell: “It was another fantastic performance from Noah at Snetterton. He’s been a revelation in the car this season and once again showed his immense pace and potential.
"While he couldn’t quite challenge for the wins on Saturday, and the race went away from us on Sunday, it takes nothing away from another successful and enjoyable weekend of Radical racing.”