Breakell Racing enjoyed a phenomenal weekend in the Ginetta GT Academy season finale at Donington Park (15/16 October), with Leo Karavasili recording his first two race wins in the championship.
Karavasili was back in top form as he returned to the scene of his maiden Ginetta podium back in May. A brilliant effort in qualifying saw him go quickest of all, scoring a fourth pole position of his increasingly impressive maiden season for race one and second on the grid for race two. The 23 year old talent went on to produce a faultless drive in the opening race behind the wheel of his Ginetta G56 GTA, keeping the 2022 series champion Marc Warren at bay throughout to record a sensational lights-to-flag victory. More delight was to follow in race two, as Karavasili excelled in damp, greasy conditions. Initially dropping a position off the race start, he held third place through a pair of safety car periods before going on the offensive in a final two-lap shootout to the chequered flag. Diving down the inside of Ravi Ramyead into Coppice for second place, he was then fortunate to survive contact from the same driver a couple of corners later. Heading onto the last lap with the leader Warren in his sights, a great move into Coppice ultimately netted him a memorable second race win. Karavasili looked to complete a dream hat-trick in the final race from pole position, however there would be immense disappointment with a mechanical failure at the start of the race, caused by a manufacturer known fault that the team were not made aware of. The Clitheroe-based outfit were also back on the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge grid for the weekend, as they handed Archie Dunbar-Rees his car-racing debut. The 17 year old, who has been working for the team as a mechanic over the past 18 months, made great progress across the event. After testing the car for the first time in the days prior to the race weekend, Dunbar-Rees got into the thick of the action across the three races. Impressively battling wheel-to-wheel with vastly more experienced drivers, the Scotsman went on to record a best result of 15th in class.
James Breakell: “What a way to end our Ginetta season. Since getting pole position in his first ever qualifying session, Leo has been threatening a weekend like this and it’s fantastic to see him deliver such a fantastic performance to end the season. “Leo was exceptional in the dry on Saturday, while his charge in the damp conditions on Saturday morning was a joy to watch. It’s a shame that a failure out of our control cost him a shot at another win, but that takes nothing away from a great weekend to end his superb first year of racing. “We were delighted to give Archie an opportunity to make his car-racing debut. It was a steep learning curve for him against an immensely talented grid, but he got his head down, worked hard to make improvements in every session and we’re proud of the progression he made.”
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.