Xentek Motorsport produced a stunning class win hat-trick in the Ginetta GT Championship as part of a great haul of nine podium finishes across an exciting weekend of racing at Donington Park this past weekend (27/28 May).
The South Yorkshire team guided Conner Garlick, Ella Lloyd and Bal Sidhu to a clean sweep of victories in the final race, the highlight of a weekend that also saw Luke Garlick, Sam Harvey and Paul Livesey collect silverware and Felix Livesey secure his best result of the season so far.
In the headline GTP class of the Ginetta GT Championship, Conner Garlick bounced back from a tough opening race to star in Sunday’s two races. Running fourth early in the second encounter, he then benefitted from an issue from another driver to rise to third, before storming into second place to secure his first podium in the series.
The EU Tags backed driver went one better in the final race of the weekend, moving into the lead just before a safety car period. Perfectly executing the restart, he then kept the chasing pack at arms’ length on his way to a first race victory in Ginetta competition.
It was a memorable weekend for the Garlick family overall as his younger brother Luke increased his points lead in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge Pro class. Emerging victorious from an action-packed opening race, he then produced a phenomenal comeback in an equally dramatic race two.
A spin whilst battling for the lead dropped him to third in the second half of the race, though he quickly got back to second before overhauling a five second gap within just two laps for the victory. He was set to complete a podium treble before an unfortunate late retirement in race three.
Ella Lloyd had topped a one-two-three for the team in qualifying to continue her 100% pole position record for the season so far. After emerging from a tough opening two races with just a fourth place finish, she hit back in perfect fashion in the closer with a richly deserved third win of the season.
Sam Harvey was another unfortunate victim of the action-packed second race, but that took nothing away from a brilliant performance over the weekend. He completed a pair of great one-two race finishes for the lead, as he followed home Luke in the opener and Ella in race three.
It was a mixed weekend for Bal Sidhu unfortunately, but he still extended his points lead in the GT5 Am class with a fifth win of the season. After being on course for the race one victory before being taken out by another driver, and then retiring again in race two, he finally got his moment on the podium with a supreme drive in the closer.
In the Ginetta GT Academy, Paul Livesey enjoyed a great weekend as he continues to get to grips with the championship. Qualifying seventh overall, he then bounced back from a race one mistake to get a breakthrough top six finish in race two, before battling to eighth in the final race to secure a trophy in the championship’s Chairmans Cup category.
Paul’s son Felix enjoyed a breakthrough weekend in the Ginetta Junior Championship meanwhile. After producing the best qualifying performance of his debut season so far, the young talent was unfortunate to receive damage in the opener, but then made some great overtakes in race two to finish 13th. He saved the best until last, with more forward progress netting him a first top ten finish.
Xentek Motorsport are now preparing for their busiest ever weekend of Ginetta racing at Silverstone this week, with no less than 19 races across the championships as part of the inaugural G Fest event that sees three days of racing across the Grand Prix and National circuits.
Christopher Richards – Team Principal: “Wow, what a weekend! I think we’ve all felt every emotion possible over the last couple of days, with the joy of wins and podiums combined with the heart-break of seeing great results just slip from our grasp.
“Every driver has still come away with a brilliant moment or two from the event and that’s what matters. We’re proud to have continued our 100% winning record in the GT5 Challenge with Luke and Ella, while Sam was closer than ever to getting on the top step of the podium for the first time.
“Felix was a star this weekend, showing tremendous race craft to repeatedly fight his way through the field and score a first top ten finish, while Paul joined him in making great progress and picking up a trophy, and Bal deservedly extended his points lead with another win.
“Silverstone is going to be an incredibly busy weekend for the team with so many races across the three days, but we’ve got a fantastic group of people here who we know will do a phenomenal job. 19 races brings 19 chances to secure more trophies and we’re very excited to get going.”
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.