First official test at Thruxton

The Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge will make its debut on the BTCC-support series bill at Thruxton on May 6 – 8 with three races so make sure you tune in to ITV4 to see the cars in action. This was the official test for the support series, and GBR wanted to make an impression.

The first of two practice sessions were run in wet conditions and it was new boy Ashley Marshall who shone in the tricky conditions. He set the pace with a 1:33.752, although Nick Zapolski and Matt Flowers were not far behind as they set times within a second.

As the track dried, his years of hammering around the Hampshire track saw TCR’s Chapman controlling proceedings as he set the day’s best time of 1:24.559. The only other driver to get close to Chapman was GBR’s Nick Zapolski, whose best lap was just 0.844s slower. Not bad considering this was his first time at the circuit in dry conditions and only his second ever visit. However, he is spending time in the Simulator with his driving coach and this appears to be paying off.

Jack Minshaw was close behind 4th fastest 1.68 seconds behind, he is also new to the circuit and was feeling his way around in the dry exploring the limits. New tyres resulted in over-confidence and he ended his test with some minor damage to his car and his ego.

The next race is at Brands Hatch on April 16 – 17 follow our progress on the website or our Facebook page.