It was a great weekend for Century Motorsport in their first weekend of the 2020 GT Cup championship with James Kellett and Alex Stevenson, bringing home first and third place trophies, along with setting the fastest lap (GTA Class) in Saturday’s pit stop race.
Stevenson jumped into the Ginetta G55 Supercup car for the first time on Friday to take part in the four 30-minute test sessions. Kellett, Ginetta GT5 Challenge Champion with Century Motorsport in 2018, had tested a G55 previously but had never raced in one.
The GT Cup format runs two identical days which both consist of a 15-minute practice session, followed by a 15-minute qualifying session and a 25-minute sprint race (both of which can only be completed by the sportsman driver – Stevenson). Later in the afternoon, the pro driver can join the sportsman driver for a 50-minute pitstop race but the sportsman driver must start the race.
In Stevenson’s first qualifying session on Saturday, he posted the seventh quickest time in the GTA class. He performed very well in his debut race in the G55 and crossed the finish line in fifth.
Later on in the pit stop race, both drivers got to experience the G55 in the wet for the first time. Stevenson claimed P5 before handing over to Kellett to complete the remaining 20-minutes of the race. Kellett exited the pits in P6 and stormed into fourth place before a safety car was deployed, halting his progress for the next three laps. Just after the restart, Kellett pulled off a remarkable double-overtake going into Copse, grabbing the GTA Class lead. He went on to claim GTA Class victory – Kellett and Stevenson’s debut race win as a duo. Kellett also set the fastest GTA Class lap in his final flying lap of the race.
On Sunday, Stevenson went two better than Saturday, setting the fifth quickest GTA Class time in the qualifying session, before taking sixth place in the sprint race.
In the second pit stop race, Stevenson impressed by hunting out third place in the GTA Class, before a red flag was waved, ending the race early. Had Kellett been able to complete his stint, this could have certainly been a second victory for the team but nevertheless a third place podium finish puts some decent points in the bag.
The next round of GT Cup is 12-13 September at Donington Park.