Sherwood claims GT3 Cup Challenge GB title at Brands Hatch
Justin Sherwood takes round 10 victory to secure title
Peter Kyle-Henney scores impressive first victory
Steven Liquorish and Guy Riall claim podium finishes
Justin Sherwood swept to the overall title in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB at Brands Hatch today (Sunday 22 September) with a third place and then a win in the second race. However, Sherwood had to race hard in both races as owvHowe
Peter Kyle-Henney and Steven Liquorish offered stern opposition during two excellent races, with Kyle-Henney taking a fine victory in the opening race.
Qualifying
Sherwood (Team Parker Racing) and Kyle-Henney (Parr Motorsport) shared the pole positions after qualifying on Sunday morning, with Sherwood making a late push to grab pole for the opening race of the weekend. However, the impressive pace of Kyle-Henney pushed Sherwood hard. Ahead of his first race at the Kent track, Kyle-Henney was very rapid and netted his debut pole for round 10 with his second best lap of the qualifying session.
Sherwood set second best time for the later race while Steven Liquorish (Team Parker Racing) was third for both races, but frustrated with his pace after struggling with misted glasses. Fourth on both grids was a fine result for Guy Riall (Almara Racing) who turned in his best performance so far on a circuit he saw for the first time during testing on Friday.
Justin Sherwood (Team Parker Racing) pole for round nine
'The lap before was quicker, but I came across Peter on the grass. It took some time for the tyres to come in and I knew the time was ticking away."
Peter Kyle-Henney (Parr Motorsport) pole for round ten
'That's not bad for a rookie: this year is just about learning. On my really flying lap I had two cars in front of me going into Clearways and the gap just disappeared. I got onto the grass and spun."
Round nine
Sherwood jumped ahead from the start, but Kyle-Henney was straight onto the leader's tail as Liquorish went after them. Bit by bit the top two eased away and Kyle-Henney belied his limited race experience to mount a relentless chase of Sherwood. Lap after lap the gap ebbed and flowed, but was never more than a second as Kyle-Henney kept the pressure on Sherwood.
Finally, on lap 27 of 31, Sherwood made the mistake that Kyle-Henney had been hoping for and spun onto the grass at Surtees. Kyle-Henney swept ahead to score his first race win as Liquorish moved through to second while Sherwood recovered to salvage third. Riall took fourth initially but lost time with a half spin at Druids and had to race hard to battle back for fifth behind Kelvin Fletcher (Redline Racing).
Peter Kyle-Henney (Parr Motorsport) first
'It's really great to bring it all together. I had a bit of luck at the end and I would have been happy with a podium. It was a question of pushing him as hard as I could and I'm absolutely delighted. It's a great result for the team."
Steven Liquorish (Team Parker Racing) second
'I beat Justin for the first time this season! I struggled a bit with car set-up and haven't been dialled into the car today. Try as I might, I was half a second off them."
Justin Sherwood (Team Parker Racing) third
'Peter pushed me all the way and it was my mistake. He was quick into Surtees and I just took it a bit too much kerb there and the back end got away. The improvement Peter has made this season is unbelievable."
Round nine results:
1 Peter Kyle-Henney; 2 Steven Liquorish; 3 Justin Sherwood; 4 Kelvin Fletcher; 5 Guy Riall; 6 Rob Boughton; 7 Bertie Carruthers; 8 Mark Cowne; 9 Henrique Sloper de Araujo. Fastest lap: Kyle-Henney, 48.809s (89.09mph).
Round ten
Sherwood claimed the 2013 title in fine style with a resounding victory after jumping ahead of Kyle-Henney at the start. As Liquorish dived ahead of Kyle-Henney to take second, Sherwood was able to edge clear and make certain of the crown with a perfect performance.
Kyle-Henney mounted a determined chase of Liquorish and tried a range of challenges, but then pushed just too hard into Paddock Hill Bend and spun through the gravel. While Liquorish took a secure second, Kyle-Henney recovered to fifth behind the battling pair of Riall and Fletcher. A debut podium was just reward for Riall at the end of his best event of the season, although Fletcher never stopped pressing.
Justin Sherwood (Team Parker Racing) first
'It's fantastic to win the championship with a race win. They were battling behind me and I was able to pull away. I could see them in my mirrors: this time Peter cracked instead of me!"
Steven Liquorish (Team Parker Racing) second
'Peter was pushing me up into Druids and into Graham Hill Bend. Paddock is a really quick corner and I could see he was carrying too much speed."
Guy Riall (Almara Racing) third
'I'm absolutely over the moon to get onto the podium. That was really hard fought and Kelvin is brilliant to race with: we were so closely matched and it was when he made a little mistake that I got back past him."
Round ten results:
1 Justin Sherwood; 2 Steven Liquorish; 3 Guy Riall; 4 Kelvin Fletcher; 5 Peter Kyle-Henney; 6 Rob Boughton; 7 Bertie Carruthers; 8 Henrique Sloper de Araujo; 9 Mark Cowne. Fastest lap: Liquorish, 49.094s (88.57mph).
Provisional points after round ten:
1 Sherwood 207; 2 Liquorish 186; 3 Kyle-Henney 139; 4 Fletcher 134; 5 Riall 128; 6 Boughton 54. Final rounds: Silverstone, 28/29 September.