Marcus Clutton Sets Benchmark in British GT Free Practice at Spa-Francorchamps
Marcus Clutton led the opening free practice session for the British GT Championship at Spa-Francorchamps, achieving a top time of 2:17.004 in the #67 Orange Racing by JMH McLaren GT3 Evo. Clutton’s performance edged out Tom Wood, who clocked a 2:17.263 in the #97 Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, with only 0.043 seconds separating him from Callum MacLeod’s #3 Optimum Motorsport McLaren.
The session saw a red flag incident caused by Matt Topham’s contact with Kiern Jewiss’ #42 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, prompting further investigation. Despite the disruption, multiple drivers showcased competitive times. Four-time British GT champion Jonny Adam finished fourth (2:17.375) in the #7 Blackthorn Aston Martin, while Matt Griffin’s fifth-place lap of 2:17.429 in the #55 Spirit of Race Ferrari 296 GT3 secured a strong showing for the team. Marvin Kirchhöfer was close behind, recording a lap time of 2:17.434 in the #77 Optimum McLaren.
In seventh was Hugo Cook in the #1 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 with a 2:17.573, just ahead of Jewiss, who managed a time of 2:17.579, having completed only four laps. Patrick Kujala, standing in for Sandy Mitchell, took ninth (2:17.667) in the #78 Barwell Lamborghini, while Kevin Tse rounded out the top ten with a 2:17.793 in the #18 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG.
In the GT4 category, Josh Miller topped the timesheets in the #84 Mahiki Racing Ginetta G56 GT4 Evo, clocking in at 2:28.482. Following him, Charlie Robertson secured second in the #71 Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 Evo (2:28.687), with Luca Hopkinson taking third in the #17 Optimum Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 (2:29.427). Phil Keen finished fourth in the #30 Team Parker Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 (2:29.651) and Chris Salkeld completed the top five for Century BMW with a 2:29.976.
Pre-qualifying sessions will continue at 13:05 local time (12:05 BST).
RESULTS: [Link to detailed results]
Image courtesy of SRO/JEP
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