Breakell Racing narrowly missed out on making a return to the Ginetta podium at Donington Park this past weekend (09/10 October), as both Aqil Alibhai and Reece Somerfield scored fourth place class finishes in their penultimate meeting of the 2021 season.
Alibhai continued his brilliant progression in the Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship with some more standout performances at the Leicestershire venue. Qualifying a strong 15th on Saturday morning, he knew there was more pace to come for the races.
The South African rising star showcased it in the opening race, superbly picking his way through the order to ninth at the chequered flag. As well as being his third overall top ten result of the season, he was just three tenths of a second off the final rookie podium position in fourth place.
A bruising second race saw him twice have to fight back from contact, with an impressive charge from 24th at one stage netting him 17th at the finish. Another great drive in the final outing saw him make progress in the competitive midfield pack to come home in 13th place.
Reece Somerfield meanwhile qualified a competitive seventh fastest in the Millers Oils Ginetta GT4 SuperCup. A trademark rocket launch at the start of the race immediately shot him into fourth, before he benefitted from a wide moment for the car ahead to move into third.
After a great battle with two-time Ginetta GT5 champion James Kellett, he went on to match his seasons’ best result in fourth. Race two saw him involved in another thrilling duel for position, as he went toe-to-toe with eventual race three winner Carlito Miracco.
Their exciting contest saw them run side by side for more than half a lap at one stage, before Somerfield made a move stick to cross the line in fifth. He went on to end the weekend with another competitive performance to finish race three in seventh position.
James Breakell - Team Principal: “That was certainly one of our most enjoyable weekends of the Ginetta season. Both Aqil and Reece put in brilliant performances over the weekend and we were so close to getting onto the podium again.
“The Ginetta Junior races were fiercely contested, with Aqil right in the thick of the action. While he was the innocent victim of contact a couple of times, he drove fairly out there and highlighted his impressive overtaking ability to make great progress forwards.
“Reece was brilliant once again this weekend and he deserves to have come away with some silverware. He battled hard with the leading pack of drivers and added another pair of top six finishes to his impressive record for the season.”
Breakell Racing will be returning to Donington Park for each of the next two weekends for the final rounds of the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge (16/17 October) and the Sports Prototype Cup (23 October).
The latter takes place on the same weekend as the last races of the 2021 Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship and Millers Oils Ginetta GT4 SuperCup season on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit in Kent.
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.
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