With championships firmly in mind, but honour in heart, Clark and Canning went for it in the second Pit Stop race on Sunday afternoon to try and claim a win and they came oh so close… Clark once again did a brilliant job to take the lead, this time at Coram on lap two. And again, it was the Innovation Racing Ginetta that gave chase all through the stint.

This time when Canning climbed on board the Aston Martin, he found himself with only a 13s gap to recover. Typically, he put on a charge, sometimes lapping more than a second faster than the leader before a Safety Car with 12 minutes of the 50 left to race equalised the field. This should have been great news for Canning, but when the race went ‘green’ with one lap to go, a three-car shunt on the restart prevented a final victory shot of the season.

Clark then made it a third second place of the weekend in the final Sprint Race, unable to do anything about the faster victorious Ginetta. In the end though, that podium was enough to lock down a championship title, that for FMS has been five years, three seasons and 66 races in the making.

A heavy mid-race rain shower allowed Clark to apply his skill and extend his lead into the pitstop window, where the FMS crew operated with precision to send Canning back out on track with a comfortable cushion to second place. But then a second rainstorm hit the track, causing chaos and triggering another prolonged Safety Car period. This had the effect of neutralising the race and diminished Canning’s lead as the packed closed in the queue. When the race went back to green for the final few laps, the former British GT4 champion was powerless to stop the faster Ginetta racing past him on the straight.

Clark said: “We didn’t have the fastest car again this weekend, but in a way that made it more fun for us drivers. I really enjoyed battling with the other cars in the class, and I’m certain there wasn’t anything left to come from our side. It’s frustrating to have come away from Silverstone without a victory, but we delivered to the maximum and that’s all we could ask for this weekend and we can take a lot of satisfaction from that.”

Canning added: “Archie did a great job this weekend, and it was fun to watch him fight to second place in both races on Saturday. The weather on Sunday was not the best, but we put in a very good performance, and I felt sure we were on for another victory until the Safety Car took away our hard-earned lead. There is nothing you can do about a Safety Car, but there was also nothing I could do to stop the Ginetta coming by… it was so fast on the straights. But when you can’t win, you maximise, and we definitely did that all weekend.”

Sunday provided drier conditions and Clark and Canning appropriately made hay out of them, recording an emphatic victory for the first time since June. Starting from pole position, which he claimed by 0.7s, Clark avoided the chaos of colliding cars down the Craner Curves on lap one and calmly shadowed the leader until moving ahead within a couple of laps. After that it was largely plain sailing for both drivers as both rival Ginettas hit trouble, Canning enjoying a 36s lead as he crossed the line.
The final Sprint Race was a close-run affair as Clark ran second in class throughout, sandwiched by the two Ginettas, but despite applying significant late-race pressure on the leading Innovation car, his challenge was scuppered as a Porsche from a different class split the duelling pair on the final lap.
As a reward for his inch-perfect weekend in challenging conditions, Clark was presented with the ‘Sunoco Driver of the Weekend’ trophy.
Clark said: “This was a really great weekend for the whole team. I really enjoyed the mixed conditions, which gave me an opportunity to learn more about the car and the circuit at GT level. The FMS team provided myself and Tom with a brilliant car that was perfect in all four races. Thank you to everyone in the team, especially Simon, for putting such a fantastic team together. Also thank you to GT Cup and Sunoco for the Driver of the Weekend trophy, which I am very proud of.”
Canning added: “Archie deserved the Driver of the Weekend trophy – he was tremendous all weekend! It was nice to stand on the top step of the podium again, and to reward everyone in the Feathers team with a result they truly deserve. We find ourselves in a good position in the championship now, and I know the team has all the ingredients it needs to finish the job now. Let’s hope we can achieve this in Snetterton.”

The victory means that FMS has won on each GT Cup weekend held so far this season. Clark said: “The team have done a fantastic job this weekend. The car, this weekend, was not the fastest in the class, but everyone did their maximum to make the most of the package we had. I don’t think we left anything on the table, so to be able to come away with a victory was outstanding for everybody concerned!” Canning added: “Sometimes you are just presented with a situation where you do not have a car capable of fighting for wins on outright pace, that’s motor racing. That’s when you need a good team and a strong teammate to make sure you execute to the best of your ability. We did that this weekend and I’m very proud of what we achieved, especially the results on the Sunday. We’ve got the championship to think about and we will leave no stone unturned to regain the overall points lead and protect our class lead next time out in the GT Cup 100 at Silverstone.” Team Manager Simon Rose, said: “FMS has maintained its 100% podium record for the season, for which of course we are all justifiably proud. It was a difficult weekend for us to manage in terms of pace in the car, but everyone in the team and the drivers did their level best and we absorbed the situation very well. As ever Archie and Tom excelled themselves and we leave Snetterton still at the top of the GTH Class points standings. This is an excellent position in which to head to our home race – the GT Cup 100, at Silverstone – in August.” The GT Cup championship continues on 2-3 August at Silverstone, in Northampton.

With the format reversed for Sunday and the Pitstop Race held first, Clark once again qualified on pole position. He then delivered another immense performance, protecting his lead from the Innovation Ginetta. Clark, who is a long-term protégé of FMS partner Base Performance Simulators, continued in this vein for 10 laps before handing the car over to Canning. Once again, success penalties delayed FMS who emerged from the pits second in class, leaving Canning with some work to do to catch the leader.

With 10 minutes to go, Canning put on a thrilling pursuit and snared the Ginetta on the penultimate lap of the race with a dummy into Clearways followed by a dive down the inside of Paddock Hill Bend. A fitting way for FMS to clinch its 15th UK Cup class win. Clark then followed this up with another accomplished podium performance with second place in the final Sprint Race.

Clark said: “This was my first weekend racing on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit in a GT car, and I still have so much to learn about the Vantage GT4, but I feel like I’m beginning to understand the car and the championship now. Much of this is down to how Feathers Motor Sport is helping me with feedback and support, along with Tom’s coaching. The car didn’t miss a beat all weekend and it was a great feeling to my win my first race at Brands!”

Canning added: “I don’t think we could have extracted much more from this weekend in terms of performance. Archie was brilliant and unflustered under immense pressure on more than one occasion. And, when a faster car did get the better of us, Archie’s response was not to overdrive but keep things under control and chase the best result possible. That’s exactly what you want from your team-mate. The car, as ever, was immaculately prepared and it was brilliant fun chasing down the Ginetta in the second Pitstop Race.”