Feathers Motorsport [FMS] continued its glittering form in the 2023 GT Cup, recording a brilliant third GTH class victory of the season with its Inspire Engineering-prepared Aston Martin Vantage GT4, at Snetterton, in Norfolk last weekend (3-4 June).
The Northamptonshire-based team, along with drivers James Guess and Tom Canning, also maintained their 100% podium streak for classified finishes, by appearing on the rostrum a further three times over the weekend – that makes 11 GTH Class (for GT4 specification cars) podiums in total. A win, two second places and a third ensured that FMS maximised its opportunities through Rounds 9-12 of the UK-based series.
Four-race GT Cup meetings (of which there are six in 2023) comprise of a qualifying session on both days, followed by a 25-minute sprint race for the ‘Amateur’ driver in the team. There is then a 50-minute pit-stop race later in the afternoon which includes ‘Pro’ drivers – where the grid position is defined by the fastest lap in the preceding Sprint.
Guess delivered a typically racey second place in the opening Sprint race – Round 9 of the championship. Having qualified third, James got past the #96 Make Happen Mercedes on the opening lap, and then found himself contending with an out-of-position GTO Class BMW as he sought to defend second. His efforts continued right through to the end of the 14-lap race, finishing just 0.767s clear of Jon Currie.
Guess’s fastest race lap defined the grid position for the Saturday afternoon Pit Stop race, where FMS started third. Once again James fought his way up to second position in the opening exchanges, before an early red flag neutralised the action. Once the racing resumed Guess focussed on maintaining second position and keeping the Greystone McLaren within striking distance.
FMS came into the Snetterton weekend success-penalty free and thus the team spent just 103s in the pits, giving former British GT4 champion Tom Canning a decent crack at hunting down the leaders once he emerged from the pits in fourth position. Initially more than 30s behind the two Make Happen Mercedes and the Greystone McLaren, the Somerset driver set the track ablaze with a sequence of blistering laps that gave him the class lead with a lap to spare. The victory was the duo’s second Pit Stop race win of the season.
Guess started the second sprint race on Sunday morning from the back of the field, and with an untested set-up that made the Vantage GT4 tricky to handle thanks to an overnight Balance of Performance [BOP)] update. Undeterred, James fired in a hugely impressive first lap that saw him charge from fifth to third in class. He wasn’t for settling though and raced on, finally passing one of the Make Happen Mercedes for second… though the other would remain out of reach.
In the final Pit Stop race Guess once again charged through the field from fifth on the GTH grid, this time briefly getting into the lead on the opening lap before dropping back to second – which is where he stayed until the stops with 25 minutes to go. When Guess handed over the car to Canning, FMS had just a 2s deficit to the leaders, but once the team had served their 123s stop with additional success penalty added on, that was more than half a minute – not aided perhaps by a Safety Car period during James’s stint.
Canning delivered another breath-taking drive to charge back through to third which is where he finished; astonishingly, just a little over 2s behind the fight for the lead at the flag.
“It’s been an interesting weekend to say the least,” said Guess. “But we’ve taken away a car boot full of silverware and we’re now in an even stronger position in the championship, so I would say that’s mission accomplished. The car was trickier to drive on Sunday, but that made it even more satisfying to record two more podiums. I couldn’t be prouder of the team.”
Canning added: “As usual, Feathers gave me a brilliant car to race all weekend. I’m so proud of the way James adapted to the changes we worked through on Sunday and had we had a little more luck with the Safety Car in the second Pit Stop race, we might even have been able to secure the win. But I’m very happy with our weekend’s points haul.”
Team principal Simon Rose said: “We’ve maintained the GTH Class championship lead and we’ve recorded a victory and three more podium finishes. The drivers have been superb all season, and they delivered once again this weekend. The Aston Martin Vantage GT4 didn’t miss a beat thanks to Inspire Engineering, and of course the support from Aston Martin Racing. We go away from Snetterton having learned more as a team and look to the future with a growing sense of optimism based on our form so far.”
Guess and Canning now lead the GTH Championship standings by 40 points with a total of 207 and have moved up to second in the overall championship, 28 points behind the leaders. Feathers Motor Sport is currently fifth in the Team Championship. The next round takes place at Oulton Park, in Cheshire, on 1 July.
