- Three second places for United Autosports at Brands Hatch GP circuit
- Glynn Geddie joins Jim Geddie for Saturday’s race in the McLaren MP4-12C GT3
- Jim drives to second place with gear selection issue
United Autosports have added more points to their GT Cup championship total this weekend at Brands Hatch.
A second place for Jim and Glynn in Saturday’s longer distance two driver race and two second places in Sunday’s sprint races for Jim means the team now lie joint first in the championship.
Glynn joined Jim for the first race in the McLaren MP4-12C GT3. After Jim started the race in fourth, he moved up to third after the first lap, and brought the car in for the driver change in third when the pit window opened. After serving the mandatory pit stop time, plus a 10-second success penalty carried over from the previous rounds, Glynn made his way out on track and started hunting down the leaders. With five minutes to go, Glynn passed Balfe for second, just before the red flag was brought out, signalling the end of the race.
In Sunday’s first 20-minute race, Jim started fifth but worked his way through the field up to second by the end of the race. In race two he started on the front row, and took the lead after crossing the start line, only for the BMW of Ryan Ratcliffe to reclaim the lead the following lap after a great battle between the pair. Jim finished the weekend with a hard fought second place, after battling with a gear selection problem for the last lap, leaving the McLaren stuck in second gear. Jim hung on to take second at the flag, bringing the car home in a sixth consecutive podium position.
The pair now turn their attention to the three-hour race at Silverstone for the British GT Championship on 1 June, where they will race the McLaren in a one off race in the championship.
The next round of the GT Cup will be at Silverstone on 7-8 June.
Jim Geddie, Driver, United Autosports:
“We’ve had another successful weekend in the GT Cup. The team have done well to get me a car that is consistently running at the top. It was a shame we had the 10-second success penalty because we could have had the win on Saturday. Nevertheless, some more good points towards the championship. Hopefully that first win isn’t too far off.”
Glynn Geddie, Driver, United Autosports:
“It was great to be driving the McLaren again with my dad. The team got some good points but it was unlucky that we didn’t get the win. If the red flag hadn’t come out when it did in race one, who knows what could have happened. Still, a good weekend.”
Richard Dean, Team Owner and Managing Director, United Autosports:
“We’ve had another good weekend at Brands Hatch with three second place finishes and it was great to have Glynn back in the McLaren too. Unfortunately, we had a 10-second success penalty to serve during the pit stop, which possibly denied us our first win, but we can take a lot of positives out of this weekend. The points we have gained here leave us level with Balfe in the championship. It looks like it is going to be a good battle at the top throughout the year.”