Aston Martin Academy driver Ash Hand and team-mate Tom Canning secured another podium finish at Brands Hatch to strengthen their hold on the British GT Silver GT4 Championship and the overall GT4 Championship as the series in the penultimate round.
It was a race against the clock to get the TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 on to the grid as the team discovered a fuel leak, thankfully the issue was fixed, and Hand could join the grid ready for the start of the race.
Starting from second place, Hand made a lightning start to take the lead of the race on the opening lap. While Hand would get to work to build his lead, a safety car period neutralised the field.
During the pitstops, the team had an added 20-second penalty for their race win at Spa-Francorchamps, dropping them down the order, Canning fought hard to return to fourth place as the chequered flag came out and later promoted to third place due to a time penalty on the third-placed car.
The result meant another podium finish for the TF Sport duo, leaving them with an 8.5 point advantage in the overall GT4 Championship and a 12 point advantage in the GT4 Silver Championship as the series heads to Donington Park for the final round next month on 14/15 September.
“We’ve got a little bit of space now in the Championship which is great I think we have still got to go to the next round with the aim of winning, but in terms of how the weekend went from start to finish we did a great job, like the team did a great job, the car was great, we all worked well together and I think that’s the recipe for where we are right now in the Championship.
“At every single race, the team, myself and Tom have worked so hard to make sure that we are always in the best possible position, and that’s why we get consistent results because we are all working hard towards the same goal. We had a fantastic weekend, and I was pleased with the outcome.
“We have taken the lead in the overall GT4 Championship, and I do think that Donington is going to be a really strong circuit for us. I believe that we will go to Donington and win.
“Some drivers can go into races and think about points, but we need to go there and maximise everything at the weekend like we have been doing. We need to go there with a mindset that we are going to win.
“It’s much nicer winning a championship through winning a race, it shows your dominance, and it shows that you deserve to win the Championship and I believe we are fast enough.
“The team put out a great car last time we were at Donington, so I’m confident that we can go there and we can do a great job and win the Championship.”
