EDGE Sporting Management driver George Gamble made the most of a last-minute opportunity in the British GT Championship at Snetterton, taking an impressive GT4 victory on his first weekend with Optimum Motorsport.
The 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion received the late call-up to contest rounds five and six of the championship alongside Josh Stanton in the #59 Optimum Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4.
Despite having little preparation time, Gamble immediately settled into his new surroundings and showed strong pace throughout the weekend at the Norfolk circuit.
Qualifying provided an early indication of what was possible, with Stanton securing pole position for the opening race on Sunday before Gamble delivered an excellent performance in his own session to qualify second for race two.
The opening encounter proved a valuable opportunity for Gamble to get fully accustomed to the McLaren and the different demands of British GT racing, including the driver changes and pit-stop procedures that are a significant departure from the sprint format he experienced in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB championship the last two seasons.
Gamble and Stanton crossed the line second on the road following a strong performance, although a success penalty carried over by the #59 McLaren from the previous British GT round ultimately dropped the pairing to fifth in the final classification.
Nevertheless, the pace shown throughout the race provided plenty of encouragement ahead of the second contest of the day. With the previous success penalty now served, Gamble and Stanton headed into the afternoon race with an opportunity to fight unrestricted for outright GT4 honours.
At the start, Gamble briefly lost ground during the opening stages before quickly responding. By lap four, the Edge driver had fought his way into the lead – a position the #59 McLaren would not relinquish for the remainder of the race.
Gamble produced an assured opening stint at the head of the field before pitting on lap 17 and handing the car across to Stanton.
From there, the Optimum Motorsport pairing continued to stretch their advantage over the chasing pack, eventually taking a commanding victory by just under 30 seconds.
The result secured both the overall GT4 and GT4 Silver class victories, while the #59 McLaren also recorded the fastest GT4 lap of the race to cap an outstanding performance.
It completed a hugely successful weekend for Gamble, who turned a last-minute opportunity into a British GT victory on his first appearance with the Optimum Motorsport squad.
Following the race, Gamble thanked both Optimum Motorsport and EDGE Sporting Management for putting the opportunity together and expressed his excitement at what lies ahead.
Gamble is now set to remain with the Optimum Motorsport outfit for the remaining rounds of the British GT season, with the EDGE driver looking to build on an impressive winning start when the championship returns to action.
Results: Q1 – P1 / Q2 – P2 / Race 1 – P5 (P4 Silver Class) / Race 2 – P1 (P1 Silver Class)