The three Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo 2020 cars competing in the final round of the British GT Championship, held last weekend at Silverstone, turned out very consistent, if somewhat unlucky performances.
Full throttle Challenge. The entry list for the final championship showdown at Silverstone included the Scott Sport pairing John Dhillon and Phil Quaife, involved in the 2020 season GT Cup, but also featured the Trofeo Pirelli winner from Ferrari Challenge UK, Lucky Khera, sharing the red Simon Green Motorsport cockpit alongside Ross Wylie from Britcar. Rounding out the grid was Laurent De Meeus – fresh from a fine season in the Coppa Shell Am class of Ferrari Challenge Europe – coupled with Jamie Stanley for FF Corse.
Promising start. In an explosive opening, a fine start from John Dhillon allowed the #12 Ferrari Scott Sport to snatch the top position in GTC class, producing a very consistent early race. Lucky Khera-Ross Wylie likewise made a promising start, managing to hold onto first position in the class before being forced into a lengthy pitstop which effectively put paid to hopes of a top-position finish. The crew eventually settled for fourth place in GTC class, twenty-eighth overall.
Laurent De Meeus-Jamie Stanley in the third Ferrari lining up at the start, were also key protagonists in the first part of the three-hour race. After escaping unscathed from the initial tussle, they briefly managed to hold onto the leadership behind the Safety Car. Once racing resumed, however, a spin by De Meeus caused the Ferrari to drop several places down the order, leaving their rivals with an open track.
Contact. The latter stages produced a further twist when John Dhillon-Phil Quaife were involved in an accident which damaged the car, forcing a return to the pits to carry out the necessary repairs. Once back out on track, they held onto the third final position in the class, seventeenth overall, behind the Ferrari of De Meeus-Stanley, but ahead of that of Khera-Wylie.