Wylie on brink of GT4 title 01 | 09 | 2014
SCOT ROSS WYLIE will head to the final round of the British Championship next month on the brink of claiming the GT4 class title.
The 22-year-old, from Thornhill near Dumfries, and co-driver Jake Giddings, powered their Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage to GT4 victory at Brands Hatch: it's the duo’s third victory of the season.
Wylie and Giddings, who started the two-hour race around the 2.433-mile “Grand Prix” track in Kent with a 19-point advantage, now lead the series by 29.5-points with a maximum 37.5-points up for grabs at the Donington Park finale on September 14.
“The weekend couldn’t have gone any better with a lights to flag victory from pole-position,” Wylie explained. “Our pace was good in practice and qualifying and so I was confident that we’d win.”
The combined qualifying times of Wylie and Giddings earned the pair their second GT4 pole-position of the year – with Wylie leading the two-hour race that had attracted a bumper entry of 31-car grid from the green light.
Related: Wylie leads British GT title race
Wylie extended his class lead with consistently fast laps before a Safety Car period on 36mins earned the Scotsman a near one-lap lead over their GT4 rivals running second.
The race re-started and on 50mins, Wylie pitted to co-driver Giddings with a 70secs lead, Wylie's’s co-driver duly bringing the Aston home a comfortable 57secs ahead of the runner-up at the chequered flag.
“I made a good start and Jake continued our good pace when he took over from me. It was all pretty straightforward with no dramas," Wylie continued.
“We’re now almost 30pts ahead which means an eighth place or better will secure us the GT4 title. Both Jake and I are relaxed and cannot wait to get to Donington.”
Related: Hamilton & Rosberg free to race
Keep up-to-date with all the latest news by following us on twitter.com/scotcars
Jim McGill