+ Result: Free Practice, Snetterton
Ben Barnicoat and Morgan Tillbrook set the pace in opening Snetterton practice with the #77 McLaren edging ahead in a tight session.
George Gamble made an instant impact on his first British GT appearance since Rockingham 2017, helping double Optimum’s joy by putting the #59 Artura he’s sharing with Josh Stanton this weekend top in GT4.
Callum Macleod led the early running in Optimum’s #3 720S GT3 Evo before the top time was rotated between Marcus Clutton’s Orange Racing McLaren, Ben Green’s 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG and Hugo Cook in the #63 Barwell Lamborghini before Barnicoat buckled up and edged 0.083s on his sixth lap.
After that the order settled down with teams handing their Am drivers the majority of the track time, with further improvements few and far between.
Cook and Rob Collard held second ahead of Simon Orange and Clutton, with championship leaders Alex Martin and Jarrod Waberski fourth in the sister Barwell Huracan. Dean MacDonald and Steven Lake were fifth in the second Orange Racing McLaren as Kevin Tse and Green completed the top six.
GT4 proved similarly unsettled in the early stages, with a handful of crews duking it out for top spot. Jack Collins led the early times form Century Motorsport before the M4 was displaced by Gamble for the first time. Revie Lake then took a turn out front in the Paddock Motorsport Artura before Will Orton put the MK Racing Aston Martin into the mix.
However Gamble would not be denied and flew back to the top with his final effort putting he and Stanton 0.3s clear as the flag dropped. Orton and Jessica Hawkins were second ahead of Luke Shaw and Jack Mitchell in Toro Verde GT’s Ginetta. Lake and Blake Angliss wound up fourth ahead of Thomas Holland and Hadley Simpson’s Innovation Racing Ginetta.
Second practice is set for 11:55.