KMR Sport’s Brandon McCaughan passed Liam McNeilly through the Craner Curves as he battled to his second GB4 Championship victory of the season in a damp race two at Donington Park this morning.
McCaughan started third, but gained positions on the first lap after front row starters Linus Granfors and Marcus Luzio made slow getaways. But the best start came from McNeilly, who shot from fourth into the lead, with the Fox Motorsport driver building an early margin that reached almost two seconds across the opening two laps.
But McCaughan, who proved he's a wet weather master at Oulton Park, sliced into the gap and pounced through the ultra quick Craner Curves at the start of lap six. After going side by side, the Irish racer cemented his position at the Old Hairpin and pulled away at the rate of a second a lap, claiming victory by 5.6 seconds after 16 minutes of racing. The race duration was trimmed by two minutes due to an extra formation lap made necessary by the change of weather conditions.
McNeilly nevertheless claimed his second podium of the weekend for Fox Motorsport, a long way clear of McCaughan's teammate Harry Burgoyne, who ran third early on after passing Granfors on the first lap only to be passed by the Swede on lap seven. The pair then engaged in battle, and after a last lap squabble, Burgoyne claimed third place at the penultimate corner of the race, with Elite Motorsport's Finn Harrison following him through into fourth, demoting race one winner Granfors to fifth at the chequered flag.
Graham Brunton Racing's Callum Baxter started 11th, but fought his way up the order to claim sixth place ahead of the third KMR Sport car of Chloe Grant, while Fortec's Jack Taylor blasted from 15th on the grid to eighth, equalling his best result of the season.
Front row starter Luzio secured ninth place, one second ahead of a remarkable drive from Alisha Palmowski, who contended with a bent rear suspension arm after a lap one skirmish, but somehow slid her way to 10th place, with plenty of opposite lock required throughout the contest.
Megan Bruce (Fox), Mayer Deonarine (Graham Brunton Racing), Dan Hickey (Fortec) and Branden Templeton (Fox) completed the finishers, with Arden's Leon Wilson wiped out of contention on the first lap on the run to Redgate.
The third and final race of the weekend, the reverse grid encounter, is due to start at 16.15 with Deonarine on pole.
GB4 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Donington Park race two provisional result:
1. Brandon McCaughan, KMR Sport, 10 laps
2. Liam McNeilly, Fox Motorsport, +5.566s
3. Harry Burgoyne, KMR Sport, +13.199s
4. Finn Harrison, Elite Motorsport, +14.388s
5. Linus Granfors, Fortec Motorsport, +14.691s
6. Callum Baxter, Graham Brunton Racing, +20.110s
7. Chloe Grant, KMR Sport, +23.991s
8. Jack Taylor, Fortec Motorsport, +24.870s
9. Marcus Luzio, Luzio.com, +29.961s
10. Alisha Palmowski, Elite Motorsport, +31.167s
11. Megan Bruce, Fox Motorsport, +31.855s
12. Mayer Deonarine, Graham Brunton Racing, +38.574s
13. Dan Hickey, Fortec Motorsport, +40.130s
14. Branden Templeton, Fox Motorsport, +1m12.975s
DNF. Leon Wilson, Arden Motorsport, 0 laps