Greystone GT superbly scored their first podium finish on an action-packed weekend of GT Cup action at Snetterton, Norfolk.
Iain Campbell and Oli Webb achieved the landmark result in their McLaren 570S GT4 in the GTH class - GT Cup’s most-competitive division - on a weekend when the rest of the series took note of the threat from the Silverstone-based team.
Iain, from Sandhurst, who had just a single race start to his name before the season kicked off in April, was in inspired form on Saturday.
Having battled up from 12th on the Sprint Race grid to finish sixth, he performed strongly to end his stint in the Pitstop race in third spot.
Co-driver Oli, the 2014 European Le Mans Series Champion spent the remaining 19 minutes of the race turning a 14-second deficit to the race leader into an arrears of just 1.4s by the chequered flag.
While another lap could have given the pair a remarkable victory, both were thrilled with the result.
Things looked set to get even better for the team on Sunday as the sister car of Mark Hopton and Adam Carroll stormed to victory on the road.
Mark, from Repton, made a lightning start from ninth on the grid to spend most of his stint in fourth spot. Taking over at the pitstops, Adam then took just six laps to snatch the class lead, which he held to the chequered flag.
Sadly the pair were excluded from the results and Greystone GT’s first-ever win when their car was found to be fractionally underweight in post-race checks.
That decision ensured that Iain and Oli finished ninth; the duo having matched Mark and Adam for pace all race, but losing ground due to a 15-second success penalty - incurred as a result of their Saturday podium.
This, plus the time lost making an extra tyre change when the pit crew spotted a rear puncture while the car was stationary, dropped the #23 car down to 10th before a spirited charge from Oli gained the pair ground.
Iain and Oli are provisionally eighth in the GTH points with three of seven rounds completed. Mark - seventh in the Sunday Sprint - and Adam are 11th.
Iain Campbell said: “What a weekend. It felt surreal at the time to get on the podium in only our third event in GT Cup, and it still does now, but I’m delighted for myself, Oli and the team. I had a bit of luck with a few cars going off ahead of me, but I was still very pleased to go from ninth to third by my pitstop. After that Oli did a mega job and with one more lap he might have got the win. Sunday was just as good in terms of the pace, but with the success penalty - which is a feature of GT Cup and something we benefited from on Saturday - we were never going to be able to repeat the result. Plus the team spotted a slow puncture I must have got when I was hit on the first lap and had to change the tyre, which cost a bit more time. I’m still really happy though. “
Oli Webb said: “I’m so happy for Iain and for the team to score this result. Iain just has this knack of making up places at the start; he seems to have a natural racecraft about him, and after he never got a clear lap in qualifying, that was great to see. His pace was excellent and when I came onto the track and knew I was second, I just decided to go for it. One more lap and I think we’d have had the win, but we know the pace is there now, so I think we’re really in good shape. Iain looked even stronger on Sunday, but the pitstop penalty and Iain’s puncture killed our chances. In the circumstances, ninth was still a good result.”
Adam Carroll said: “I’m so proud of the way Mark’s developed in such a short period of time. He’s faster and more confident every time we go to the track and this weekend he had his best qualifying and easily his best race performances too. I was able to come out of the pits second on Sunday and close down and pass the leading car and win on the road. None of that would have been possible if Mark hadn’t made huge gains on his racecraft, and both he and the Greystone team have done a great job. Of course losing the win is disappointing, but the speed’s there so we know we’re going to be in the mix at Oulton.”
Mark McLoughlin, Team Principal, said: “I’m so proud of the job every member of the team’s done this weekend. For Iain and Oli to score our first podium finish on Saturday and then to run just as competitively on Sunday and only have the success penalty deny them a shot at victory is fantastic. For Mark and Adam to win on the road and prove that they were the fastest crew out there in the final race was also amazing to see. To lose the win in the manner we did is very disappointing and, while we accept the black-and-white facts, we don’t agree with the decision and we’re seeking a clarification on a particular point of the regulations to avoid this happening again. It’s only going to strengthen our resolve to come back stronger than ever at Oulton Park.”
