View from the Ginetta Cockpit: The GT5 Championship so far from Leasing Gorilla's Rookie Racer Sam Harvey
Leasing Gorilla is sponsoring newcomer racer, 17-year-old Sam Harvey, this year in his debut in the 2022 Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge. The 2022 Championship runs over seven weekends with the last round at Donington Park in Derbyshire on 15-16 October. Here’s how the Championship is going so far, in Sam’s words…
Racing is in my blood, and I feel so lucky to have the support from Leasing Gorilla to pursue my dream. Here’s the lowdown on the races to date:
Weekend 1: Oulton Park, Cheshire – Steep Learning Curve and a P10!
My first ever race. The Friday practice was a huge learning curve for me, sharing the track with 40 cars. Qualification gave me a starting position of 14th.
Race one - after a clean start I found myself in P11 at the end of lap one. A safety car intervention put me in a great battle with three cars. I managed to fend them off and came 10th in my first ever race.
Race two - my first mistake and, unfortunately, I ended up in the tyre wall. Not the result I was looking for!
Race three - Thanks to a fantastic effort from the Xentek team, I got back out for the final race. Chaos ensued down to the first bend which I managed to avoid and found myself in 11th, I then managed to quickly overtake the car in front. A red flag brought the race to an early finish, and I was delighted to bring the car home in 10th.
If someone had said to me before my very first race weekend, as the only classified novice on the grid, that I’d have two top 10 finishes I wouldn’t have believed them!
Weekend 2: Donington Park, Derbyshire – Action Packed, a Breakdown and a Crash
A tough start at Donington Park as the car broke down in qualifying, putting me at the back of the pro class on the start grid.
Race one – a tough first race with plenty of action and crashes going on around me which tested my nerves. Very happy to finish the race in one piece.
Race two was less eventful – a 14th position start and I brought the car home in 13th.
Race three – a crash with my teammate put me into the gravel. I was luckier than him and managed to push my way out of the gravel. Sadly, the car had been hit on the side and the steering and wheel alignment were badly affected meaning I couldn’t get much speed up. The race finished under safety car conditions, and I was just pleased to nurse the car over the line in 16th.
Weekend 3: Silverstone, Northampton – Getting faster and finding my stride
A real highlight for me. Although the results don’t look as impressive, I put in some of my fastest and most consistent lap times.
Qualifying was interesting – we were first out and first to encounter the track after rain. That gave me my first ever laps on a part dry, part wet circuit and a 13th starting position on the grid.
Race 1 – My performance really improved during this race although it was a lonely one. I was basically racing in the gap between the pro and amateur racers, but it gave me the chance to learn the track and improve my lap times with a 13th place finish.
Race 2 – I feel like I found my pace in this round, I managed to pull away from the amateur racers and caught the pros. Considering my novice badge, my best lap time was strong and puts me in good stead for the next races. I finished up with a consistent P13.
Championship Standings So Far
I’m currently 12th in the championship with four race weekends still to go. Thruxton in Hampshire is next on 28-29 May and will be broadcast live on ITV4. I’ll keep you posted on how I get on. Thanks for all the Leasing Gorilla support, bring on the rest of the season!
