Team Vertu Racing win at Spa
Team Vertu Racing won their first race of the season on Friday 27 July at the historic and evocative Spa-Francorchamps circuit, with Jamie Constable in Car 152 climbing from his 7th place starting position to take the top step of the podium. In an action-packed race with an incredible grid of 38 cars, Jamie managed to find his way through the slower traffic and to overtake several cars who couldn't match his clearly superior pace and finished with a remarkable 10 second lead over his Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB team mate, Mike Cantillon.
“Jamie’s performance today was fantastic – coming up through a very competitive field of cars on a long and difficult circuit to take the lead on the last lap,” said Massimo Fedeli, Managing Director of Ferrari GB. “He showed incredible maturity in negotiating his way past so many other cars on the circuit and we are pleased that Team Vertu Racing has made it to the top of the podium with still half the season left to race.”
Jamie also managed to record the fastest lap, with an impressive lap time of 2:35.375, with an average speed of over 100mph around the very long 7km Belgian circuit. With the potential of very changeable weather conditions, and teams unsure about whether rain may fall on the more elevated sections of the circuit, the race was a tense and exciting affair.
Standing next to Jamie on the podium in second place was Mike Cantillon, also driving for the Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB and only in his second race weekend with the team. Mike made an excellent start to the weekend by grabbing pole position for Friday’s race - his first pole of the season with an excellent time of 2:33.345, ahead of the more experienced Germans of Frank Gelf and Wido Roessler in 2nd and 3rd. Despite his impressive start, Mike couldn’t hold off Jamie Constable towards the end of the race as the Team Vertu Racing driver continued to push his car hard, determined to win his first race of the year.
Enrico Bertaggia, Motorsport Director for Ferrari GB, commented, “Mike has once again shown true determination and spirit for the team. In only his second race weekend, he’s scored another podium finish to add to his trophy from Silverstone. We also know his driving style suits the fast and smooth Paul Ricard circuit, so we hope to see both him and Jamie fighting for the lead again next time out.”
Race Calendar
| ROUND |
DATE |
CIRCUIT |
COUNTRY |
| 1 |
March 23,24,25 |
Monza |
Italy |
| 2 |
April 20,21,22 |
Misano |
Italy |
| 3 |
June 8,9,10 |
Silverstone |
England |
| 4 |
July 26,27,28 |
Spa |
Belgium |
| 5 |
Aug 31– Sept 1,2 |
Paul Ricard |
France |
| 6 |
September 21,22,23 |
Hockenheim |
Germany |
| 7 |
October 25,26,27,28 |
World Finals |
Mugello |
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