GT Cup Rounds 7-10 Report

"This being my very first year of racing, some fantastic memories are being made.” - Nick Phelps

The Valluga team took to the track at Snetterton 300 this weekend for rounds 9-12 of the GT Cup and did not disappoint.

A switch up to the original driver line-up saw Rob Myers and Charlie Hollings in for Benji Hetherington and Ian Humphris in the 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport.

​Friday’s testing started well with the team making good progress on slick tyres, however due to the weather, track safety was compromised leading to the day ending early. 

After a quick free practice, it was straight into qualifying with Nick setting the bar high putting 19 competitor cars between him and the next GTB in class. Carl also put in the work, qualifying 2nd in class, putting him and Lewis in the top half of the grid. Our final pairing led by Rob Myers in qualifying also put in a strong performance with this being the first modern car Rob has raced in competitively.

Next up was Saturday’s sprint race with Nick keeping it consistent finishing 2nd in class and gaining him his first podium of the weekend. Carl and Rob did well with Rob holding the same track standing putting the team in a strong position for the pit-stop race later that day.

Later on, Saturday afternoon saw all 36 cars return to the grid for the 50-minute pit-stop race.

​At the halfway mark, Charlie took over Rob’s stint gaining them a place and finishing the day 10th in class. Unfortunately, due to the crowded grid Carl was pushed off the track meaning it...

was a game of catch-up for the rest of the race but finished on a high with a respectable result. Nick fought his way up to 1st in class before having to pit halfway through the race. Nick being a solo driver meant he had to undertake a 15 second delay whilst pitting, resulting in a 3rd in class finish, and claiming his second podium of the day.

Sunday’s qualifying also kicked off with a good start from all 3 cars as we headed into the final 2 races of the weekend.

​Some more exciting results from the second sprint race of the weekend with Rob gaining one place, Carl gaining 3 places and Nick claiming his third piece of silverware to complete the race with a successful class win. 

The positive performances carried onto the final race of the weekend, as Sean Doyle joined Nick in the GT3 Cup car. Between the pairing they earned their final podium of the weekend, finding themselves 5th on the grid overall, rounding up a successful weekend for the Valluga team.

After being awarded GT Cup’s driver of the day, we caught up with Nick to get his thoughts on this weekend's results, "I’m still on a high. My first ever race wins and both were back to back on the same day. Plus we got solid results from day one with a 2nd and a 3rd to move us up in both the championship and class standings.

​It’s been a truly fantastic race weekend and as ever, Benji and the whole team at Valluga were once again, perfection indeed".