James Gornall, #180 GKR TradePriceCars.com Audi S3:
“It’s been a really tough weekend at a circuit that I love, which is a real shame after a strong showing at Brands Hatch. We didn’t have the pace in qualifying which put us on the back foot, and then in race one, I had an issues with the wipers and some water in the car so I couldn’t see a thing. In race two I got taken out by Matt Neal and whilst he apologised, it doesn’t change the result unfortunately. I was making progress in race three but Ollie Brown then pushed me off which cocked things up; it damaged the front of the car and meant I had no brake cooling so I couldn’t go very fast even though I continued. The boys have a bit of work to do to fix the car and we’ll just hope for more fortune next time out.”

Strong points and Jack Sears Trophy honours for GKR TradePriceCars.com

The GKR TradePriceCars.com team enjoyed a strong weekend on home soil with five points finishes and Jack Sears Trophy honours from the second meeting of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season. The Audi team had made the short trip to Brands Hatch, where James Gornall wasconfident of challenging for points finishes.

The 30 minute qualifying session saw James setting his fastest lap times of the weekend, lining up in 20th spot – the fact that he was just a second off pole position showing how competitive the session had been.

Race 1: James was able to get away from the line well to make up places and found himself leading the team’s challenge as he slotted into 18th. Picking up places, James was inside the points scoring positions by the end of the fifth lap ultimately opening his account with 13th.

Race 2. The pace in race one left the team optimistic about more points in race two, with James completing lap one in 15th. The former British GT Champion raced well to force his way onto the fringes of the top ten as he diced for position with Senna Proctor’s Hyundai and the BMW of Stephen Jelley – eventually securing his maiden top ten finish having pushed the two former race winners all the way to the flag.

Race 3. The reverse grid draw put James on the second row of the grid for race three and he maintained his place through the opening lap after a solid start. Despite not having the outright pace of his rivals, James was able to bring home a fine seventh place after a battling drive on track for his second top ten finish of the weekend – with his results being enough to secure the Jack Sears Trophy.

James sits 12th in the Independents’ Championship after two rounds, with the next event at Oulton Park in two weeks time.

James Gornall, #180 GKR TradePriceCars.com Audi S3, said: “This weekend feels like it should felt at Donington Park before the engine issues we had, so it’s nice to have come into round two and realised our potential. Racing the Audi here has been totally different to anything I’ve done before and I had to learn as I went on. Qualifying was a bit disappointing but I knew we had good race pace doing into Sunday. Races one and two, I think I did well to get into a position where we could benefit from the reverse grid but we just didn’t have the outright speed to match the front-runners. Towards the end, the front tyres had gone but my focus was on scoring some good points this weekend and that is what we achieved.”

The GKR TradePriceCars.com team at Donington Park as the new Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship finally kicked off.

The award-winning Essex-based motor dealership headed into the first round of the campaign hoping to impress with James Gornall at the wheel of its two Audi S3s. James made solid progress across Saturday, improving on his fastest lap by half a second between practice and qualifying to line up in 19th spot for race one; putting him firmly in the mix for points on race day.

With rain in air on Sunday morning, James lined up on the grid for the opening race and would run side-by-side with his team mate on the run down to turn one, getting ahead to leave the duo running in 17th and 18th spot. James continued to charge forward to sit just outside the top ten when the Safety Car was deployed. After the restart, there was late disappointment however, as he suffered an engine issue and retired to the pits, having looked well set for a top twelve finish. Despite the best efforts of the team to change the engine on his car, James would be forced to sit out the second race of the day.

He was able to take the start for the final race however, taking his slot at the rear of the field. He was a man on the move as he climbed up five spots on the opening lap and was soon working his way into the top 20. He put in a fine drive to come through to 16th spot, pushing hard to make up ground he had lost after an early Safety Car period, when one of the cars ahead was caught napping on the restart.

James Gornall, #180 GKR TradePriceCars.com Audi S3:
“Although there are some disappointments, there are also positives for me to take away from this weekend and I think we showed good pace in the final race. Had it not been for the fact that Andy Neate held a few of us up on the restart and left a gap as large as the English Channel to the cars ahead, we could even have scored some points. Had we finished race one and then been able to build on that in race two, we might have been able to benefit from the reverse grid for that final race and then it would have been a different story given the pace we had. I’ve enjoyed getting my elbows out this weekend and it’s different to what I have done before, but I’m pleased to have got involved in some scraps and shown what I can do.”