- Contempo Concept-sponsored Sky Tempesta Racing Edges Closer to maiden title after strong finish in Brands Hatch
- Tse and Froggatt recover from first lap incident to secure P3 in Silver-Am Class
- 8th consecutive podium for Tse with final round remaining in British GT Championship
It was a drama filled race at the penultimate round of the 2023 Intelligent Money British GT Championship for the Sky Tempesta Racing duo of Kevin Tse 謝榮鍵 and Chris Froggatt, as the duo staged a fantastic comeback to make it 8 class podiums in 8 rounds of the series. Tse and Froggatt, who have been clinical in their performance this year, arrived at Brands Hatch in the lead of the GT3 Silver-Am Drivers’ Standings with a healthy 14 point lead. Despite going a lap down after the first lap of the race due to an incident at the start, the pair remained resilient as they charged back up the field to finish in P3 in class, showing tremendous pace in the process. Following a strong recovery drive by Contempo Concept-sponsored #93 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, the duo managed to hold on to their championship lead as they head towards the final race of the season.
Tse and Froggatt got off to a flying start on Saturday morning as the pair utilized the two practice sessions to familiarise themselves with the narrow and challenging 3.92km Brands Hatch circuit, completing 52 laps in the process with blistering pace. The Silver-Am duo showed no signs of slowing down as they entered Qualifying 1 in the afternoon, with Tse completing the second-fastest time overall and the fastest time in the Silver-Am class. Froggatt continued the momentum going into the second part of Qualifying, with the Briton setting the fastest time in their class. As a result, the duo would line up the race in P6 overall and P1 among the Silver-Am class.
The race began under sunny skies as Tse lined up the Sky-liveried McLaren on the third row of the grid. Despite getting a good start as the lights went out, Tse was tapped and spun around in the very first corner, picking up a puncture in the process and dropping all the way to the back of the 32-car field. Nevertheless, Tse managed to slowly bring the car back to the pits for a tire change, which was done swiftly by their technical partner, Garage 59’s mechanics. The team did not give up hope as they embarked on a recovery charge, making their way up back up the field until a well-timed Safety Car allowed for the gap between the Sky Tempesta Racing Mclaren and the rest of the GT3 cars to be reduced.
As demonstrated repeatedly by the team in this highly competitive series, race strategy has been Sky Tempesta Racing’s strong suit throughout the season and it was once again shown off during this race. The team timed the mandatory driver change pit-stop to perfection as Froggatt managed to come out of the pits and overtake for P3 in the Silver-Am class. Froggatt’s stint proved to be quiet and unceremonious as he was still too far behind the top-2 in his class to challenge for the higher points-paying positions. He managed his tires and clocked in consistent lap times, holding onto the final spot on the Silver-Am podium for the remainder of the race. The never-dying spirit of the team and the brilliant showcase of racing ability by Tse and Froggatt eventually completed an epic comeback and continued the flawless run of podium finishes in every single round of the 2023 British GT season.
It was an exhilarating weekend for Tse, Froggatt and the entire Sky Tempesta Racing squad at Brand Hatch. Despite having a strong car right from the start of the weekend, the championship leaders were tasked with damage limitation after the first lap setback. What seemed to be a certain point-less race for the Silver-Am pairing turned into a strong P3 finish, showing the determination of the duo to accomplish their goal of becoming Silver-Am Champions of the Intelligent Money British GT Championship. The 22.5 points secured by Tse and Froggatt will prove to be vital as they return to Donington Park with a 9.5-point lead, for the final race of the season on October 21-22 to complete their Championship charge.
Kevin Tse | Driver, #93 Sky Tempesta Racing McLaren 720S GT3 Evo “Obviously this weekend we had a really good car. The setup from the beginning was almost perfect, we didn’t have to make many changes and the car was on pace already. We had a really good qualifying session, putting the car on pole in our class and we were really looking forward to the race. Unfortunately, during the first corner on lap we were going outside and the two Mercedes on the inside took us out causing a puncture which meant we had to nurse the car back to the pits. Luckily, it was just a puncture so after changing the right rear tire we were off again, but we were already 1 lap down. From that point on it was just damage limitation, we had amazing pace in the race despite the damage and in the end we managed to salvage third which is really good for the championship. It could have been a lot worse as we could have scored no points but fortunately we still carry the lead going into Donington, which is always good. We are leading the championship, and at Donington we are strong – we won there a couple months ago so we are quietly optimistic, hopefully we will have better luck there. This season has gone by really quickly, I can’t believe it’s already last race. I’m looking forward to it and hopefully we will perform our best and clinch the championship.”