Oz Yusuf and Gavan Kershaw completed a dominant weekend at Spa-Francorchamps today (July 11) after converting pole position into their second Avon Tyres British GT Championship victory of the season.

The ISSY Racing pair’s Lotus Evora GT4 was never troubled en route to a 10.5-second victory, although it would have been more were it not for a wheel weight problem that affected the car’s balance.

Beechdean AMR’s winning streak came to an end but there was still plenty of points for Jamie Chadwick and Ross Gunn to take back across the Channel after guiding their Aston Martin Challenge GT4 to an equally untroubled second place. And AmDTuning.com’s Graham Coomes and Jake Hill completed a remarkable turnaround to finish third aboard their Porsche 911 after starting last.

Undoubtedly all three podium finishers were dealt a slice of luck just before the hour mark, albeit for different reasons. The second of the afternoon’s two full course caution periods undoubtedly favoured frontrunners Yusuf and Chadwick whose advantage was such that both found themselves ahead of the Safety Car once it had been deployed, allowing them to gain almost a lap on the field.

Coomes, who spun avoiding the same incident that prompted the caution after his stellar opening stint had helped the Porsche climb 10 places, immediately dived into the pits. And the time saved over the rest of the GT4 field, which had to stay out an extra lap, ultimately helped co-driver Hill then move further up the order.

The race’s second half proved much less chaotic with Kershaw, Chadwick and Hill circulating at some distance apart. Further back, though, it was Jamie Stanley who was on the charge after inheriting his Fox Motorsport Ginetta from co-driver Paul McNeilly in seventh. The 2010 GT4 champion eventually came home fourth to make it as many different manufacturers in the top four.

PMW Expo Racing/Optimum Motorsport’s Graham Johnson and Mike Robinson came through to finish fifth ahead of the Pattison/Davenport Tolman Ginetta and Webster/Hart peddled #62 Academy Motorsport Aston.

Will Moore’s knack of carving through the field was in evidence once again over the opening stint after he fought from 14th on the grid to third before the stops. He and co-driver Dennis Strandberg were denied a shot at the podium, however, after incurring a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release in the pits.

There was disappointment for a number of teams, not least Century Motorsport who were struck down early with a gearbox issue that forced them out of third place. Likewise Twisted Team Parker whose afternoon ended in the Fagnes gravel.

After pacing FP1 UltraTek’s was another race that ultimately didn’t go to plan. But at least James Nash hinted at what might have been by winning the Sunoco Fastest Lap of the Weekend award.

Yusuf and Kershaw’s victory has helped cut Chadwick and Gunn’s championship lead to 21 points, with Robinson and Johnson a further 26 back in third.

Oz Yusuf, #77 ISSY Racing Lotus Evora GT4: “Perhaps it looked under control but we were managing an issue towards the end. My stint was great – the Safety Car was part and parcel of that – and then Gavan was maintaining a good lead when there was a problem with the wheel weights, which badly affected the balance. We thought it might have been a puncture, but only Gaven would have the presence of mind to drive around the issue. We really have deserved this and it means a lot to all of us. Gavan has brought me on as a driver leaps and bounds. We work hard, take it seriously and have become a close unit. To win at Spa – my favourite track – and in the sunshine as well is just amazing!”

Ross Gunn, #407 Beechdean AMR Aston Martin Challenge GT4: “We’re very pleased with second, especially as the Lotuses were on-form this weekend. We hoped reliability might play a part but in the end they were too quick. We didn’t really have any issues, just a little degradation at the end, but I managed it okay and am very pleased with another strong points’ haul. We need to keep having weekends like this. I’m chuffed to bits for the team.”

Jake Hill, #49 AmDTuning.com Porsche 911 GT4: “It was a stunning effort from everyone today after starting last following the qualifying issue with the bonnet. We knew we had the pace to come through after our FP2 performance; it was just a case of how many places we’d pick up! Graham did an amazing stint but then had the spin while avoiding the Team Parker Ginetta. Fortunately that worked out for us with the pit-stop timing and we were able to come through to P3.”

Round six of this season’s British GT Championship takes place at Brands Hatch on August 1/2.

Crown contenders for The Avon Tyres British GT Championship converged at Donnington recently in a pre-season racing line-up.

Squaring up to his competitors was Lotus’ own Gavan Kershaw who is partnering Issy Racing’s Oz Yusuf in a bid to bring home the GT4 Pro-Am accolade for 2014. Racing none other than the stylish and pacey Lotus Evora GT4 which was last seen in the series back in 2012, the team look forward to the first round of the competition which takes place at Oulton Park on 19th April.

The Bullrun Team were crowned MSA British Endurance Champions 2012 at the final round of the Championship at Donington Park last weekend.

Having already secured the Class Honours at Brands Hatch back in August 2012 all efforts over the past few weeks have been focussed on ensuring that they brought home the overall title as well.

Despite an unscheduled stop to rectify a small electrical issue, the 4 hour night race ended with Richard Adams bringing the car across the line to record an overall Championship victory by 3 points.

This latest triumph makes Bullrun the most successful team in Britcar history, adding the 2012 GT Championship to the Production Championship they won in 2010.

David Green said “This time last year, we had only just begun exploratory talks with Lotus about the possibility of developing the GTC Evora with them – now the car is finished and the Championship is ours! Back at the Autosport Show in January 2012, Rupert Manwaring (Head of Commercial Motorsport at Lotus) said that “it would be something very special if a British Team, in a British Car could win a British Championship” – well that’s exactly what we have done – and we couldn’t be more delighted! It’s been a remarkable year! We would also like to thank our title sponsors of Bullrun, Giant Film & TV and Luxor, without whose continued support our success this season would not have been possible”.

Commenting on the partnership between Lotus and Bullrun, Richard Adams explained that “It was a big step into the unknown for both of our teams – we hadn’t previously worked together and so as in any new venture, pooling our respective skills, experience and resources to make one effective and enthusiastic group of people was going to be essential. If we are honest, I think we were all genuinely surprised how quickly the teams came together and everyone found their role – we had to focus not only on the development of the car itself – but also mounting a credible challenge for the Britcar title.

It is a testament to the professionalism of Gavan Kershaw (who led the Lotus Engineering team), Mickey Galter (who led the race set-up for each round for Bullrun) and Elliot Martin (from Cosworth) that we got so much pace out of the car so quickly – and continued to make handling and performance improvements all year. On a personal note, being able to bring such a diverse set of personalities and individuals together into such an effective force was one of the most rewarding parts of this journey for me.”

Martin Byford added “I believe we have raised the bar this year in terms of the standards of preparation, focus, discipline and teamwork that are now required to win Britcar – helping to stack every small advantage we could in our favour. We had our fair share of luck – but we firmly believe that you make your own luck – and we have worked incredibly hard for ours! The car has been an absolute delight to drive and help develop – in addition to the Championship win, the fact that we managed an overall race win at Oulton Park earlier this season (beating both Class 1 and Class 2 competition) shows just what the car is capable of!”

Bullrun are already exploring options for next season with Richard Adams confirming that “we are in early negotiations with a number of parties to help us identify where our next challenge might be – all we can say at this stage is that we would very much like to continue our successful partnership with Rupert, Gavan and the team at Lotus Racing and would like to think we will be driving a Lotus again in 2013 – exactly where that will be is too early to say. But for now, for the next few days at least, we are all going to enjoy our win!”

Lotus Sport UK had another disappointing weekend at Brands Hatch after a parts failure robbed the team of a strong finish.

Throughout practice and qualifying the lone Lotus Evora of Phil Glew and Sailesh Bollisetti looked strong only being pipped to pole position by Alex Osborne in the APO Sport UK Ginetta.

Glew set the pace in the warm up heading in to the race so the team were confident of a strong performance to make up for the disappointment of a double DNF at Rockingham.

Bolisetti started the race taking the gamble to start on slicks, unfortunately the race track proved to be greasy from the drizzling rain. A safety car period bunched up the pack once again but a front wishbone failure put Bolisetti in to the gravel trap.

Sailesh Bolisetti rounded up the weekend: “Well the last two rounds have been a big learning curve for me, and has made me see the highs and lows of competitive motor racing. It was really tricky at the start as it was a little greasy and we were on slicks. When the safety car came out it gave me the chance to bunch back up to the leaders, but the front suspension failed and put me out of the race.”

A frustrated Phil Glew, “After I did morning practice the car felt mega and I could see us on the podium no problem at all. It was unfortunate about the suspension failure but at the end of the day that’s racing and sometimes things are out of the hands of the drivers.”

Gary Ayles Team Manager remained positive, “We definitely had the pace in the car after we cured the issues from the previous round, and I think our race pace would have been really consistent. It’s a shame the car gave up, but that’s racing and we will be sure to bounce back for the next round at Snetterton.”

Lotus Sport UK qualified second in the GT4 class in Kent, but failed to make the finish, Sailesh Bolisetti retiring with damaged front suspension. The Evora was 3/10ths off the lead Ginetta in qualifying, with Phil Glew setting the lap for Lotus, but with better long range pace the team was confident it could dominate the race. However, starting driver Bolisetti struggled to match the pace of his rivals and slipped back. An off-track excusion led to the front wishbones being snapped and, after nine laps, it was game over for the Indian.

Gary Ayles, team principal: “A disappointing day because we could have won that race by a country mile. The car is great, we’re right on top of it, it’s a proper bit of kit. So we need to look into why Sailesh wasn’t able to extract the maximum on race day. Now we have a long break, as our next race at Snetterton – Lotus’s home track – isn’t until the first weekend of August. It can’t come soon enough.”

Lotus Sport UK head to Brands Hatch looking to make up lost ground following a disappointing performance at Rockingham where the team missed out on points due to technical problems.

Once again the team will be running the sole #48 car with regular drivers Phil Glew and Sailesh Bolisetti.

Phil Glew is looking forward to moving on and getting back on track, “After a disappointing round at Rockingham we have to put that behind us and look forward. The team have rectified the technical issues so we are hungry for points! I shall be working with Sailesh to get him up to speed with the Brands GP circuit as he is yet to drive it. We work well together, so I’m confident we can get him lapping at good pace come qualifying”

Sailesh Bolisetti was disappointed with his time at Rockingham and is looking at the bigger picture. “Rockingham was really disappointing for me as I didn’t really get much time in the car due to the issues we had, and I feel we had good pace for us to be able to take home some good points, but that’s racing, and we must look ahead to the rest of the season!”

“I’ve driven the Indy circuit at Brands when I was here supporting DTM in the sirocco cup, but never the GP circuit. Phil will help me with that, so I’m looking forward to getting back in the Evora, and getting back on the podium” added Bolisetti.

Team Manager Gary Ayles explained that the team have been busy and are looking forward to a solid performance at the Kent circuit, “It was a tough weekend at Rockingham and losing both cars in the race hurt our championship points haul as it was a double scoring race due to it being a 2 hour race. We’ve stripped the cars, rectified the niggles, and are looking forward to Brands.”

Technical issues ended Rockingham early for the Lotus Sport UK team in the latest round of the Avon Tyres British GT series.

Qualifying saw both cars perform strongly with Phil Glew and Sailesh Bolisetti taking second in class while the #49 of Mackinnon and Attard took fourth place.

Glew took the driving seat for the early part of the race taking just four laps to get in to the lead on the exit of the first hairpin. Mackinnon held position in the #49 car until wishbone issues forced Mackinnon out of the race.

As the #49 car retired, Glew had built a 24 second lead before a safety car period signalled a driver change. Luck would not be with the team and would have to retire Bolleseti with a failed diff.

Phil Glew: “After qualifying we felt a little despondent as we needed to make some more changes to the car to get the full pace out of it. The team worked their magic and it felt great in warm up, and then even better in the race. Once I passed Warren I was pushing hard, then unfortunately we lost the diff just as Sailesh was about to take over.”

Alastair Mackinnon: “It was great to get back the Evora. Qualifying went well, and we made good progress over the weekend. At The start of the race we had good pace and I thought we had that podium in our sights. On lap 18 we had an issue with the front end that was game over for us.”

Gary Ayles – Team Manager: “After such a great weekend in Germany we had hoped to continue the winning theme, but that’s racing! The team and drivers did a great job all weekend; it was just unfortunate we had some technical issues.”

Lotus Sport UK head to Rockingham with two cars and will be looking to emulate their winning performance last time out at Nurburgring.

Race winners Phil Glew and Sailesh Bolisetti took the chance to test at the Northamptonshire circuit last week and were very happy with the results.

“We had a good test last week at Rockingham and the car showed great pace” said Glew. “We worked closely with Sailesh on set up and we brought him up to a fantastic, consistent pace, so I’m really looking forward to the race this weekend.”

Bolisetti admitted that although he was still on a high from Nurburgring he knows he has to remain focussed. “After my first British GT win in Germany, I’m still on cloud nine, and really looking forward to getting stuck back in at Rockingham this weekend.

“We have to aim for wins, and podiums are a must, so I’m going to be very focussed this weekend. Now I’ve had my first win in British GT, I’m hungry for more!”

Alistair Mackinnon and Marco Attard return in the #49 Lotus Evora as they look to better their podium finish at the opening round of the season.

Mackinnon has set a clear goal for the weekend ,another podium finish, “After our podium at Oulton Park at the opening round of the season, it’s left me hungry for more!” he said. “I really can’t wait to get back in the little Evora, and hopefully bring the guys back some more silverware…podiums are our target this weekend.”

Marco Attard returns to Lotus Sport UK after a run in a Lamborghini at Nurburgring, “After I had a promising start at the first round with Lotus, I really couldn’t pass the opportunity to get back into the #49 car for this weekend. I had a good race in Germany in the Lamborghini, so I am focussed and ready to get some good points this weekend at Rockingham.”

Lotus Sport UK Team Manager Gary Ayles added “It’s great to have both cars back out for Rockingham. We made some good progress last week testing, and after our success in Germany, were all ready for of the same! It’s really close at the top of the championship in terms of points, only 4 points between us and the WFR Ginetta so this is a crucial race for us to keep the pressure on.”

Lotus Sport UK’s Sailesh Bolisetti and Phil Glew raced their Evora GT4 to class victory for the first time this year when the Avon Tyres British GT Championship descended on the Nürburgring’s Grand Prix circuit ahead of the weekend’s main event, the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

The Lotus pair had disappointed in Race 1 on Friday, arriving fifth in class, but made up for it in Race 2.

A huge crowd was present for the support race on Saturday. Glew made a strong start at made it through to the lead on Lap 2, passing Warren Hughes’s Ginetta G55 at Turn 1. He was still leading when he handed over to his Indian team-mate. Bolisetti pushed hard and kept ahead of those behind him, but Century’s Zoe Wenham was closing in and, by lap 23, was second in class.

With little over 10 minutes left on the clock, GT4 was Bolisetti’s to lose. He didn’t fail to deliver, and finished 27 seconds ahead of Wenham’s Ginetta G50.

Lotus Sport UK is now second in the British GT Championship, trailing Team WFR by just four points.

Phil Glew: “It was fun race. [Warren] Hughes was struggling for pace early on, but I pounced early and I had a great battle with [Alex] Osborne as he got through on Hughes with me. I used to race with Alex in Clios and we had a great battle. I eventually broke him, he was using his tyres hard, I’m not sure if that is what caused a mistake, but Hughes was still there, so it wasn’t easy, but I managed to pull away. It’s great having quality drivers in the GT4 championship, it makes the racing very enjoyable.”

Sailesh Bolisetti: “I thought it was going to be tough, Phil had his work cut out keeping the guys behind him, but I had about 45 seconds gap to the next guy and I managed to keep a good margin. Phil did a great job and I’m thrilled to win my first British GT race.”

In challenging weather conditions Sailesh Bolisetti took to the wheel of the #48 Lotus Evora for the first stint in race one despite only having driven the car briefly in the wet. Promising lap times kept the car in the running for a good finish in GT4 before Phil Glew took over. Setting a stunning pace he reeled in the Ginetta of Hughes and Fannin who had a 1m37s gap at the start of his stint, by the end of the race he had closed that gap down to 37 seconds.

Marco Attard started in the #49 Lotus and following a great start kept 3rd place. With a solid pace throughout the race and improving lap times Alistair MacKinnion took over to keep the car in a podium scoring position.

Race two saw the #48 car star from pole position with Glew leading the way throughout his stint, he matched the pace of Hughes in the Ginetta and would pull out a 6 second lead by the time he came in for the driver change. Unfortunately for Bolisseti the pace of Jody Fannin in the Ginetta would prove too strong and would lose a place; despite this he would keep his head as others slid off the circuit and bring home the car in a brilliant second place.

Alistair Mackinnon started in the #49 car from third place but would lose out as the back end of the Lotus stepped out and dropped him down to fourth place. Attard would put in a solid drive to bring the car home in one piece finishing fourth in class.

Quotes from the weekend:

Sailesh Bolisetti #48: “I had a great weekend with Lotus Sport UK, big learning curve, and horrible conditions that I am not used too!! My team mate Phil helped me no end so that was great. Two second places is a great start to my British GT experience so I’m really happy!”

Phil Glew #48: “It’s great to be back with the Lotus Sport UK guys, they do a great job. It was really enjoyable this weekend racing alongside the likes of Warren Hughes and Jody Fannin in such tricky conditions. Sailesh did a great job, lots for him to take on, and in these very wet conditions, he did a great job.”

Alistair Mackinnon #49: “It was great to be back racing in GT’s, the conditions were awful, but I think that myself and Marco did a good job, a podium in the first race was brilliant! The team are a great bunch, and the little Evora was a pleasure to race!”

Marco Attard #49: “The conditions here today were terrible, but the we managed to bring back two unscathed cars, and with a couple of podiums too, so all in all, a great weekend!”

Gary Ayles, Team Manager: “All the drivers drove fantastic races over the weekend in very testing conditions, and also the fact we had no major offs, or damage proves what a professional job the guys did. Our rookie Sailesh coped with all the new things to learn extremely well, and the fact he has only ever raced in the wet a handful of times proved that he will be one to watch in GT’s in the future.”

Qualifying for Round 1 saw the two Lotus cars take third and fourth places in the GT4 class before stepping up the pace in the second session.

Talking of qualifying Phil glew said “It feels great to be back out in the Evora. The team have made some small, but significant changes to the car over the winter, and it feels brilliant. Qualifying went to plan and we just pipped the Ginetta to pole, so I’m really happy with that.”

British GT debutant Sailesh Bolisetti was happy with his progress so far but admitted that it has been an eye opening weekend “I’m still learning the car and circuit, so this weekend is a steep learning curve for me, but Phil is helping me a lot, so I’m looking forward to getting in the thick of it on raceday.”

Ex-British GT racer Marco Attard talked of his delight to be back out and in the running for a podium place “It’s great to be back out in the British GT championship, the car feels great so were looking toward a podium for raceday.”

Team-mate Alistair Mackinnon admitted he needed more tracktime in the Evora but was happy with how the weekend was panning out so far. “The little Lotus Evora is a fantastic race car, and the team have done an amazing job on the set up. With a little more time in the seat to learn the car, we should really be looking for a podium place for Mondays race.”

Bolisetti began racing in 2007 and went on to win India’s inaugural Volkswagen Polo Cup in 2010. As part of his prize, he was promoted to the Volkswagen Scirocco R Cup, a support series for Europe’s DTM championship. Now he’s preparing to make the step up to sportscar racing, alongside some of the toughest tin-top competitors in the business.

Commenting on his appointment Sailesh Bolisetti said: “Being associated with such a well-known name in racing is a great opportunity for me, especially one with such a rich pedigree across a uniquely wide range of disciplines. But I don’t take it as a pressure, I take it as a privilege – I’ll be driving for the same brand as some of my all time heroes and sporting legends and I’m really looking forward to it.”

British GT’s seven-race season kicks off at Oulton Park on April 7. In addition, Bolisetti will contest the Indian i1 Super Series in the Middle East and Asia, in order to get as much experience under his belt as possible.

Gary Ayles, Team Manager, Lotus Sport UK said: “Sailesh is a strong talent that hadn’t been discovered in Europe, until now. I first got to know him and his father through my contacts in India, having been involved with the A1GP India team and raced over there in F3. We kept in contact and now Sailesh has come of age and is ready to race here in Europe with our team. You need to keep an eye on this lad. He’s a star in the making.”

View attachment: 56842_60_9897_sailesh_bolisetti.JPG

Starting from GT4 pole position the #48 Lotus Evora lead the class from the off, with their nearest competitor the #50 Ginetta of Denis/McDonald running close with them in the early stages. As the race wore on Glew pulled away only for the field to be closed up by a 20 minute safety car period midway through the race. Holmes would maintain the lead to take the chequered flag and GT4 win.

Holmes who had only driven the car for the first time the day before was delighted with the result: "Brilliant stuff, I Really enjoyed the race. Phil drove the wheels off it to enable me to have a comfortable stint and I really got to learn the car."

Team mate Glew enjoyed the race which rounded off a positive year. "What a great end to the season, the team is awesome, the car has been brilliant and all my various team mates this year have done a great job."

The #49 Lotus Evora of Freddy Nordstrom and Leyton Clarke was unlucky not to finish the race after looking like they were set for a podium finish. Heading in to the race Nordstrom and Clarke had an outside chance of taking the GT4 title but an unknown problem saw the car grind to a halt in the closing stages of the race, ending any chances.

Nordstrom commented: "I'm a bit disappointed with this weekend; car issues and then breaking down at the end of this race cost us the chance of the GT4 title."

Clarke was similarly disappointed: "It's been a bit of a rubbish weekend with the car failing at the end of the race, but that's racing!"

Team manager Gary Ayles had mixed feelings about the result, "Phil and Chris did the job and were fastest across the weekend. Followed by the win, I couldn't ask for much more really! I thought we were on for a win and a third but the car failed on the last few laps. The team will be looking into why that occurred."

Looking back over the season Ayles commented: "All the drivers we've had with us this year have done a fantastic job! Roll on next season!"

You can follow the team on twitter at @LotusSportUKGT and on facebook at www.facebook.com/LotusSportUK.