GT Cup rounds off at Snetterton with some silverware for the AMR runners

Having signed up Optimum Motorsport to hire him one of their Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4's for the final meeting of the 2019 GT Cup Championship, businessman David Holloway was left quietly impressed after he and co-driver Piers Johnson were rewarded with a pair of class podium finishes by the end of the weekend.

Having tested the car at Snetterton (then under the watchful eye of Aston Martin Racing driver Ross Gunn) only the week before, all that that data kind of 'went of out the window' after a wet and blustery test day on Friday and then the same on the first day of the two day meeting on Saturday.

Saturdays first race started potentially promising for the #15 Optimum car of Holloway with a Qualifying position of P2 in class with the #72 Whitebridge car for the solo Chris Murphy just behind in P4.


At some point during that wet 25 minute race, an incident/accident affected the #15 car as it finished four laps off the lead lap plus sadly didn't make an appearance at all for the second race of the day. That happily wasn't the case for theMurphy car as he notched up a P3 and P4 in class by the end of the first day for the outgoing Overall and GTH Class Champion.

Sunday was a different affair for the meeting and the #15 with bright autumnal sunshine greeting the now black carbon bonneted AMR Vantage GT4 for the final 25 and 50 minute races of the season.

Another quick time for Holloway in Qualifying gave him a P3 starting slot in class whilst a no time for Murphy left him at the rear of the pack. With a better day came better driving for Holloway who scooped his first piece of silverware of the weekend with a P3 finish whilst Murphy would finish that race in P6


The final 50 minute (Pit stop) race of the year was a similar affair with the two AMR's starting P12 and P14 overall for the new turbo charged and normally aspirated V8's respectively. An errant Lotus Evora losing a wheel and coming to rest half on/half off the track just after the Bomb hole left Race Control no option but to red flag the race with just fiver minutes remaining but that at least gave the AMR's a P2/P3 finish with Murphy just pipping the #15 car to the higher step.


A good weekend for Holloway and Johnson who will hopefully now go away to consider their next move over the winter months before deciding upon their preferred race platform for 2020. Whilst it was announced at the Autosport Show in January that Holloway was going to buy a new Vantage GT4, we understand that it was his prior business engagements that stopped that from taking place over the summer and despite earlier contact between the two parties. Now that he has experienced what the car can do maybe we can expect one to be entered by him somewhere next season?

Again, it shows just how driver friendly the new Vantage GT4 is to drive.