Grantham-based Richardson Racing secured another trip to the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup championship podium during the penultimate race weekend of the season on the Brands Hatch GP circuit.

Brother and sister pair Andrew and Louise Richardson went into the weekend targeting top three finishes in the competitive G50 class, and both impressed in sweltering weather conditions at the Kent circuit.

Andrew qualified second in class and tenth overall for the opening race of the weekend but moved into the G50 lead on the first lap when Jake Hill went off the road at Stirlings. After a brief Safety Car period, Andrew held the lead until lap five when Aaron Williamson found a way through at Sheene, with Andrew then chasing him to the flag to finish second in class and ninth overall.

The second race didn’t start well for Andrew when he stalled on the line and dropped to the rear of the field. From that point onwards, he was forced into a recovery drive through the pack and drove well to climb to fifth in class and 13th overall when the chequered flag dropped.

A better start in race three saw Andrew settle into third place and, after an early Safety Car period, he set about challenging Williamson and Tom Ingram for victory. However, on the final lap of the race, a small mistake at Druids allowed Jake Hill to close onto the rear of Andrew’s car and he was able to make a forceful move for position through Dingle Dell to demote Andrew back to fourth in class and ninth overall.

“It’s been a bit of a mixed bag really,” he said. “Finishing second in the first race was a good result but then I stalled at the start of race two and that ended my chances of another podium finish there. I think I fought back well but couldn’t get ahead of Louise into fourth.

“We had really good pace in the final race and there was nothing between the top four of us on the times so I’m kicking myself a bit as I really wanted second and just went into Druids a bit too hot. That gave Jake the chance to close up and it was a bit cheeky that he put two wheels on the grass when he made his move but I’m more frustrated with myself for making the error and giving him the chance.”

Louise qualified fourth in class and twelfth overall but made up places to briefly sit second before settling into third through the first half of the opening race. However, as she started to suffer from tyre wear as the race wore on, Louise lost a place to Ingram and settled for fourth at the finish.

A solid start to race two saw Louise climb up to second place behind Williamson before Ingram managed to find a way through into Surtees on the second lap. Louise continued to run in a solid third before Hill fought his way through, with Louise taking the chequered flag in fourth place, just ahead of Andrew on track.

Louise again ran inside the top four in the opening laps of the final race before losing a place to Hill on the seventh lap. Despite starting to feel the effects of the sore shoulder she sustained in her accident at Rockingham a fortnight ago, Louise brought her car to the finish fifth in class and tenth overall.

“It all started well for me although we struggled a little bit with the set-up in the first two races,” she said. “Despite that, I managed to get two fourth place finishes but it was a little bit disappointing as I was in third and second at points and could have been on the podium. The car felt better in the final race but I made a few mistakes and my shoulder started to ache a bit more towards the end, but I got another finish and can now look forward to Silverstone.”