Early season mechanical failures ultimately proved too much to overcome for Nathan’s Ginetta GT Supercup title challenge. Needing to win the last five races at Brands Hatch and Silverstone mechanical gremlins again interfered at Brands causing most of his testing to be lost. Despite this Nathan persevered and consolidated 4th place in the series despite carrying two zero scores in his total, and taking the highest number of meeting wins of any driver in 2011. Winning 6 races and taking 16 podiums overall he once again proved that Nathan was the driver to beat in the series, but fighting back from over 160 points adrift to 30 points down was the closest he came. Nathan would like to thank all of his sponsors, supporters, and followers in 2011 - with special mention to the Player International without whom it would not have been possible to compete.

Nathan will now take some time off to consider plans for next year.

Saturday morning qualifying seemed to be going well when Nathan posted a time nearly a second quicker than testing, unfortunately it turned out to only good enough for 3rd, the first time he had been off the front row this season on quickest times. Still a good result with 2 of his championship protagonists behind him and one in front.

Race one in dry conditions and Nathan gets a fantastic start driving between the grid one and two drivers to take the lead into the first corner. However the polesitter made a swift recovery to draft Nathan down the main straight and re take the lead after one lap, leaving the positions static until the end of the race. A good result considering Nathan’s struggle with the circuit. Commenting on his runner-up spot, Nathan said: “We have a university guy who’s been measuring heart rates of racing drivers and he’s been telling me my reaction rate and that’s spurred me on to get them down – so I was ready”, explained Freke, “I keep getting good starts, I got through the middle but I don’t think (George) Murrells saw me as he came down and hit me.

“I had a great first lap but this is a proper bogey circuit for me, I’ve never done that well here. Carl was just a bit quicker than me today, our car is good but I can’t seem to get the final sector sorted so considering that it’s another solid finish and puts us in a good position on the grid for tomorrow.”

Race two would have the added interest of a mandatory pit stop to change 2 wheels and strategy of when to come in would be critical. Nathan had yet another stunning start and led into the first corner, but yet again could not hold it after the first lap. Running in 2nd place it became obvious that all was not quite right as Nathan circulated at a slower pace than the rest of the G55 field, even so he maintained second position until the leader pitted and then led building an 88 second lead. With a 92 second pitstop time it became obvious that he could not get in and out of the stop and keep his lead, and the most likely result was fourth. However some excellent driving and Nathan finishes third.

Nathan had problems to overcome in the race, not least his ‘theplayer.co.uk/Century Motorsport’ car filling with smoke which affected his vision and concentration – in the end third place was a good result and takes his unbroken run of podium finishes to nine. Furthermore, the former G50 Cup Champion is now only 35 points adrift of the top of the GT Supercup table.

“I thought the pit-stop idea worked well”, said Freke, “The lads in the team loved it as it’s a bit more involvement for them and it does spice things up a bit. I felt a lot of nerves before the race because a slight glitch can affect your championship so much but, at the end of the day, we have to make sure we don’t have that slight glitch. I’m pleased it went well for Ginetta, I hope it made good TV!

“I got a very good start but from the first lap the cab was filling with smoke on the right-hand side and after three or four laps, I started feeling drowsy and making silly mistakes – I thought at one stage I was going to have to stop. Then I was worried about the car catching fire in the pit-lane but it cleared itself thankfully. By that time, the tyres had gone so I’m glad to pick up some good points.”

Nathan returns to the track in 2 weeks time at Brands Hatch where he needs to score maximum points to keep his title challenge alive.

After a 7 week break the teams were set the challenge of the new Snetterton 300 configuration of the circuit with its additional 1 mile infield section, added over the winter.

After a mixed qualifying session with a tyre disintegration, Nathan managed to set a time for 2nd place on the grid and with the first two races scheduled for the Saturday he was keen to maximize his points total.

At the start of the first race Nathan had a good start off the line and by the first corner at Riches he was slightly ahead of pole sitter Breeze, however a small contact meant that he was squeezed out wide so he lost the place at the Montreal hairpin and so was back in 2nd place. Nathan shadowed Morgan in 2nd for a couple of laps until Nathan’s pressure told as he moved ahead into second before setting off after the leader. Nathan was unable in the short numbers of laps left catch Breeze, although he did post the fastest lap and establish the new lap record.

The second race was held at the end of the afternoon and this time Nathan made the decisive start off the line and clearly led breeze into the first corner. Though Breeze put him under pressure for a couple of laps, Nathan was able to pull slowly away to take the win at the flag, also fractionally bettering his earlier lap record for Snetterton 300 with a time of 1m57.563 seconds (90.91mph). “I didn’t plan to make that good a start, it just sort of happened”, said Nathan, “I noticed Carl wasn’t so good off the line so I took full advantage and then controlled the race from the front. It’s always nice leading, I could see where I was quicker than Carl and where he was quicker than me and I was never really that vulnerable. Mid-race I got a bit of a gap and then looked after the tyres.”

The third and final race of the weekend took place on Sunday afternoon and after the reversed grid draw Nathan found himself with everything to do as he would start in 6th place. With another strong start he was quicker off the line than Breeze and then had to avoid two cars, which spun at the first corner. That left him in 3rd place by the second corner and for the first part of the race he tracked Morgan and Sharp ahead before starting to catch them up. Then at Riches Sharp and Morgan began battling each other and Nathan then managed to get inside Sharp at the Montreal hairpin. With contact Nathan then had to nurse the car home to the flag with a hole in his rear rim without letting the cars behind get by which he did to take 2nd place at the flag.

Nathan summed up at the end of the weekend “This was a very successful weekend, I have taken points off all the other drivers and so I am looking forward to the next races at Knockhill in Scotland”The next races in the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup will take place at the Knockhill circuit (near to Edinburgh) on September 3rd & 4th

Picture courtesy of WiderView photography

Friday testing went well with the team working on setup to get the car consistent over a race duration. Croft is an extremely abrasive circuit and tyre management is essential - with that in mind Nathan knew that looking after his tyres would be the key to success this weekend. With the track only just drying up for qualifying Nathan sat in the pits for half the session to see what the times were like and when he felt happy with the track condition he went out with the view of doing only 3 laps. The plan went perfectly and Nathan set a time of 1:24.5 - over 2 tenths quicker than his next rival.

Race 1 was dry and Nathan got a text book start and went unchallenged throughout the race and recorded his 2nd win of the season by over 3 seconds. Race 2 was less straight forward, with a heavy down pour before the race Nathan took the decision to go on wets but it became apparent on the out lap that this was a mistake. Despite having the pole position grid spot Nathan decided to pull into the pits, change to slicks and start from the pitlane. As the field rushed past Nathan came out of the pits in last place and a huge task ahead of him. Demonstrating his speed and race craft Nathan carved through the field to finish 4th overall.

Commenting after the race Nathan said - “I made a big mistake before the race going for wets. I guess I was just to conservative with knowing that I was on pole. As soon as we got round the back section of the track I could see the error of my ways!! The team did a fantastic job in getting the tyres changed in time and I’m glad I could get some points out of the situation. The car had so much pace, another lap and I would have been on the podium!”

With the reverse grid draw Nathan lined up on P2 for the last race. Getting a good start Nathan slotted into 2nd place, and after only 4 laps Nathan could see he had the faster car and made his move for the lead. Once at the front there was no stopping him, pulling out a 7 second gap in 5 laps only to have it reduced by the deployment of the safety car. After 3 laps behind the safety car the race was back under way again and it was a 4 lap dash to the finish line. Marking his authority on the grid Nathan romped home to a 9.5 second victory margin.

“Apart from the second race this weekend went perfectly. The car was completely sublime and it allowed me to look after my tyres so well that at the end of the races we were seconds faster than the rest of the field - something that rarely happens! I’m so grateful for these wins and am pleased that i’m able to deliver the goods for my sponsors The Player International and repay the hard work that the team put in getting this car ready for me each race. I’ve got a great points haul here this weekend and it’s clear that the title is still within reach, we just need to keep focused and keep putting in solid performances like this - the rest of it is out of our control.”

Photo courtesy of Chris Roberts Widerview Photo

After testing at Oulton Park on Friday Nathan had been confident of a good weekend after only being 0.2 seconds off the quickest time on whilst on used tyres. The weather on the Saturday for qualifying was scorching with temperatures up to 24C and the leading drivers were all looking to get in their quickest lap early on to preserve their tyres for the race. Nathan didn’t quite get a perfect lap but was happy to line-up in 2nd place on the grid, just 0.2 secs behind poleman Breeze.

Race 1 was run on Saturday afternoon and after a clean getaway Nathan kept Breeze in sight for the first few laps reeling him in and keeping him under pressure. Then on lap 8 Nathan made a bold overtake move on Breeze into Old Hall corner to take the lead. He then pulled away to take the chequered flag by almost seven seconds and, with it, the new lap record, to the joy of both driver and team.

As Nathan commented after “I’ve made a few mistakes and we’ve had a couple of mechanical failures this year but finally we have the win”, Carl (Breeze) seems to be the king of qualifying, and all credit to him for that, but we have amazing race pace and that showed today.”

Come the main race day on Sunday the weather conditions have changed with overnight rain and further showers during the day leaving drivers having to race in tricky conditions. This happened in Race 2 with Nathan holding off a determined Hodgetts for the first few laps before getting caught out in the greasy conditions at the chicane, having to take the escape road. He lost the lead to Hodgetts but held onto second for the rest of the race, not without a few moments during the last few laps.

Nathan said after the race “The conditions were so tricky out there and I got caught out at the chicane as the track got wetter. I was really trying to stay on the road for the last few laps but nearly came off at cascades towards the end. So I was really happy to get a 2nd place to go with yesterday’s win and I am now looking forward to Croft.

The championship now moves onto the North Yorkshire circuit of Croft with the races taking place on 18th & 19th June.

Photo courtesy of Chris Roberts Widerview Photo

After issues at both Donington Park & Brands Hatch, Nathan was determined to get three podium finishes at the fastest race circuit in the UK where tyre wear would be a big factor, and where success had been elusive in the past. After the one qualifying session Nathan qualified in 2nd place on the grid behind Breeze, who he had managed to outfox in the 3rd race at Donington Park.

As the lights went out Nathan almost stalled and so has to drop the clutch and fishtail away being lucky only to lose one place to Adam Morgan. This left Breeze out in front with initially Morgan & Nathan having a mighty battle but that elusive overtaking manoeuvre didn’t quite happen. At the three quarter distance Sharp caught up with the battle ahead and there was a three way battle to the line with Nathan holding onto 3rd place by backing up Sharp before the last chicane and then gunning it to the chequered flag.

This meant that Nathan would start in 3rd place for the first of the two Sunday races and this time the front three stayed as one with Breeze unable to get away from the close attention of Morgan & Nathan. On lap 12 Nathan managed to pass Morgan at Goodwood and a lap later he passed leader Breeze around the outside of Noble to move into a clear lead. Then on lap 15 issues started to appear with Nathan’s car which slowed by over 4 seconds, allowing Morgan into the lead and then on the last lap the ECU gave up and the car stopped  at Noble, with a desolate Nathan slamming his car door shut and walking away, knowing a certain win has been taken away from him.

After the race Nathan was very down but promised “I will give it my best shot in race three, I have saved two new rear tyres which should allow me to get through the G50 class runners and catch up with the leaders.”

The start of race three had an immediate red flag as poleman James stalled on the line and was hit by two other G50 class competitors. At the re-start Nathan made up a couple of places but at the end of lap 1 his right driveshaft broke and so he retired to the pits.

Nathan would like to thank his hard working Century Motorsport crew along with sponsor The Player International for their support during a trying weekend.

The next races are at the Oulton Park circuit near Chester on the weekend of June 4th & 5th.

Nathan Freke, driving in the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup races at Donington Park (as part of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship support package) recovered after early issues to finish in 3rd place after a storming drive from the back on the grid, including dicing with his old rival Carl Breeze.

It all looked like it was going to plan as Nathan recorded the fastest time halfway through the qualifying session, and then sat out the remainder to preserve his tyres. Unfortunately 3 hours later his joy was turned into frustration as he lost his fastest lap due to a yellow flag infringement, which meant he was relegated down to 4th place.

The first race of the weekend was on the Saturday afternoon in the glorious Leicestershire sunshine and Nathan was determined to make up places to get where his pace warranted. After a strong start on lap 1 he passed Morgan but on lap 2 disaster struck and he spun out into the gravel after getting slightly off line at McLeans.

This meant that in Race 2 he would start from the back, but he wasn’t even able to make the start as a driveshaft failed and so he retired into the pitlane. Nathan was very despondent as the driveshafts should last much longer and had only done 5 races in 2011.

So onto Race 3 and Nathan was determined to get something out of the day but wanted to make sure that he reached the flag. With his rival Breeze also starting from the back after technical issues in race 2 there was going to be a lot of overtaking to see if they could get onto the podium.

From the start Nathan made up places and had soon overtaken all the older Ginetta G50 cars and was now at the end of the train of the newer Ginetta G55 cars. Some great overtaking moves then allowed Nathan to move up to 4th place (behind Breeze) and then over the last 4 laps these two were battling together, along with Nathan’s teammate Freddie Hetherington. Nathan twice overtook Breeze at McLeans but was repassed but on the last lap Nathan got by again and this time he kept his place and finished in 3rd place behind his teammate Hetherington. Sadly Nathan was demoted to 4th after being judged to have made contact with Breeze when overtaking,

After the race Freke commented “I really enjoyed that battle through the field and I am glad I managed finally to get ahead and get a podium after a troubled weekend up to that point, to have it taken away after the race is very frustrating – I will have to let my racing on the track do my talking. I would like to that my sponsor The Player International and my Century Motorsport team for all their hard work getting a working car ready for race 3. I am looking forward to a slightly less stressful Thruxton weekend in 2 weeks time!”

The Championship now moves onto the high speed Thruxton circuit (Hampshire) with the races on both April 30^th & May 1^st.

Picture courtesy of Chris Roberts widerviewphoto 

Nathan Freke teams up with The Player International.

With just 3 days before the season opener of the Ginetta GT Supercup at Brands Hatch last weekend, a last minute deal was put together between Nathan and The Player Bookazine enabling him to compete this season.

Only taking delivery of the car on the day before the meeting Nathan had a big task in front of him. Friday testing went well with the Century team making good improvements with car and Nathan ended up 3rd quickest by the end of practice.

Saturday brought a tricky qualifying session on a damp track. It was clear that the end of the session would be where the quickest times were to be set, with the track drying all the time. Nathan judged the conditions well and ended up with a very pleasing P2 for the Grid of Race 1.

Nathan made a good start of the first race and slotted into second behind Tom Sharp. Instantly Nathan started putting pressure on the leading car, and when Sharp ran wide onto the Start/Finish straight Nathan tried to capitalize on the situation. Things were very tight going into the first corner and there was contact between the 2 cars resulting in Nathan spinning out and into the gravel.

Nathan managed to recover the car and get back on track but unfortunately due to 4 damaged tyres he couldn’t make any inroads and had to settle for a finish, and some points.

With the results of race one determining the grid position for Race 2 Nathan had to start right at the back of the field. After a hectic start Nathan carved his way up from 22nd to 10th place.  A satisfactory result considering the starting position.

Race 3 and Nathan lined up 10th on the grid. Making a great start Nathan moved straight up to 7th on the first lap. With some extremely tough drivers in front of him Nathan had a tall task to be able to make good progress. Keeping a cool head Nathan picked off the opposition 1 by 1 and ended up a very respectable 3rd place by the end of the race.

After the race Nathan commented on the weekend “The last week has been an emotional rollercoaster. On Tuesday I was in the mindset that this season I would not be racing, then on the Wednesday the deal with www.theplayer.co.uk came about and suddenly I was back in the seat!!. This weekend hasn’t been a true reflection of my pace, I have a lot of work to put in from a personal point of view with my fitness and mental focus and the team have the job of getting the car dialed in fully for me.  I’m ecstatic about this deal and feel very lucky to be associated with such a prestigious brand. I am really looking forward to the rest of the season and I can’t wait to develop my relationship further with The Player.”

Andie Jones, publisher of The Player Bookazine added ‘We are very proud to be racing in the Ginetta GT Championship with Nathan and the team at Century Motorsport. The 2011 season promises to be very exciting and Nathan’s performance at Brands Hatch was exceptional given there was so little time to prepare the car. We will definitely be aiming for the top this year”