Middleton and Tregurtha pounce as Lanan duo's challenge falters
With current leader Colin Noble Jnr not in action for another week, British GT's GT3 and GT4 Pro continent had an opportunity to reduce their deficits in Kent.
Alex Reed and David Pittard went into the event as the LMP3 Cup ace's nearest challengers, but left with their Daytona 24 Hours prize drive chances and GT4 title hopes in serious doubt after suffering a mechanical issue.
Their misfortune played into Tregurtha and Middleton's hands as the HHC Motorsport duo extended their GT4 championship advantage and made ground on Noble Jnr. Third place helped the latter leapfrog both Pittard and Reed into second after improving his season's average score by 0.76 points, while Tregurtha's additional marks for also setting fastest lap boosted his by 3.81.
Noble Jnr, still on 78.88, therefore leads Middleton by 2.49 points heading into LMP3 Cup's penultimate round at Snetterton this weekend, while Tregurtha is a further 2.45 points behind.
Meanwhile, Pittard and Reed have slipped 11.05 marks adrift and down to joint-fourth thanks to their raceday nightmare. That’s just 0.08 points ahead of LMP3 Cup title protagonist Matt Bell and another 1.5 clear of Stuart Moseley (Radical SR3 European Masters).
A GT3 podium helped Sam Tordoff climb six places to eighth, and Joe Osborne - who set fastest time in GT4 Pro qualifying before finishing second - vaulted seven spots to ninth. Jon Barnes moves up two positions to complete the top-10 at the expense of Macmillan AMR co-drivers James Littlejohn and Jack Mitchell whose DNF has dropped them to joint 14th.
Photo credit: BRDC British F3 and British GT