Podium double for Balfe quartet at GT Cup

Successful weekend at Donington Park...
Stewart and Lewis Proctor.Stewart and Lewis Proctor.
Stewart and Lewis Proctor.

Balfe Motorsport’s McLaren Customer racing season got underway this weekend at Donington Park - claiming a double podium position in the opening four rounds of the GT Cup Championship.

Stewart and Lewis Proctor teamed up together in the #36 McLaren 720S GT3, while Mike Price and Callum MacLeod paired up in the #90 McLaren 570S GT4.

With an impressive 37-car grid, the opening round of the Championship saw Stewart claim a solid fifth position in the Saturday Sprint event.

The subsequent Pitstop race brought a great opening stint, vaulting him from seventh on the grid to fourth position.

As the Safety Car emerged, he pitted and handed over to Lewis in a fine second position.

The racing resumed, and with the leader out of reach, Lewis kept his head down and extended the gap to those behind to take the chequered flag in second, with a comfortable five-second margin to boot.

Mike meanwhile also finished in fifth position in the Sprint event, and together with Callum, put in an impressive debut performance together in the distinctive GT4 to finish in third position.

Given it was Mike’s first race meeting in the 570S, and with such a large GTH contingent, the result was particularly impressive.

Rounds three and four took place on in especially cold, and at times wintery, conditions on Sunday.

For Stewart, a near-certain fourth position was denied by a left rear puncture two laps from home after an impressive run in the Sprint.

Mike meanwhile had made changes to the GT4’s setup but had to be content with ninth position.

With 15 and 10-second success time penalties for Stewart and Lewis and Mike and Callum, Sunday’s Pitstop race was always going to be a real challenge.

However, Stewart and Lewis finished in fifth position; capping off an eventful, yet rewarding weekend as a whole.

Mike’s strongest showing of the weekend, moving from 30th on the overall grid to 20th, only for the safety car to stifle Callum’s hopes.

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