Mechanical issues deny podium for Anttila

Arriving at Brands Hatch for only his 2nd race in the In2 Racing McLaren 570s GT4 in the British GT Championship Jesse Anttila was determined to improve on his last outing at Spa with team mate Marcus Hoggarth.

After a downpour just before qualifying, the first qualifying session for Marcus was on wet tyres setting a time of 1.50.329 but as Jesse went out for his session there was a good chance the track would start to dry, starting on wets Jesse banked a time and continued to circulate planning to pit for slicks. As other cars started to gamble for slick tyres Jesse had just passed the pit entrance and with a long lap on the GP circuit with only a few minutes remaining there wasn’t time to pit and switch to slicks which mean he would have to settle for his best time on wets of 1.41.978 putting the pair in 7th in GT4 Pro-Am.

Hoggarth started the 2-hour race and pushed hard during his stint making up several places. As the pit window opened at the midway point the Hogarth pitted to hand over to Anttila. An excellent pit stop to take on fuel and tyres by the In2 Racing team meant the #29 McLaren 570s held its position and Jesse continued to push hard closing in on 3rd place but as the race went on Jesse started to struggle with his tyres going off which was seriously affecting the handling of the car. Unfortunately, with 2 laps remaining the car suffered a power steering failure meaning Jesse had to retire the car.

Jesse Anttila

“Obviously, I’m very disappointed as there was definitely the chance of a podium today, after a disappointing qualifying Marcus did a really good job in his stint putting us in the position to challenge for a podium but unfortunately, we had a mechanical issue towards the end of the race which meant we had to retire the car. The team did an excellent job as always and we will head to the next round at Donington determined to finish the season on a high”.