Flick Haigh makes British GT history with Optimum Motorsport

The opening round of the 2018 British GT Championship at Oulton Park over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend proved to be a historical one for Optimum Motorsport and Flick Haigh as she became the first female driver to claim an outright pole position and race victory.

Haigh made her debut in the championship with Optimum Motorsport in the #75 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 alongside double title-winner Jonny Adam, and in the first qualifying session she stopped the clocks 0.13s clear of 2017 champion Rick Parfitt Jnr to claim the pole.

Race day brought heavy rain and resulted in a safety car start but once underway, Haigh quickly established a six second margin at the front of the field. Haigh controlled the pace and the gap to her nearest rival before handing over to Adam at mid-distance.

Adam found himself under pressure from the #33 Barwell entry shortly after the stop, but a puncture for the Lamborghini brought that challenge to a conclusion and Adam was able to pace himself at the front the of the field and take the chequered flag almost half a minute to the good.

Adam qualified on the front row of the grid for the second race, but with track conditions continuing to deteriorate, the race was abandoned following a few laps behind the safety car.

In the junior categories meanwhile, Optimum Motorsport also enjoyed a successful race with its Ginetta G40 as Ron Linn secured a podium position while in the GT5 category, Geri Nicosia made great gains to finish in a fighting third position.

‍Shaun Goff, Team Principal

‍“We had a solid build up to the season with plenty of wet weather running and that certainly helped us here at Oulton Park. Flick, Jonny and the team did a great job in very difficult conditions and of course we are delighted to take the race win as we now look ahead to Rockingham and the rest of the season with confidence.”

‍Flick Haigh

‍“I can only be happy with the race, it was very exciting to lead from the pole position and take my first win in the British GT Championship. There was added pressure starting at the front, but I pulled out a gap to the rest and those first few minutes of the race made the rest of the stint much easier. Big thanks to Jonny and to the whole of the Optimum team on what was a very special race weekend.”

‍Jonny Adam

‍“A mega result in race one and to get a result like that at this point of the season is really good for everyone at Optimum, myself and Flick. Obviously, the weather was grim but we maximised race one and got the points. I hope the track is a little better next time out at Rockingham but it great to see Optimum – a new customer to Aston Martin – get the first win of 2018.”