The Kent-based 18 year old went into the final weekend of the GT Cup season 26 points behind championship leader Dan O’Brien. Whilst it was a sizeable gap with 95 points available it was far from a forgone conclusion.
Esmee and team mate James Birch started off in the best possible way by taking the point for pole position, lining up behind rival and guest entry Tom Hibbert who was ineligible to score points. A win in Saturday’s race one continued the good work but O’Brien finished second behind them. The result was reversed in race two so the points position remained static.
“In the free practice session we practiced our pit stop as we’ve made a few mistakes over the season,” said Esmee. “We wanted to do the best job we could so we’ve got that down to the bone. In qualifying James did the first session and won the first race which was great for points in the championship.”
“I did the second race where we finished third but it was a tough race as it rained a little bit so it was very slippery at first and hard to get the heat into the tyres. I really enjoyed it though and with Tom [Hibbert] not scoring points we effectively finished second.”
Esmee put in another fast qualifying performance to place the Cayman GT4 Clubsport ahead of O’Brien on the grid for Sunday’s feature race. As the field crossed the line to start the 23rd and final race of the year Esmee was on it and determined to give it all she had.
The opening laps were somewhat chaotic with overall championship leader Jordan Witt spinning off in his GT3 Bentley. This was followed by two cars spinning and, thankfully avoiding contact, at Bombhole, all ensuring Esmee stayed on her toes. She lost a place on lap 2 as the Bentley came charging back through the field but more importantly her title rival O’Brien had to pit on lap 3.
Unfortunately this only offered the glimmer of hope that the title might still be open, a glimmer that soon died as the Ginetta rejoined the track at racing speed. Esmee pitted on lap 12 to hand over to team mate Birch and, whilst the duo put in a good performance to take third across the line and second in the points, O’Brien had done enough by finishing fifth to take the title.
“I started the endurance race on Sunday which was quite interesting as there was an early safety car due to a few incidents out on circuit. I had to avoid a few cars that spun on the first lap at the Bombhole. I had a godd run without any incidents and I handed over to James to bring it home and get the best result we could.”
“We did all we could. There has been a few ups and downs but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, the GT Cup is a great championship to race in. We’ve worked with Porsche on the upgrades and the car has just got better and better throughout the year.”
“If we look back to Donington and the beginning of the year and compare it to today, the car is just amazing and has taken a good step forward. I couldn’t fault it, we’ve done the best we could and I’m really happy with second in the championship and I’m looking forward to next year.”