Alex Walker’s form behind the wheel continued at the weekend as the Bedfordian motor racing star scored a second consecutive podium finish in the GT4 Silver class of the British GT Championship at Spa Francorchamps.
While the UK basked in timely sunshine over the weekend, the rain arrived in Belgium resulting in a stop-start race at Spa, but Walker and new teammate, Adam Hatfield didn’t let the rain perturb them as they worked their way through the field and secured a third place finish.
British GT races usually last three hours, but the rain caused havoc in the Ardennes and multiple crashes led to a two-hour contest, with Walker and Hatfield working their way from 11th on the grid up to another podium for Paddock Motorsport.
A multi-car crash from the start, in which no one was seriously hurt, paid dividends for the McLaren Artura GT4 which moved from 11th to 7th in one foul swoop and by the time Hatfield handed over to Walker, the pair were in 5th.
Walker overtook the Mercedes of Harry George into fourth and was swiftly greeted with a stroke of luck as Stuart Middleton in the GT4 Evo pitted for a drive through penalty, allowing the Paddock team to rise to fourth in the GT4, and crucially, third in the silver class.
The McLaren held on for another podium finish, and another trophy for the cabinet, as Walker’s Paddock Motorsport team rise to third in the overall rankings of the GT4 Silver class in the Championship, with four rounds to go.
Those rounds include a double header at Snetterton followed by another meeting at Donington Park before the season finale at Brands Hatch, with the Championship returning to British shores after its annual away day.
Ideal debut at iconic Spa
Speaking to the Paddock Motorsport media team after the race, Walker reflected on another excellent weekend.
“It’s going well, really well!”
“We’re picking up some traction now which is good. That was a hard race for both of us, especially for Adam having to pick his way through all the chaos at the start.
“A tough stint for me, where I was just trying to treat it as an extended qualifying session. I came close at the end to getting one more place, but that wouldn’t have made much of a difference, but it a fantastic first visit to Spa!”
His team-mate for the weekend, Hatfield added, “It was a bit of a surprise to get that result! I just kept it clean in that first stint because I knew track limits was going to be key and come into play at some stage across the GT4 grid.
“I tried to give Alex as little track limits warnings as possible, and he did a brilliant job to pick them off and bring it home on the podium.”
The cars travel on to Snetterton for rounds six and seven of the British GT Championship, beginning on Friday 12th July.
You can keep up to date with Walker’s progress throughout the conclusion of the championship here.
