Mark Steel had some of his strongest performances in this season’s Ginetta GT5 Challenge, but bad luck cost him and the Toro Verde GT Team the chance of a headline result in the final meeting of the season at Donington Park.
Having battled bravely all season, with a number of podiums under his belt in the competitive GT5 AM class, Mark headed into the race weekend with confidence that he could finish the season on a high at his home track.
Unfortunately, his Ginetta GT5 which was sporting a updated livery for the weekend, twice went off track and became stuck in the gravel, although the driver was not to blame, while mixing at the front of the field.
In the opening contest on Saturday afternoon, the Loughborough based driver had an excellent opening lap, moving up five places overall, two of which were in the AM class, from seventh on the grid. However, disaster struck when he had to correct a moment at the Old Hairpin when the rear of the car got a bit loose during the second lap and his wayward rear end was collected by a GT5 Pro class car in the process, sending both into retirement.
Reflecting on this, Mark commented: “We're a massively positive team and I know we will bounce back for the remaining races.”
After some swift work that evening, the car was ready for Sunday’s two races, with the first held in difficult wet conditions.
Despite his front windscreen heater not working, which hampered his visibility, Mark drove well, mixing in the podium positions, but was pipped by Paolo Santi by just 0.5s at the flag, meaning that Mark had to settle for fourth place in the AM class.
Heading into the final race of the weekend, light began to fade as the sun started to set on the East Midlands circuit, and Mark’s third season of top level competitive racing.
All looked very positive for Mark in the opening laps, as he was one of the leading trio of AM cars with a comfortable gap to those behind. Putting pressure on Karim Sekkat for second place, he was surprised heading into Redgate corner when he lost the car and spun into the gravel, where he retired.
Initially blaming himself for a mistake, once the car was returned to the paddock the team found the left rear wheel down, which explained why he had lost control on track.
Ruing his bad luck at Donington, Mark commented: “When I got back to the paddock I was thinking ‘it's all my fault’ but when we’ve got the car back the left rear was flat, so it's obvious that a puncture is what sent me off.”
Looking back on his first season in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, the PPL supported driver said: “We know what journey we've been on – we were scrapping with the G40’s at Thruxton and then to be disappointed I'm not on the top step at the final weekend of the year is just a massive achievement.
“We haven't finalised any plans for 2022 at the minute but I've got to say I've absolutely loved being part of the Ginetta family. I didn't realise it was as strong and magnetic as it is.
“I don't think anybody would have their eyebrows raised if we decided we wanted to do something bigger and better with Ginetta next season because I know it's only a brief showing but I think people know I've got the pace to take a step up and you know, never say never. There are loads of options, but we'll see what next season brings!
“Thank you to all my sponsors this season, who have been fantastic from start to finish. I couldn’t have had such a strong season without them.”
Despite the setback and some disappointment at the end of the day, both Mark and the Toro Verde GT team finish the season proud of their performances, and of how far everyone has come over the year in what is a difficult and challenging series, but with a warm and friendly paddock full of competitors.
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