Race Report: 2021 Gerry Marshall Trophy Heat 2 | 78th Members’ Meeting | GRR
Jack Tetley and Jake Hill were locked in battle for much of a thrilling second instalment of the Gerry Marshall Trophy contest.
The race for large-displacement Group 1 saloon cars of the kind raced from 1970-1982 witnessed position swaps up and down the order, but all eyes were on Tetley’s Chevrolet Camaro and Hill’s Gitane-liveried Ford Capri up front, with the former leading the touring car ace across the line by a scant 1.719 seconds. By way of perspective, third place man Craig Davies was 29.78 seconds down on the victor aboard his Ford Mustang Boss 302, the veteran having made up 13 places from his starting position.
The identity of the fourth-place finisher was only decided on the final lap of the 20-minute encounter, with motorcycle and touring car legend Stuart Graham claiming the position at the last gasp in his Capri, with front-row starter Steve Soper placing fifth. The top 15 finishers from each heat now advance to Sunday’s final where they will vie for outright Trophy honours.
The elated winner said later: “It’s a big old car and I just stuck it in front of him. He was very polite for a touring car driver.”
Hill said: “I gave it everything. I absolutely loved it. All in all, it was a really good race.”
Photography by James Lynch.