Heartbreak for Olly Bryant in the RAC TT Celebration. 15th September 2019

Sunday 15th September 2019

Olly Bryant was paired with Aston Martin Factory driver Darren Turner for this year’s RAC TT Celebration at Goodwood Revival. Their combined efforts from both qualifying sessions meant the famous AC Cobra “GPG 4C” would start the 1 hour blue-riband event from 5th on the grid. Turner started the race and kept his nose clean in some early scuffles. An opportune pit-stop as the window opened combined with a very quick driver change meant Bryant emerged in the lead and was soon battling with the Cobra of Romain Dumas & Andre Lotterer. Lotterer passed Bryant early on and Dumas squeezed by as Bryant was boxed in by a slower Porsche exiting pit lane. The challenge was not over as Bryant reeled in Dumas in the closing laps as the latter’s tyres wore out. With 3 minutes to go, Bryant executed a brave move around the outside at no-name which meant he had the inside line into St-Mary’s. Bryant was back up to P2 with only 2 minutes to go! Unfortunately at the start of the next lap, with inferior straight line speed, Bryant defended the inside into Madgwick but this shallow line unsettled the rear end and before he knew it, he was on the grass and into the tyres. Bryant drove the wounded car back to the pits after the race, simply body damage, but a great shame for P2 would have been an excellent result given the level of competition at this event. (Photo credit Charlie B Photography)