Ruben Hage wrapped up the 2023 Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship in style last weekend when he picked up his seventh victory of the year at his home circuit, Donington Park.
It was a turbulent start to the weekend when Storm Babet caused the pre-weekend test day to be cancelled due to the harsh weather conditions. But regardless, Ruben put in a stellar performance all weekend despite the lack of testing.
The race weekend kicked off at a damp Donington Park on Saturday morning, when Ruben and the grid set off for the final qualifying session of the 2023 season. Ruben and the team opted not to take a new set of tyres and stay with their current old set, which unfortunately meant they were on the back foot. Despite this, and aswell as having to contend with technical issues with the car, Ruben finished qualifying fifth overall putting him in good stead for race one.
Race One:
Hage made a good start despite starting on the damp side of the circuit, and held strong as the pack headed into the first corner. After a brief battle with teammate Garnett into Craner Curves, Ruben held strong in fifth position during the opening lap but fell away from the leading group due to having to defend from behind.
With the sun setting over Donington Park, Ruben got his head down and put his full focus on chasing down the leading pack as he pulled away from the rest of the GT Pro class, but unfortunately a small mistake mid-race hindered his progress.
As the race headed into the final stages, and Ruben’s tyres dropped off, he was unable to catch back up but crossed the line in a respectable fifth position, picking up vital championship points.
Race Two:
With the weather considerably improved on Sunday morning, Ruben started race two from fourth on the grid and made a great start as he immediately gained a position going into the first corner.
After defending his position from a rival behind into Craner Curves, Ruben took full advantage of an entanglement between the two cars ahead of him and passed into the lead of the race. Further down the pack, another coming together in the GT5 class brought out the safety car at the end of the opening lap of the race.
With twelve and a half minutes left, racing resumed as Ruben put the power down in the final corner, maintaining the lead on the restart. A move by Garlick behind coming up into the Melbourn Loop temporarily dropped Ruben back to second, but he immediately retaliated on the inside line as the two cars powered into the final corner.
As Garlick got the better run down the straight, Hage slipped his car back into second place but a mistake by Garlick further on in the lap provided the perfect opportunity for Ruben to take back the lead as the clock hit ten minutes.
Despite intense pressure from Garlick behind for the remainder of the race, Ruben continued to put in impressive lap times and brought his Ginetta G56 GT Pro home to take his seventh race win of the 2023 season.
Race Three:
Feeling determined after his victory earlier on in the day, Ruben got a decent getaway from pole position in race three, but conceded his place to drop to second as his rival moved across onto the racing line.
As the pack flew through the Fogarty Esses, Ruben made an impressive overtake on Angliss ahead to place his Ginetta back into the lead of the race and held the lead for the first few laps despite intense pressure from behind.
On the third lap of the race, a mistake on very worn tyres caused Ruben to drop down to fourth, but he soon found himself being promoted back up one spot to third due to a collision infront.
With just two minutes left on the clock, Ruben made a move on Angliss ahead, promoting him up to second as he weaved his way through the traffic.
With the track now clear up ahead, Ruben pushed on as he remained unphased by the pressure being piled on by Garlick behind, but despite crossing the line in second place, he was unfortunately demoted back to fifth due to a five second penalty picked up for track limit infringements.
Ruben wraps up his maiden year in the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship with thirteen podiums, including seven wins, and secured fourth in the championship!
Ruben Hage said: “We’ve had highs, lows, and everything in between this season, but it’s safe to say it’s been a year of determination and it has certainly paid off.”
“Thank you to all of my partners who’ve joined me on the journey this year. It’s been a pleasure working with every single one of them and I can’t thank them all enough for all of their support.”
“It was great to pick up my seventh and final win of the season last weekend at my home circuit in front of my family and local partners who came to celebrate the final weekend with us.”
Photos by Shuttersaurus Rex