BATLEY-born businessman Lawrence Tomlinson put a group of celebrities through their paces on the race track.
Mirfield-born actor Sir Patrick Stewart was among those competing at Silverstone in a contest to find the fastest star in a reasonably-priced race car.
The event took place during the annual media day hosted by car manufacturing business Ginetta, to mark the launch of its championship season.
The celebrities, driving Ginetta G40s, were pitted against Lawrence – Ginetta company chairman and 2006 Le Mans GT2 winner– with the added pressure of former Formula 1 champion Nigel Mansell watching from the pit lane.
Sir Patrick was joined by Strictly Come Dancing’s Brendan Cole; Nick Knowles, of DIY SOS; Will Mellor, of 2 Pints of Lager; Radio 1’s Comedy Dave; Hollyoaks actor Nick Pickard; and Emmerdale’s Chris Bisson and Kelvin Fletcher.
Lap times ranged from a respectable 1:17.60 through to a Sunday driver 1:58. Chris Bisson was revealed as the firm anchor at the bottom of the leader board, while Nick Knowles achieved the fastest lap – until Mr Tomlinson was slashed Nick’s time by seven seconds.
Sir Patrick came sixth with a time of 1:19.26.
Said Lawrence: “Today has been a lot of fun and certainly revealed everyone’s competitive streak.
“It was great for these guys to experience first-hand driving a race car and something the Ginetta juniors at 14 years old make look so easy. I have a feeling this event will run again as I believe there are some scores to be settled!”
