Hunter Abbott and Gary Simms have been stripped of their GT4 class victory in the opening round of the new Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Oulton Park.

The pair had taken the flag in first place at the wheel of their Rob Austin Racing run Ginetta G50 but were later excluded from the results due to a technical infringement on the car.

It had marked a dream start to the year for debutant Simms on his graduation from the Ginetta G20 Championship, while it had also allowed Abbott to lay to rest the accident he suffered at the Chesire circuit last year – where he was lucky to escape without serious injury after his car barrel-rolled off the circuit and burst into flames.

The decision to exclude the pair means victory in the GT4 class for Jody Firth and Nigel Moore, who had crossed the line second in the Team WFR G50.