RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

Martin Short, the man and car to beat around Silverstone. Taking all 3 poles and all 3 race victories.

Martin Short continued his great form from Donington taking all 3 pole positions and all 3 race wins at a clear and sunny Silverstone (a much welcome change from Donington’s wet and windy races), to extend his championsip lead. Derek Johnston taking 3 podiums in another strong showing in the Ferrari 458, pushing Short along the way in race 2.

Notable abscencees from this round were the race 1 winner from Donington, the Aquila of Nigel Mustil, (along with the yellow TVR of experienced GT Cup driver Michael Saunders) withdrew suffering from mechanical gremlins. And race 2 winner from Donington, The Nissan GT3 car of Ben Hetherington, only doing selected rounds of the 2012 GT Cup, wasn’t present at Silverstone.

Martin Short was the man to beat, as he took the 2nd race of the weekend, to backup his win from race 1, in a race which had alot happening in the early stages. Lee Mowle from the back of the grid was on the move straight away, unfortunatley making the wrong moves, taking himself and Chris Bentley in the Porsche out. Sliding into the side of the Porsche going into turn 2 on the opening lap after locking up and ending up on the grass. Mowle retired despite trying to continue with Bentley pitting, and returning to the track late on in the race to give the car a quick run down after repairs. This handed the Group 3 win to Peter Rowbottom in the Ferrari 430 Spyder who continued round on his own, 3 laps down on the Group 1 cars by the end, to secure the Group 3 win.

Richard Chamberlain seemed to be the one to give Short a run for his money again in race 3, but after only a few laps in both races, he once again pulled slowly into the pits to retirement. A very dissapointing weekend with 3 DNF's from a potential 2 victories.

Jordan Witt gave Short a close race on the Saturday, taking 2nd place in the first race, however, mechanical problems for Witt gave Short an easy run at the start of race 2 when the Chevron pitted after the citing lap coming round to form the grid before the green flag lap. Witt was unable to join the grid leaving Short on his own on the front row and to lead easily into turn 1 at the start. Both Chevrons eventually getting disqualified from the weekends results and not taking to the grid in race 3, and leaving Silverstone early.

Johnston gave Short something to think about in race 2 after Richard Chamberlain’s quick, but ultimatly fragile, Porsche 935 slowed going onto the Wellington straight and pulled into pits at the end of the lap to retirement. The gap between the Mosler and Ferrari going both up and down as the pair made their way through traffic, but Short held the gap fairly steadily towards the end despite Johnston bringing the gap down, to take the overall and Group 1 win.

Kevin Riley in the 2nd Mosler was initially upto 3rd at the start but another one to suffer mechanical problems in race 2, and retired back to the pits. However, a podium finish beckoned after a scrap with Johnston in race 3. The 2 exchanging positions throughout the race, with Johnston eventually taking the 2nd place with Riley taking the final place on the podium, backing up a 4th place finish the previous day, promoted to 3rd after the Chevrons getting thrown out of the results.

Group 2 was hotly contested, with all 3 competitors taking a win apiece.

In Group 2, it was a similar story for all 3 races in terms of race battles. In race 2 Grice led in the BMW ahead of the 2 Porsche’s of Whale and Smallwood, with Grice building up a healthly lead. Whale getting past race 1 winner Smallwood after a few laps and pulled away from the Porsche. Grice though, backed off, seemingly with mechanical problems, in the last half of the race, resulting in Whale closing in on the BMW at a fairly substantial rate. However, Whale was either unable or unwilling to keep up the pace to overtake the BMW. Possibly burning up his tyres too quickly. A final push by Whale in the closing laps closed the gap to below a second, but Grice held on to take the Group 2 win.

Race 3 was dominated by Harry Whale after leading away ahead of race 2 winner Grice. Smallwood were seperated by no more than a few tenths throughout the race untill mechanical problems hit Grice with only a few minutes ago forcing a pitstop. The BMW rejoining, eventually finishing 3rd in class, but 2 laps down on the Porsche’s.

Group 3 was a more lively afair, with both Mowles and Bentley making it through lap 1 this time. Bentley initially leading ahead of Rowbottom, while Mowles started at the back, where he stayed for a few laps, perhaps checking if the car was ok after the earlier damage, before working his way past Rowbottom and challenging and then passing the leading group 3 Porsche relatively easily, winning the race by 1.5s. The Ferrari ending up a lap down on the Porsche and Ginetta.

Weekend Results
(position – name – car – number of laps/gap to group winner)

Race 1
Group 1
1. Martin Short – Mosler Super GT – 27 laps
2. Derek Johnston – Ferrari 458 +30.880
3. Kevin Riley – Mosler MT900GT +1lap

Group 2
1. Peter Smallwood – Porsche 997 GT3 26 laps
2. Harry Whale – Porsche 997 GT3 +0.160
3. Don Grice – BMW M3 + 0.915

Group 3
1. Chris Bentley Porsche 996 25 laps

Race 2
Group 1.
1. Martin Short – Mosler Super GT – 27 laps
2. Derek Johnston – Ferrari 458 +2.942

Group 2
1. Don Grice – BMW M3 26 laps
2. Nick Whale – Porsche 997 GT3 + 0.235
3. Peter Smallwood – Porsche 997 GT3 +10.700

Group 3
1. Peter Rowbottom – Ferrari 430 Spyder 24 laps

Race 3
Group 1
1. Martin Short – Mosler Super GT – 27 laps
2. Derek Johnston – Ferrari 458 +46.432
3. Kevin Riley – Moslter MT900GT +_46.815

Group 2
1. Harry Whale – Porsche 997 GT3 26 laps
2. Peter Smallwood – Porsche 997 GT3 + 13.908
3. Don Grice – BMW M3 +2 laps

Group 3
1. Lee Mowle – Ginetta G50 25 laps
2. Chris Bentley – Porsche 996 +1.553
3. Peter Rowbottom – Ferrari 430 Spyder + 1 lap

Nissan of Ben Hetherington was quick, winning in the wet by over 15 seconds

The 2012 GT Cup Championship set off on 28th/29th April at Donington Park for another season with mixed results in some very treacherous conditions on the Sunday, following a dry qualifying and opening race on Saturday.

3 different winners in 3 different cars, and with a different driver getting pole position in the initial qualifying, with a mix of groups on the outright podium in the wet races, namely Nick and Harry Whale performing brilliantly in the wet in group 2, mixing it with the group 1 cars, taking 2 outright podiums and 2 class wins. Harry Whale put in a great drive in the second race from last on the grid to 3rd overall, and 1st in class, comfortably ahead of group 2 2nd placed Peter Smallwood in his Porsche.

Nick Whale citing added weight in the 3rd race for his inability to challenge the leaders, however, he was quite happy, getting a clear run to the flag after getting his head down. Also praising the marshals who have probably suffered the most in the very wintery conditions, “Appreciation to the marshals, thanks to the lads and lasses”.

The Mosler showed pace all weekend, but couldn't quite convert pace into race wins despite a pole position

The Aquila CR1 with Bob Berridge won race 1 on Saturday, Hetherington in the Nissan GTR took race 2 honours, followed by the Ferrari 458 of Derek Johnston chased home by race 1 pole sitter Martin Short in the Moslter Super GT.

The rain does produce some good and unpredictable racing though, which showed in a small grid of cars in 2 soaked races, with a few of drop outs before Sunday.  These included the Jim Geddie Mclaren, the yellow TVR of Michael Saunders with engine trouble after a 6th place in Saturdays race.

In the first race on Sunday, the GT3 spec Nissan GTR (racing in the British GT) driven today by Ben Hetherington took a comfortable win after overtaking Martin Short early on in the race after lap 1 leader Derek Johnston spun on the exit of redgate on lap 2. Hetherington patiently waited till he was comfortable with the car in the conditions, and then proceeded to pull way from the Mosler, to take a 15s win in the 25min race. The Nissan withdrew from the final race, which was unfortunate as it would of made for a great race given the battle between Johnston and Short for race 3 honours.

Johnston held off the rapid Short in the Mosler for race 3 honours, and with a podium in race 1

Johnston’s recovery drive where he set faster laps as the rain eased, meant he started on the 2nd row in the last race of the weekend for the GT Cup, in which he again made a stormer of a start to take the lead in which he wouldn’t lose, despite race long pressure from Short in the Mosler.

Race 3 provided the closest racing for the overall win in the opening races. The gap never more than a handful of seconds, with the Mosler keeping the Ferrari very much in sight, but not quite able to get a good run on the Ferrari. Both cars have advantages in certain parts of the circuit over the other, but with the Ferrari having track position, Johnston a determined driver and previous race winner of the GT Cup at Donington Park, not much was going to deny him a race win to round off the weekend on a high point after the mistake in race 2 put him at the back of the results.

Chevron’s increased efforts in GT racing didn’t pay off that well at Donington. Jordan Witt in group 1 getting a black flag in race 2 after he technically didn’t start the race but joined during the race. And a drive through penalty in race 3 didn’t help matters. However, David Witt in the Group 2 class gave Chevron something to cheer about with 3 podiums out of 3 races in group 2.

The star in group 3 this weekend probably goes to the Ginetta G50 of Lee Mowle, beating more powerful cars in the both of the wet races, ith a 5th and a 4th overall along with 3 class wins over the course of the weekend.

Race 1

Group 1

1. Bob Berridge Aquila CR1 20 laps

2. Martin Short Mosler Super GT +7.6s

3. Derek Johnston Ferrari 458 + 40.8s

Group 2

1. Peter Smallwood Porsche 997 19 laps

2. Don Grice BMW M3 +24.0s

3. David Witt Chevon +1 lap

Group 3

1. Lee Mowle Ginetta G50 19 laps

2. Chris Bentley Porsche 996 +44.8s

3. Colin Broster Porsche 996 +1 lap

Race 2

Group 1.

1. Ben Hetherington Nissan GTR 17 laps

2. Martin Short Mosler Super GT + 15.0s

3. Dan Stringfellow BMW E46 M3 + 31.740s

Group 2

1. Harry Whale Porsche 997 17 laps

2. Peter Smallwood Porsche 997 +1 lap

3. David Witt Chevron +1 lap

Group 3

1. Lee Mowle Ginetta G50 17 laps

2. Chris Bentley Porsche 996 +1 lap

Race 3

Group 1

1. Derek Johnston Ferrari 458 18 laps

2. Martin Short Mosler Super GT +0.9s

3. Kevin Riley Mosler MT900GT +2:30.3s

Group 2

1. Nick Whale Porsche 997 18 laps

2. Peter Smallwood Porsche 997 +1 lap

3. Peter Rowbottom Ferrari 430 Spyder +3 laps

Group 3

1. Lee Mowle Ginetta G50 18 laps

2. Colin Broster Porsche 996 +1 lap

3. Chris Bentley Porsche 996 +1 lap

Report: Nick Deeley
Photos: Surreal Illusions

A new car for the defending champions. A sleek Mclaren MP4-12C, boasting the coveted #1. A fire cut their official test at about half way, but the car was not badly damaged. Glynn Geddie spending the rest of the session in his Porsche GT Cup car.

The Avon Tyres British GT 2012 Championship got underway, officially, at Silverstone on the media day. New partners with WP Motorsport and new tyres from current supplier Avon Tyres giving the teams a more durable and quicker tyre (1-2s a lap!) than last year, and confirmation of the formats that the series will be undertaking this season with a 3 hour race at Silverstone this year. Donington and Rockingham holding single 2 hour races with the rest of the rounds, including a support spot for the Nurburgring 24hrs, running 2 60 minute races.

New cars and manufacturers, including 2 BMW's with a fantastic looking and sounding BMW Z4, arguably one of the best looking cars at Silverstone, if not on the grid when over 20 cars take to the Oulton Park circuit for the opening rounds at Easter.

A new car for the Beechdean team, although the same model: Aston Martin V12 Vantage. Andrew Howard aiming to get to the finish after a successful shakedown, but no timed laps completed.

Final times:

Despite not winning a race all season, consistency proved the key to the title for the #10 Ferrari

Father/Son duo of Glynn and Jim Geddie have won the 2011 British GT Championship, thanks to a great drive (and perhaps a bit of luck) from both drivers in the final race on the Silverstone GP circuit. Despite qualifying only 9th and a few tenths away from the top 3, Glynn believed the car could be better for the race. However, with some of their title rivals fading by the way side thanks to penalties and/or retirements, the Championship leaders going into the final race pulled off a great recovery to get the points needed for the title.

Majority of the teams ran their 2nd driver first, doing a shorter first stint, allowing their 1st and faster driver to complete the race with the longest stint. The only requirement that each driver does at least 45 minutes, resulting in a one stop strategy for everyone.

Aston Martin of Howard/Adam take their 2nd win of the season

At the start, it was initially the 3rd Audi of Joe Osborne and Zak Brown and the #5 Ferrari of Charles Bateman and Michael Lyons that led away after battling their way past the outgoing champion of David Ashburn, who struggled in the opening stages, and the pole position car of the Aston Martin, driven in the opening stint by Andrew Howard, again, also struggling in the opening laps, but eventually regaining pace and 3rd place by the first 30 minute mark.

The leading pair pulled away from the battling pack, pegging each other till traffic and a damaged rear spoiler on the Bateman/Lyons car meant they lost over a second a lap some laps, and dropped back from the Audi after what looked like a promising fight and a chance for the title for the Ferrari pair.

The battling pack behind the top 2 provided much of the entertainment in the early stages, with Ashburn holding on gallantly from the chasing Ferrari’s, Mercedes and Audi’s.

After half an hour, the top 10 was: 29 (Osborne), 5 (Bateman), 7 (Howard), 22 (Jones), 2 (Fisken), 1 (Ashburn), 21 (Cameron), 20 (Draper), 23 (Guasch), 10 (Geddie).

Andrew Jordan was enjoying his 2nd outing in a GT race this year, in the bright orange Ginetta G55 partnering Tom Sharp, battling with the CRS Ferrari of Andrew Tate. Numerous times going side by side before eventually getting past a few laps before their pit stop.

Another Touring Car driver going well for the 2nd time in 2 weeks was Gorden Shedden, once again partnering Hector Lester and out pacing his more experienced team mate. Shedden even trying to get past Tim Bridgman late on in the race despite being a lap down on the Porsche.

A lengthy safety car period intervened at the 57th minute and caused havoc with the leading cars. Although most cars had done their one and only pit stop before the safety car starting at the 51st minute, a few pitted under the safety car, caused by the GT3 Aston Martin of Paul White hitting the barriers over the far side of the circuit at Club corner.

After a bit of reshuffling, with a few winners and losers as Race Control tried to sort out the order, with Westbrook almost losing out in the safety car period, getting increasingly frustrated with the Chevron of David Witt (father of Jordan Witt in the sister Chevron) as they lapped slowly trying to catch up with the safety car train. Eventually, after about 20 minutes, the safety car pulled off after all the cars were behind it and with the race leader the leading car.

Safety car restart Order: 29 (Brown), 5 (Lyons), 22 (Jones), 7 (Adam), 1 (Westbrook), 10 (Geddie), 21 (Griffin), 2 (Bridgman), 20 (Draper), 23 (Bell).

The safety car restart was bad news for Tom Sharp, retiring after contact near the Wing, and pulling off outside the new pit complex, thankfully though in a safe place leaving the race as a race and not bringing out another Safety Car.

However, up front, a fantastic part of the race was unfolding, where Glynn Geddie now at the hands of the #10 Ferrari, showed why he was never going to give up on the title.

Adam, Jones, Westbrook and Geddie were in a nose to tail in fight for 3rd, with the Jones Mercedes starting to drop down the order.

Adam in the Beechdean Aston Martin gets into second with a pass on the Lyons Ferrari, with Griffin and Bridgman side by side through Luffield, Griffin just holding on to the spot. The Aston was on the move again as Brown in the leading Audi with a 1.5 second lead was being caught at a rate of 3 seconds per lap. No surprise then when Adam in the Aston Martin snatches the lead from Brown.

Numerous penalties and retirements affected the championship contenders. Matt Griffin took a 12s stop/go penalty for a pitlane infringement, Mike Gausch/Matt Bell in the #24 Audi pulled into the garage following contact and Michael Lyons served a drive through penalty for not respecting the track limits.

That left David Ashburn within the chance of retaining his title despite being an outsider coming into the final round, with his hopes in the hands of Westbrook, holding onto 2nd place behind the leading Aston, provided Glynn Geddie could do no better than 4th.

Holding that 3rd place that would gift them the championship was Brown in the Audi, but Geddie fought his way through, and began to close on Westbook in the final stages of the race.

The Audi dropping back, losing 5th place to the Mercedes before the end of the race.

Westbrook was slowing and Geddie was hassling the Porsche for the 2nd, even though that 3rd place would net them the title. Jim Geddie in the pitlane was apprehensive, its not over till that chequered flag falls – the race was not yet over and the championship was not yet won. They needn’t of worried though, despite the Ferrari drivers best efforts, he had to settle for 3rd, but it was enough for the title.

“Qualifying wasn‚’t great but come the race Jim did a great job” Glynn said. “He had a close call with a couple of cars and then when the safety car came out on the lap that we pitted, it looked like a disaster for us. But everything worked out okay in the end.”

“The last couple of laps were a bit intense as I tried to get a step up the podium; in the end I backed out of it because we had won the championship”

Father Glynn was equally delighted with the championship title: “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet” he said. “I was so nervous I was sick before the race, and I was sick again after I got out of the car. I would definitely like to come back to defend the title next year. We didn’t have the best of starts to our season but I’m delighted to have won it. I’d like to come back next year after some proper winter testing and be on the ball from the first race.”

The KTM proved victorious in the GT4 class

In the GT4 class, the KTM of Peter Belshaw/Marcus Clutton had all but the Championship wrapped up, with the Lotus of Freddy Nordstrom/Leyton Clarke battling with the 2 Ginetta’s of Dan Denis and Jake Rattenbury/Josh Wakefield, all still within a shot of the GT4 title, however a steady drive to 2nd in class by the KTM secured them the title. The Lotus of Chris Holmes and Phil Glew took a comfortable victory in the GT4 class from pole position.

Provisional results GT3 & overall

GT3

1 Beechdean Aston Martin Andrew Howard/Jonny Adam 2h 01m 26.220s / 97.68mph

2 Trackspeed Porsche David Ashburn/Richard Westbrook +22.738s

3 CRS Racing Ferrari Jim Geddie/Glynn Geddie +22.939s

4 Trackspeed Porsche Gregor Fisken/Tim Bridgman +37.231s

5 Preci-Spark Mercedes David Jones/Godfrey Jones +43.170s

6 United Autosports Audi Joe Osborne/Zak Brown (USA) +56.941s

7 Scuderia Vittoria Ferrari Michael Lyons/Charles Bateman +1m 14.286s

8 MTECH Ferrari Julien Draper/Matthew Draper +1m 20.669s

9 MTECH Ferrari Duncan Cameron/Matt Griffin (IRL) +1m 23.848s

10 CRS Racing Ferrari Andrew Tate/Alex Mortimer 53 laps

GT3B

1 Backdraft Lamborghini Simon Atkinson/James Pickford 45 laps

GT4

1 Lotus Sport UK Lotus Chris Holmes/Phil Glew 52 laps

2 ABG Motorsport KTM Peter Belshaw/Marcus Clutton 51 laps

3 Scuderia Vittoria Ginetta Dan Denis/David McDonald 51 laps

4 Century Motorsport Ginetta Josh Wakefield/Jake Rattenbury 50 laps

5 Magic Ginetta Stewart Linn/Chris Midmark (SWE) 50 laps

6 Lotus Sport UK Lotus Leyton Clarke/Freddy Nordstrom 49 laps

7 Secure/Barwell Aston Martin Peter Erceg/Tiff Needell 49 laps

GT Cup

1 Chevron Racing Chevron Jordan Witt/Anthony Reid 52 laps

2 Chevron Racing Chevron David Witt/Ray Grimes 50 laps

Final Championship Positions (Top 10):

British GT3 Drivers Championship

1 GT3 Glynn Geddie 144

1 GT3 Jim Geddie 144

2 GT3 David Ashburn 130

3 GT3 Matt Griffin 116.5

3 GT3 Duncan Cameron 116.5

4 GT3 Michael Lyons 116.5

4 GT3 Charles Bateman 116.5

5 GT3 Andrew Howard 113.5

5 GT3 Jonathan Adam 113.5

6 GT3 Matt Bell 110.5

6 GT3 Michael Guasch 110.5

7 GT3 Gregor Fisken 107.5

7 GT3 Tim Bridgman 107.5

8 GT3 David Jones 98

8 GT3 Godfrey Jones 98

9 GT3 Richard Westbrook 89

10 GT3 Hector Lester 88.5

British GT4 Drivers Championship

1 GT4 Marcus Clutton 205.5

1 GT4 Peter Belshaw 205.5

2 GT4 Dan Denis 164

2 GT4 David McDonald 164

3 GT4 Freddy Nordstrom 164

3 GT4 Leyton Clarke 164

4 GT4 Jake Rattenbury 157

4 GT4 Josh Wakefield 157

5 GT4 Phil Glew 139

6 GT4 Ollie Jackson 101.5

7 GT4 Chris Holmes 75.5

8 GT4 Peter Erceg 59

9 GT4 Michael Mallock 51

9 GT4 Athanasios Ladas 51

10 GT4 James Nash 37.5

Report: Nick Deeley
Photography: Surreal Illusions

Witt set pole, but the day came to an early end following the lap 1 shunt in race 1

Race 1:

Whale takes win on GT Cup return as Eastwood disqualified.

Eastwood leads away as the dust settles on the wreckage in the background from the first lap crash

The safety car was deployed, but the excellent work by the marshals meant the safety car was out for very little time as the Chevron was pulled out of harms way.

The Morgan showed pace at the start again, but faded away

Race 2

Johnston beats Ruhan to take first win of 2011.

Redgate was the scene of more first lap action, as another first lap crash saw leading cars involved, this time the TVR of Jamie Winstanley looking like he hit the Ferrari of David Tomlin who later retired despite trying to get back on track after returning to the pits. Winstanley carried on while Simon Blanckley took avoiding action around the outside. Mark Radcliffe was once again involved, getting a damaged bumper for the 2nd time in one day.

No safety car this time, as all involved drove away, with the race leaders once again battling away. The Morgan of Tom Andrews attacking the Porsche of Andy Ruhan and getting past. In hot pursuit this time was Derek Johnston in the #41 Ferrari.

Johnston in the Ferrari benefited from others misfortunes to take victory in race 2

Tom Andrews  once again fell back, this time as early as lap 4, giving the lead to Andy Ruhan, chased by the battling Ferrari’s of Johnston and Sean Winder.

The main battle on track though for the next few laps was between the TVR of Winstanley, the BMW of Kevin Clark and the Porsche of Keith Webster. The 3 trying to outwit each other on the track, including 3 wide at times, but Clark defending well and held off the intentions of both of the chasing cars.

Winstanley though, succumbed to mechanical gremlins later on in the race, pulling off to the pit lane after dropping back from the BMW and Porsche.

With 10 minutes to go, the Morgan spluttered across the start/finish line, limping back to the pits at a much reduced pace and to retirement.

The leaders, now catching backmarkers, Ruhan found his 5 second lead down to virtually nothing. Johnston had closed the gap. Despite not having the pace to match Ruhan, as Johnston admitted afterwards, his plan to hope that backmarkers play a part seemed to playing true. Coming into the chicane with only 3 laps to run, Ruhan had a coming together with Group 3 leader Adam Hayes, allowing Johnston to sneak through and take the lead. This incident allowed Clarke to jump Webster who also got caught up moments later in the chicane with backmarkers.

Johnston, now with a 6 second lead, cruised to an overall win at the end of the race. Andy Ruhan came home 2nd, 8 seconds behind the winner with Clark jumping upto 3rd overall and a clear Group 2 win over Colin Broster who finished down in 8th place.

Race Results

Group 1

1. Johnston – Ferrari 430 – 21 laps

2. Ruhan – Porsche 997 GT3 – 21 laps + 8.088

3. Webster – Porsche 997 GT3 – 21 laps +17.515

Group 2

1. Clark/Gibson – BMW E92 – 21 laps

2. Broster – Porsche 996 GT3 – 21 laps +28.423

3. Bentley – Porsche 996 GT3 – 21 laps +51.249

Group 3

1. Dougal – BMW E46 – 20 laps

2. Koenig – Porsche 996 GT3 – 20 laps +5.083

3. Hayes – BMW E46 M3 – 20 laps +12.836

That is a lot of Lotus cars. 69 of them took to the track at the weekend.

The Lotus Cup UK & Europe, along with the Lotus on Track Elise Trophy took to the Brands Hatch GP circuit over the weekend, a total of 69 cars, where the Lotus Cup UK & Europe provided the largest grid of 2011 at the Kent circuit.

Close racing at the front of the field in both races for the Elise Trophy

Luigi Mazza, winner of the previous 2 races at Snetterton was demoted from his pole position to 4th on the grid after a qualifying infringement the previous day, leaving Ken Savage to inherit pole position.

Andy Dolan was the surprise but no less deserved victor in race 2 in the Elise Trophy

This promoted the battle between Dan Plant and Phillip Stratton-Lake to 4th, with Plant pulling away towards the end of the 20 minute race.

Mark Fullalove leads comfortably in the Lotus Cup races

Race 1 saw Mark Fullalove lead the way from pole in his 2-11. Steve Williams, an experienced Lotus Elise Trophy racer, could not quite keep with the pace in the early stages as further back, 2 other 2-11′s of Phillipe Loup and Pete Storey were involved in a battle with the lead non 2-11 Lotus, David Fenn in his Motorsport Elise.

Not many got a glimpse of the lead Ferrari apart from when it lapped them

Rob Barff and Leon Price proved to be the men to beat, and the Ferrari 458 to be the car to beat around the Oulton Park circuit in the GT Trophy double header at the picturesque Cheshire circuit.

The 2 hour race was split into two 1 hour sessions – first seen at Snetteron back in May. It features an hour break in the middle where the teams could work on their cars, but are not permitted to change tyres. This can give teams a chance to fix damage or problems sustained in the first part which would otherwise force them to retire in an otherwise normal straight 2 hour endurance race.

Before the race even got underway, there were 2 casulties from the earlier qualifying session, depleting the small grid even further. The Marcos which qualified in 3rd place despite Chris Beighton putting into the wall at Cascades was a non-starter due to the car being unrepairable in time. While the car that red flagged the qualifying session, the #9 Ferrari failed to make the start.

The final resting place of the Marcos in Qualifying

The first race saw Rob Barff leap away at the start following his lonely front row start, followed by the #49 car of Alex Martin, who was clear of the 3rd place car, the #8 Ferrari of Ian Hartley within a few laps.

The front 3 could be running light as there is an option to refuel in the stops, but seeing as Barff took pole by over 4 seconds, this seemed unlikely, and as it turned out – no team fuelled their cars in either part of the race.

A little further back, the action was spicing up between the Ginetta of Mowle/Murrells who had leapfrogged the Porsche of Brosters/Rothwell at the start, only to lose the position on lap 2. With George Murrells at the wheel of the Ginetta spending the next 20 or so minutes behind the very experienced Colin Broster at the hands of the Porsche. It seemed the cars were equally matched out on track, and it looked like Murrells was waiting for the pit stops for a chance to get ahead of the Porsche.

The Ginetta was in the midst of battles, usually with a Porsche

Meanwhile, David Back in the #9 Ferrari, minus the rear end of the car, joined in 9th and last after missing the start of the race thanks to the efforts of the MTECH team, albeit 5 laps down on the leader, which stayed the same through to the end of the first part.

The Ginetta was the first to stop out of the battle for 4th with the Porsche following not long afterwards. Status quo was resumed though as the Ginetta was once again behind the Porsche. Other pit stops included Gary Eastwood replacing Hartley in the #8 Ferrari closely behind with race leaders Barff/Price one of the last to pit.

The second drivers of Lee Mowle (Ginetta) and Dave Rothwell (Porsche) resuming the battle untill the Porsche was given a drive through penalty for a too shorter pitstop. More problems hit the Porsche late on, as the front splitter worked its way loose which forced him into the pits, all this allowing the Ginetta back through to take a comfortable 3rd place.

The Porsche dropped back in the last couple of laps due to the splitter coming loose again, leaving the Lamborghini of James/Aktinson to take 4th place in the last moments of the first half.

The #8 Ferrari of Eastwood/Hartley took 2nd place, over a lap down on run away half way leaders Price/Barff (despite a stall in the pit lane after the driver change and a grassy moment for Leon Price late on in the race) in the Ferrari 458 but well clear of the rest of the field.

Rupert Martin, who had been running strongly in the #49 Ferrari after taking over from Alex Martin failed to finish due to an accident. They did not make it out in part 2.

Rob Barff extremely pleased with his team mates performance in the first half, with Price himself mentioning that during the first half he was able to put in a consistent performance to maintain the leading margin.

The race claimed another victim on the first lap of Part 2 with the #27 Lamborghini trying a move on the outside of Old Hall, getting on the grass and ending up parking backwards into the tyre wall on the inside of the circuit. The Safety Car was called for the first time which prompted the #15 Porsche of Colin Broster and Dave Rothwell to make an early pit stop under the Safety Car to gain an advantage while the rest of the field were at a slower pace. Unfortunatly, this plan backfired as the car was handed with a drive through penalty later on the race for a pit stop window infringement. Broster duly taking this drive through with about 10 minutes of the race to go.

Leon Price, chased by the #9 Ferrari, couldn’t match his driving in the first race, but was still holding onto the lead and pulling away from the rest of the field.

The Ginetta, this time with Lee Mowle at the wheel, was once again embroiled in a battle on track, chasing the battling pair of the #35 Porsche and #8 Ferrari. The pit stops would play a part, but once again the battle was decided out on track.

The Ginetta pitted first, with George Murrels taking over the reigns, giving him a clear track to get his head down and try and beat the other 2 cars out the pits.

The #8 Ferrari, with Eastwood taking over driving duties, came out ahead of the Ginetta, but car problems, presumably a missing gear or 2, caused him to slow, allowing the Ginetta through around the Shell Oils loop, out of site. Eastwood, though, continued and drove around the problems to get to the finish and gain experience and who knows what could happen in a long race. To finish first, first you have to finish.

The #35 Porsche was the last to pit, with Chris Bentley (the perhaps more cautious of the driver pairing) heading out on track, with seconds to spare over the closing Ginetta.

With Bentley getting upto speed, Murrells made light work of the Porsche, taking 2nd place overall. Attention then turned to the #8 Ferrari of Eastwood who was, despite his problems, closing in on the Porsche.

Eastwood caught the Porsche quite quickly, and wasted very little time. Despite Bentley’s best efforts to keep the Ferrari behind, Eastwood pulled off a great move around the outside of Old Hall to take the remaining spot on the podium overall.

However, the day seemingly belonged to Rob Barff (who set the fastest lap of the race with 7 minutes to go just to rub salt into the wounds of all the other competitors), his co-driver Leon Price and the FF Corse team that runs the Ferrari 458. They ran at an astonishing pace all day, with the same set of tyres for qualifying and both races. Price was delighted with the team effort and thanked them for all their hard work.

The next round of the GT Trophy is at Brands Hatch on the 16th/17th July on the Indy circuit which always produces close and competitive racing.

Report: Nick Deeley
Photography: Surreal Illusions

The Superstar Series blasts off the in the UK with the reigning FIA GT1 Champion, Bertolini, at the head of the field.

The SuperStars Series made its maiden visit to Donington Park this weekend, with an array of support series from the UK and Europe, despite a number of cars not present, a field of 20 cars took to the flowing Donington Park circuit.

Farrara leads the championship despite not claiming a win at Donington.

Race day greeted the teams with typical British Summer weather – overcast, very little sunshine and a threat of rain with some very heavy clouds heading over the circuit throughout the day. Thankfully, they decided to empty their contents elsewhere and the circuit stayed dry.

A familiar name to Formula 1 fans from the 1990's

Bertolini’s 3.2s lead began to come down in the last 3 laps as his tyres began to fade due to the setup of the car. Herbert was faster in all areas of the circuit apart from the GP Loop where Bertolini was 3 tenths quicker than the Mercedes.

Report: Nick Deeley
Photography: Surreal Illusions

The Avon Tyres British GT Championship roared into life in the traditional season opener on Easter Weekend at Oulton Park with a bigger grid compared to last years, with new cars from Aston Martin, Lotus, Mercedes and Audi and Ferrari saw a more varied grid than previous years. New rules and regulations came into play also, with both races been on the Race Day this year.

Race 1, saw the Ferrari 458 on pole on its debut, with driver Michael Lyons at the wheel for the start of the race initially leading away from the rest of the field. The other 458 in the field, run by MTech, suffered gearbox trouble in qualifying and lined up at the back, alongside another car suffering problems throughout the weekend, #44 KTM X-Bow which brought an early halt to the mornings warm up.

Just behind the leading Ferrari at the start, the #1 Porsche of defending champion David Ashburn was slowly falling away with the Mercedes SLS driven by the 2009 Champions, the Jones’s brothers (moving away from the Ascari for this year) under pressue from Mike Guasch in the leading United Autosports Audi R8. With the #2 Trackspeed Porsche of Gregor Fisken catching them both, and the Aston Martin driven by Andrew Howard catching the Trackspeed car.

Phil Burton in the Predator CCTV Ferrari 430 was chasing down the Speedwords Corvette of Ron Johnson, eventually passing into Cascades for 11th spot. The Corvette later been passed by the recovering Duncan Cameron in the new MTech Ferrari 458.

Most teams choose to change within a few minutes of the pit window opening. After the pits, Richard Westbrook took the lead, with Matt Bell in the Audi chasing them down. The battle for 3rd hotted up, with the Mercedes holding up the #2 Porsche, with Jonathan Adam, now in the Aston Martin, closing them down.

The race settled down after the pit stops, but as the race drew to a close, and the minutes ticking down, the fight was still on, as Bell reels in the leader, Simonsen (taking over from Lester) in the #3 Ferrari gets past Bateman (taking over from Cameron) in the Ferrari 458. The #5 car dropping to 6th after its early lead. And Jonathon Adam (taking over from Howard) gets past Jones for the final podium spot. The Mercedes falling a further place as Simonsen makes more progress to take 4th.

More incidents for the Jones’s brothers, as a tangle with Tim Bridgman in the Trackspeed Porsche at Lodge left Bridgman with a puncture, leading to his retirement. The Mercedes surviving and finished in 5th.

Simonsen was still closing, but the chequered flag came just at the right moment for a couple of the teams. Westbrook and Ashburn took the top spot, just ahead of the Guash/Bell Audi.

“The Audi had the edge at the finish and it wasn’t pretty through the final laps,” Westbrook said. “We’ve got work to do but David did a great job in his stint and we’re delighted to start the year with a win and some good points”

With the Aston Martin, the engine let go in big plume of white smoke as it came across the line, leaving Adam to park up on the exit of Old Hall. With a new engine needed, the Aston wouldn’t be appearing in race 2.

“The car was getting slower in a straight line and the noise from the engine was getting worse,” he said. “Then as I crossed the line, it just let go in a cloud of smoke. That’s disappointing for us, but at the same time, it’s great to start the year on the podium as there are circuits coming up that will be better suited to the car.”

Race One Results:

1. David Ashburn/Richard Westbrook (Trackspeed Porsche 997), 36 laps

2. Mike Guasch/Matt Bell (United Autosports Audi R8), +1.528s

3.Andrew Howard/Jonathan Adam (Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9), +28.961s

4. Hector Lester/Allan Simonsen (Rosso Verde Ferrari 430), +29.362s

5. David Jones/Godfrey Jones (Preci Spark Mercedes AMG SLS), +41.753s

6. Michael Lyons/Charles Bateman (Scuderia Vittoria Ferrari 458), +43.353s

7. Duncan Cameron/Matt Griffin (Mtech Ferrari 458), +1m03.783s

8. Jim Geddie/Glynn Geddie (CRS Racing Ferrari 430), +1m06.043s

9. Iain Dockerill/Steven Kane (Chad Racing Ferrari 430), +1 lap

10. Phil Burton/Adam Wilcox (Predator CCTV Racing Ferrari 430), +1 lap

Race 2 was alot more lively, with 2 safety cars in the early stages, allowing the Race 1 pole sitter, Michael Lyons, to make progress through the field, after a qualifying infringement left the car at the back of the grid.

Westbrook held onto the lead into Old Hall at the start, but further back the KTM of Belshaw and Clutton spun causing a safety car without even a lap completed. The lengthy safety car period allowed Tom Bridgman who was caught up with the safety car and almost a lap down on the leaders, to catch up with the back of field after been let past by the safety car by the untraditional and somewhat controversial method cutting the circuit at the Foster’s circuit. This resulted in the team manager been summoned to Race Control, however, steering rack problems forced unscheduled stops for the #2 Porsche later on in the race. The car eventually finishing 5th but the race stewards demoted them to 10th as a result of his corner cutting.

The safety car was deployed a few short laps later when an accident claimed 2 Ginetta’s at Druids, with the Scuderia Vittoria Ginetta G50 and Andrew Jordan’s Team LNT Ginetta G55. Some teams utilised this safety car to make their driver changes, with some fairing better than others, especially with the new pit stop success penalties from race 1 finishing positions.

As the race resumed, the Rosso Verde Ferrari – now in the hands of Hector Lester – retained second position, ahead of the Trackspeed Porsches of David Ashburn and Gregor Fisken. David Jones’ Preci Spark Mercedes held fifth place.

In what became effectively a 30 minute sprint race, Bateman surged into the distance but a battle raged behind for the remaining podium positions.

The Mercedes was involved in further battles, this time with race 1 winner Ashburn for 2nd place, with Guasch in the Audi charging through the feld.

Ashburn passing David Jones for 4th, with Fisken the next target for the #1 Porsche. Fisken then effectively becoming a tail gunner for Ashburn from the mighty Mercedes. However, the #1 Porsche fell down the order after a 1 second stop/go penalty for not taking the right amount of success time at the pit stop. He rejoined in 6th, but worked his way forward to finish in 4th. Gaining places when Duncan Camerons charge came to a halt, literally, while running 5th on exiting the first chicane and after Tim Bridgman decided to take a trip across the grass.

In the closing minutes, the top 4 cars now spread out, with Michael Lyons and Charles Bateman closing in on their first ever British GT victory which they duly took after 36 laps, and after starting at the back of the grid.

“It’s great to get a win after we had just one day of testing before this weekend. Me and Charles are quite even on pace and we‚Äôve got to be among the favourites after this weekend.”

The Jones’ were very pleased with their result, despite finishing over 21 seconds behind the winning Ferrari.

“We didn’t think this would be the strongest circuit for the car,” David’s brother, Godfrey, said. “Oulton Park is a very tight and twisty circuit so to get a second and a fifth place finish is a good result. There are circuits that will suit the Mercedes more, so we’re very pleased”

The United Autosports Audi of Guasch and Bell, made their way back through the field after a late pit stop left them 14th, with Guasch performing a great job after taking over from Mike Bell, which earned him the Sunoco Driver of the Day award.

1. Michael Lyons/Charles Bateman (Scuderia Vittoria Ferrari 458), 36 laps

2. David Jones/Godfrey Jones (Preci Spark Mercedes AMG SLS), +21.633s

3. Mike Guasch/Matt Bell (United Autosports Audi R8), +30.411s

4. David Ashburn/Richard Westbrook (Trackspeed Porsche 997), +36.125s

5. Gregor Fisken/Tim Bridgman (Trackspeed Porsche 997), +45.222s

6. Jim Geddie/Glynn Geddie (CRS Racing Ferrari 430), +50.527s

7. Andrew Tate/Alex Mortimer (CRS Racing Ferrari 430), +1m06.906s

8. Hector Lester/Allan Simonsen (Rosso Verde Ferrari 430), +1m12.725s

9. Phil Burton/Adam Wilcox (Predator CCTV Racing Ferrari 430), +1m19.535s

10. Julian Draper/Freddie Hetherington (Century Motorsport Ginetta G50), +1m23.238s

Words: Nick Deeley
Photography: Surreal Illusions

Michael Lyons secured the first pole position of the new season with a time of 1:38.757. It was a close fight between the Ferrari and series defending champion David Ashburn in the Trackspeed Porsche.

Report: Nick Deeley
Photography: Surreal Illusions

MacGregor racing had a promising first test with their Ultima GTR at the Britcar Media Day with Adam Wilcox at the wheel alongside Jonny Macgregor.

Adam Wilcox lapped the National Circuit in 58 seconds which puts the new outfit in good steed for the Forthcoming opening Britcar Endurance Racing Championship. “It’s the first time the car has run a single lap and the team have spent 5 years building this car so I think they can all be very pleased with themselves with the outcome of the first test, it was really a chance to see if everything worked so we didnt really have any setup on the car whatsoever so when it’s all setup properly I am sure this car will be right at the front of the field”, commented Wilcox.

The Britcar Championship kicks off on the 25/26th March at Silverstone and Wilcox will again drive alongside Jonny Macgregor for the opening races.

Words: Nick Deeley
Pic: Steve Shurey