Brands Hatch A1GP Support Races May 2008

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Team Race Report

Saturday Race:

Serverware Racing's GTR lined-up on the grid for Saturday's race in a lowly 13th position, some what disappointing, however the laptimes set in qualifiying were the fastest the car has ever achieved around the GP circuit and with the very quick 750bhp Moslers and the Lamborghini Gallardo joining class 1 - this was a good position from which to start the race. Our qualifying time would have been good enough for pole position last year. Peter managed to gain several positions over the first half of the race, benefiting from a couple of spinners and reeling-in other positions ahead. Running in 2nd position, he came into pit halfway through the race to hand over to Matt...one of the last to pitstop. Unfortunately the front splitter had pulled away from the spoiler with the high down forces being generated, and was dragging on the road and hasty repairs were required in the pitstop. This added an extra minute to the pitstop and put us back down the field. Matt came first time around in 17th position. By the end of the race we gained a few positions and finished in 14th.

Sunday Race:

Starting 14th on the grid again, Peter hung back from the first lap melee and then upped the pace and began to pick off cars ahead - moving up to 10th position by lap 6, upto 6th by lap 11 and 3rd by lap 17, with a few cars having now pited. No delays in the pitstop this time and Matt rejoined the circuit in 8th postion and set about gaining another couple of postions. 7th postion two laps later, then overtaking the TopCats Mosler and Sumpter Porsche 911 for 5th position. With a car ahead still to pitstop, we were in an effective 4th position to finish the race. (See the Race 2 Highlights video to watch the overtaking of positions 6th & 5th). Whilst in 4th position with just 10 minutes left to run, one of the driveshafts let go and the car lost all drive. Very disappointing for the team, but overall very encouraged by the pace of the car and a 4th place finish would have felt like a win given the competition in our class that weekend.

Stop Press: Having reviewed our position, the Serverware Racing team has announced we are withdrawing the GTR from the Britcar Championship following the organiser’s decision to allow inherently faster Mosler MT900 cars in to Class 1. We are certain that a new home can be found for the car and our future plans will be announced very shortly.

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Britcar, Brands Hatch GP, A1GP Support - Race 1

Flux and Riley Take Controversial Win

Just as last year, the Saturday Britcar A1GP support race ended in chaos that led to a lengthy deliberation before the results were issued. Kevin Riley and Ian Flux, in the KRM Mosler, took the win after erstwhile leader Sean McInerney’s similar car retired with a mechanical problem.

Saturday’s packed programme allowed just thirty minutes for qualifying – the first session of the day’s activities - but the Mick Mercer’s Topcats Marcos Mantis was sadly going nowhere, grinding to a halt on its out-lap with differential failure. This was fixed during the morning, and they would line-up at the back of the grid.

Alex Mortimer, in the Moore Racing Viper, set the bar initially in the 1:39s, but there was a lot more to come from everybody, somewhere around 1:27 being the target for the Mosler brigade. John Gaw wound up the Kinfaun Porsche 997 and posted a 1:33, then the Cadena Aston Martin, Gavan Kershaw at the wheel, brought it down to 1:31.

Progress was halted by yellow flags when Kevin Clarke’s BMW M3 clashed with the Nero Ferrari 360 of Simon Leith, the Maranello machine needing a lot of work to make it race-ready after hitting the barriers with both ends, on both sides of the track. At this point, welcome invitation runners (and former Britcar regulars), Chris Beighton and Jon Finnemore in the Team Tiger Marcos Mantis had held third, but, as the session progressed, the new order rose to the top, with the Moslers of first, Sean McInerney, then Henry Taylor’s Topcats entry, then Flux, posting provisional pole. McInerney grabbed it back before the 30 minutes were up - 1:27.357 confirming the original target was realistic.

Sadly, the Mark Clynes/Nick Beaumont Peugeot 307, despite a rush to fix a transmission problem, expired during the session with a blown engine, as did the Cadena Aston Martin. Neither would start the race.

The windscreen strips for the weekend’s Britcar races were sponsored by Witt Gamski’s MJC business, and Witt was also using the event to promote the Teens Unite cancer charity, which specialises in providing care for the particular concerns and issues required by teenagers with life-threatening illnesses. Big man, big heart.

A lunchtime slot was allocated for the 50-minute race, on a beautifully sunny afternoon. Sean McInerney would be racing alone this weekend in the Eclipse Mosler, father Michael visiting his sick mother in Ireland, and Kevin Riley, alongside on the front row of the grid, started the KRM machine. Row two had the Topcats Mosler of Andrew Beaumont, and old campaigner Richard Chamberlain in the orange Porsche 935 replica. These shorter races, with just one mandatory 60-second pit-stop for everybody, are a boon for the thirsty, tyre-numbing beast, and Chamberlain would be going it alone, minimising disruption. Another going alone, for this race at least, was Paul Hogarth in the In2 Racing Lamborghini Gallardo. James Pickford set the time, and would drive alone in Sunday’s race. This shared row three with the Racesport TVR Sagaris, the steamy end to its qualifying run heralding no problem that couldn’t be fixed by Dennis Leech and his team. Richards Hay and Stanton shared the car, with Hay starting.



Row four saw the Moore Racing Viper, with Mike Gardiner starting, more than three seconds shy of the pole -sitting Mosler, then the impressive Beighton/Finnemore Marcos, proving the Tigers have lost none of their growl. Andrew Tate, dissatisfied with his Mosler, had returned it to Rollcentre, and was back in his Porsche 997, and, with Aaron Scott starting, headed row four alongside welcome visitors Phil Bennett and Michael Vergers, in Nigel Mustill’s Opel V8 Star.

Other notable invitation entries on the 44-car grid included a full-on effort from RSS Performance, with regulars Graeme Mundy and Steve Hyde being joined in a second car by George Mackintosh and Calum Lockie, having his first race since breaking has ankle in July last year, and the Paragon-liveried Eurotech Porsche GT3 of Adrian Slater and Mark Sumpter. The Moore Racing Masarati Trofeo was having its maiden race, with Paul Fenton and Rob Hedley driving, and Dominic Lesniewski at last got the much-vaunted Porsche 968 onto the grid. Howard Spooner was trying out his Morgan Aero 8 – a new build this, not a re-vamp of an existing car, with a view to further races. Oliver Bryant was an interested onlooker.

Through the classes, pole for Class 2 went to Peter Heintzelman and Scott Aitken in the Seven Energy Porsche, followed by the similar Hawthorns machine, with Rod Barrett and Jan Persson perhaps introducing their “secret weapon” Jay Shepherd during the weekend, and Class 3 pole was bagged, despite the clash with the Ferrari, by the Clarke/Gibson BMW. A disgruntled Mike Wild’s secured Class 4 pole in the BMW 320i that would be started by Ian Lawson, rueing the lack of power.

As the cars set-off on their pace lap, Andrew Beaumont stalled the Topcats Mosler, and had to pick his way through the weaving bunch to regain his grid slot, and there were further woes for the team, As Mercer’s Marcos failed yet again, coming to rest on the grass infield of the Indy circuit around Surtees – a further diff problem was later diagnosed, though this time an alignment issue.

McInerney converted pole to the race lead as the lights went green with Riley behind and a fast-starting Chamberlain slotting into third. Riley slipped back into the clutches of the orange Porsche in the opening laps, then was passed by Beaumont. Behind these, Gardiner, in the Viper, was staving off Finnemore’s Marcos; the Moore Racing machine was soon pitbound though, to retirement, the crankshaft sensor bracket fractured.

The action through the field was close - an early clash saw Heintzleman’s Seven Energy Porsche into the gravel, and make an unscheduled pit stop – and a tight midfield bunch included Hyde, in the RSS Porsche, vying for track space with Chris Ryan’s Apex Motorsport Jaguar XKR. A quick spin for Jon Harrison in the heavyweight Class 2 Topcats Mantis and it was on its way again, then, as 15 minutes elapsed, and with the pit-stop window just clicking open, Riley and Beaumont brought their Moslers in for the driver change. Chamberlain admitted after the race that he had been keeping a weather eye on whatever the KRM car was doing, and dived in too next time around, behind leader McInerney. This left Hay, in the Sagaris, in the lead followed by Vergers, the Tigers Marcos, Aaron Scott’s Porsche, Hogarth in the Lamborghini, then John Gaw.

With most teams electing to take their stops around the mid-point of the race, Hay let them all do their business before he came in, 18 laps on the board, and the pit lane less busy than it had been a few minutes earlier. Sean McInerney regained the lead at this point, followed in second by yet-to-stop Peter Seldon, his BMW GTR now re-assigned to Class 1 after a frustrating Friday test where it was choked and aligned to Class 2. Third now was Ryan’s Apex Jaguar, another yet to stop, though, with the pit-stop window now closing, the order behind the leader would change again next time round.

And so it did – we had McInerney, Chamberlain, and Flux as the top three, with Sean around a quarter of a minute clear of the other two, who were disputing the runner up spot through intense traffic, the experienced pair giving a masterful display. It all changed on lap 24, when Flux took Chamberlain down the inside at Paddock, held that inside line on the run up to Druids, but then got baulked at the hairpin, luckily hanging on to the place. What Flux didn’t know at this point was that he was now the leader as McInerney, just entering the GP loop from the Indy circuit, had spun and stalled, facing the wrong way on the grass against the barrier. With a small fire starting in the car, Sean was urged to vacate the stricken machine by the marshals, and Eclipse boss John Griffiths explained after the race; “It was a 50p accelerator spring which broke and he got too much power when he accelerated away from Surtees, then the starter motor burnt out trying to restart”.

Also out of the race now were Dominic Lesniewki, the gearbox on the Porsche 968 given out after an encouraging run, and Howard Spooner’s Morgan; “I scooped some grass into the front, and it just got hotter and hotter” he said.

A tyre problem for Hogarth saw him make an unscheduled pit stop, though a suspected puncture was diagnosed as pick-up, and he was on his way again, beginning a recovery drive that was to be the highlight of the latter part of the race. Rejoining 15th, and with just 10 minutes of the race left, scything past Andrew Tate’s Porsche, Calum Lockie’s similar RSS car, Matt Seldon’s GTR ,and finally Simon Mason’s Porsche, to claim 11th as the flag fell.

And the flag falling was a story in itself, and the controversy alluded to in the opening remarks of this report. Arguably, a clash at Clearways, between Rod Barrett’s Class 2 Porsche 996, and Gerry Harrison’s RSR could be seen as the catalyst of the ensuing drama, but those watching the bizarre sequence of events as the winner took the flag weren’t to know that. Flux positively cruised across the line, hugging the pit wall, with Giles Groombridge’s Mazda RX7, five laps down, but neck-and-neck with the Mosler, at about the same speed, on the opposite side of the track. In the middle of the track, racing to the line to secure the Class 3 victory was Chris Wilson in the Duke Video BMW M3, who then slowed in the confusion of seeing two cars in front of him crawling past the chequered flag. Close behind – very close behind by this point - are Leigh Smart’s Ginetta G50 and Richard Gomes in the Topcats Marcos, disputing seventh in class to the end. This was a motorway shunt type of crash, the Marcos nudging the Ginetta, which then ploughed into the back of the Duke BMW, which in turn caught the rear of the Mazda. Joining in too was the Seven Energy Porsche, Scott Aitken picking up the residual debris and collecting the Ginetta, the pair of them ending up in the Armco by the pit exit, with by far the worst damage from the sorry incident.

Opinions and accounts from those involved varied, and video evidence was utilised by the clerk to determine the cause. Flux’s account was considered plausible, certainly as an action, if not intent and is used to explain here; “ I came over the rise into Clearways to see a cloud of dust, an orange Porsche in the gravel, and waved yellow flags. I nailed the brakes, but still sailed past the Mazda. Conscious that I had passed under yellows, I needed to let the Mazda back past before I got to the line, and I slowed, and slowed, but he just didn’t come.”

After more than four hours of deliberation, no penalties were issued for the incident, and the result stood. So that’s Riley/Flux, Chamberlain, and Stanton/Hay as the top three overall, and in Class 1.

For the Class 2 victor, we go down to 16th overall, and our old friend Henry Firman in the Jaz Motorsport/911virgin.com Porsche 911. Now without Pete Morris as co-driver, and expecting a new recruit for the next meeting, Henry had stealthily threaded his way through from an atypically low grid slot, and finished nearly six seconds in front of the Ferrari 360 of Simon Leith and Andy Ruhan, which the JMH Automotive team had rebuilt after the qualifying disaster, and which had started from the back of the grid. The invitation entry of Kevin Clarke and Wayne Gibson claimed third in class, though the points were bagged by fourth-placed Barrett/Persson.

Class 3 was won, despite the final brouhaha, by Chris Wilson, alone in the Duke Video M3, then Mark Smith, also going solo, in the JC Racing BMW E30, with the Peter Mousdale/Steve Kent E46 in third.

Just the two finishers in Class 4; The Brunswick Mazda RX7 had done enough, in the hands of Giles Groombridge and Dave Ashford, to win the class, though runner-up Mike Wilds was bitterly disappointed to be the last finisher in the misfiring BMW E46 he shared with Ian Lawson.

STEVE WOOD

Britcar, Brands Hatch, A1GP Support - Race 2

Sean McInerney Eclipses The Field

It may have been at the end of a long and exciting day for the AIGP fans, who saw Briton Robbie Kerr triumph on his home ground, but many stayed to see what must have been one of the best Britcar races ever. Sean McInerney in the Eclipse Mosler, a retiree in the previous day’s race, came from 40th on the quality grid to win the 50-minute race by over three seconds.

The grid was set by Saturday’s race results, with the non-finishers starting at the back, so all eyes would be on McInerney, Mick Mercer (Marcos), and Mike Gardiner in the Moore Viper, who would all have to carve their way through the field.

John Allen, starting Chamberlain’s Porsche, got bogged-down at the green lights and Henry Taylor wasted no time in slotting the Topcats Mosler into the gap, making it three abreast with Riley’s Mosler and Stanton in the Sagaris as they powered up towards the first corner. There was a fair amount of nudging and nerfing in the opening seconds, with Allen’s slow start catching those behind out, including James Pickford driving alone in the In2 Racing Lamborghini and John Gaw’s Porsche.

In a hectic first lap, Taylor, Riley and Stanton all had a possibility of taking the lead, and possibly each actually did at some point, but in front as they emerged into Clearways from the GP loop was, surprisingly, Phil Bennett in the Opel V8 Star. Sean McInerney came by 21st – one lap, 19 positions made.

The next lap was equally hectic, with Beighton in the Team Tiger Mantis relieving Taylor for fourth, and Pickford passing them both to seize third place from Stanton. Andre D’Cruze had a storming first lap in the Geoff Steel BMW GTR but was sadly out of the race already, having lost a wheel at Stirlings.

Phew – lap three – Pickford takes Riley for second, and is only 3.6 seconds shy of Bennett in the lead.

Wow – lap four – well, the start of lap five really, and Taylor’s Mosler / Beighton’s Marcos swoop as a pair down the inside of Stanton’s TVR as they crest Paddock Hill Bend. There is a large and appreciative audience, and the guys are putting on a show. McInerney is now on terms with the Class 1 contingent, and posts the fastest lap of the race so far as he takes Witt Gamski, having an impressive run in the Ferrari 360 for ninth.

John Allen had by now retired the Porsche 935: “There’s a gear selection problem and I couldn’t get second of the line, then I couldn’t find a gear out on the long circuit and got punted off, I don’t know who by”. A gearbox problem also saw Paul Collis call a premature end to his stint in the TJH Porsche. A puncture for Rod Barrett in the Hawthorns Porsche, and a spin for Wayne Gibson in Kevin Clarke’s BMW added to the list of incidents.

Andrew Tate’s race came to an end, too, the Porsche stricken in the gravel, and, since they were both called to see the Clerk of the Course later, it’s a fair bet that George Agyeton’s BMW may have been involved too. By now, McInerney was up to 7th and he then, in the course of three laps, dispensed with Mark Sumpter’s Eurotech Porsche, Stanton in the TVR, Henry Taylor’s Mosler, and the Team Tiger Marcos. Next time round it was Riley’s turn, and despite the wily old campaigner’s robust defence, the Eclipse car was past and in pursuit of the leading duo. Pickford had actually got onto terms with Bennett’s V8 Star, the gap being less than a second before Bennett used the traffic to his advantage, doubling the time difference.

Somewhat overshadowed by McInerney’s meteoric progress, but no less creditable, had been the performance of the other two back-grid starters, Gardiner and Mercer. Both had rose steadily through the field, and were now 14th and 15th respectively, but the luckless Gardiner hit problems again and the Viper was retired 10 laps in with a misfire.

Riley was pit bound as soon as the window was open, as was Pickford, wanting to get it out of the way; little did he know then that it wouldn’t be for the only time. McInerney now smelt the lead and was getting impatient in traffic, flashing his headlights in true LMS style.

Possibly due to the kerfuffle surrounding Saturday’s race, the men in serious trousers were taking an earnest look at driving standards and were dishing out stop/go penalties with impunity. Significant amongst those to receive one of these was James Pickford, for passing under yellows, then to further compound his misery, he picked up a puncture. That’s two stops then for the man who ten minutes ago had been challenging for the lead.

Simon Leith had been leading Class 2, but now his race was over, the MJH Ferrari 360 embedded in the gravel at Druids. And now, with McInerney having stopped already, it was around the half-way mark and time for Bennett to hand the Opel silhouette to Michael Vergers. The flying Dutchman exited the pit lane to rejoin just in front of the Eclipse Mosler, the pair now fifth and sixth respectively, with a quartet of non-stoppers in front of them; Stanton, Beighton, Steve Hyde’s RSS Porsche, and Peter Seldon’s BMW GTR.

So, Vergers and McInerney was the battle for the virtual lead, and the pair, very good friends, and car-sharers in the 24 hours, made some semblance of a fight out of it, but in the end it was a classic and quite easy move down the inside at Paddock. “I left the door open a couple of times, but he didn’t take it; in the end, I had to let him through, or he may have taken me off” said a resigned Vergers after the race.

Once the stops had all been taken, and the race settled, Sean McInerney emerged with a clear lead – nearly eight seconds - over Vergers, who was less than two seconds in front of Flux. Matt Seldon, having relieved father Peter in the family GTR, had come to a stop on the circuit, vacating a fine fifth place. “We think it’s a drive shaft” said Peter, adding “We’re pleased with the performance though, and I think we were in line for fourth today”, as the TV camera panned in on his son sitting dejectedly by a marshals’ post.

The final 10 minutes highlighted several spirited tussles. First there was the fight for second place, Vergers and Flux side-by-side, nose-to-tail, both using all the tricks they knew, but it was at Surtees, and with the unwitting help of a down-on-power Mike Wilds, that Fluxie clinched it. Then there was the fight for fourth – Graeme Mundy and Mark Sumpter, disputing their Porsches before Jon Finnemore’s Tiger Mantis pounced on both of them, Sumpter cheekily using the move to sneak past Mundy himself. In Class 3, Adrian Watt’s Duke Video BMW M3 was using all of the kerbs, and kicking up the dust, trying to stay in front of Mark Smith’s older E30 machine.

It wasn’t just spirited tussles but spirited drives too, particularly from James Pickford, who, having stopped three times, was taking no prisoners, picking off Mundy, Sumpter, and Finnemore in a single lap, then unlapping himself from second-placed Flux with a great move on what would be the final lap of the race.

Expectant father Sean McInerney dedicated his win to his grandmother, whose health was reported to be improving. “I had to get the bit between my teeth in the early laps, and get through the traffic, but after the pit stop I had a clear run,” he summarised.

The Topcats Mantis eventually came home sixth, salvaging something from the weekend; “We had no plan other than to go flat out. Mick brought the car in from 15th position, and more or less told me to crash it or win,” admitted Richard Fores, whilst the MJC Ferrari 360 struggled to make 11th; “There was no grip – it was like driving on black ice” rued Keith Robinson.

Class 2 honours fell once again to lone driver Henry Firman, in the Jaz Motorsport Porsche 911.”A back-to-back double,” he proclaimed, adding, “It just came to me – you could say I’m reasonably happy.” Dominic Evans and Steve Bell sneaked past Miles Masarati/Chris Wright to claim the class runner-up spot on the final lap and, whilst George Agyeton bagged the Class 3 win as an invitation entry, the points-scoring position went to Adrian Watt after that pitched battle with Mark Smith.

Mike Wilds and Ian Lawson may have taken the Class 4 victory in the BMW 320i, but the ex-F1 AND Le Mans star was still less than happy; “ It’s still not got the power – I’m four seconds off the pace I should be at. The Brunswick Mazda RX7 of Groombridge/Ashford was the class runner-up.

STEVE WOOD