Brands Hatch Night- Race 10th November 2007

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Britcar Night Race Report - Brands Hatch, 10th November

Aston Thriller

Barwell Motorsport showed their class on Saturday evening, when Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker took the team’s Aston Martin DBRS9 to a convincing win, and Mark Lemmer shared his newly-sold Honda Integra DC5 with new owner Mike Brown to head the saloon contingent home. The 91 minute race (yes, 91 minutes), wasn’t a dull exhibition of supremacy, however, as three significant front-runners, not least of which was the eventual winner, had to claw their way back up the order after early dramas.

It was a long day leading up to the evening’s action, and with the EERC using the out-of-championship event to shake-down the 2008 regs., there was no reportable controversy with the weigh-ins and data-logging issues that took place. The rule changes were the reason for the welcome return of the KB Automotive MG ZR of Gary Smith and Stuart Plotnek, who had abandoned their disastrous 2007 campaign early after a succession of engine problems, and getting caught in other people’s accidents. “The new regs. allow us to run the 1800cc engine competitively, so Gary has now bought the car from Mick Mercer, and we’re in for 2008,” said Stuart Plotnek, who has been keeping his hand in by competing in MG races.

With the late-afternoon light fading, the first 15 minutes of the 45-minute practice session were designated as daytime qualifying, in which the grid positions would be determined, then, when dusk took hold, the final half hour would be night practice.

It was a fraught 15 time-setting minutes, with Mike Gardiner, in the Moore Racing Chrysler Viper, initially topping the timing screens, before being pipped by Jonny Cocker in the Aston.

So, the BGT refugees filled the front row, with Cocker on 47.587 (with Drayson starting the race), and Gardiner on 47.936. Behind them had been a free-for-all between four cars, which was eventually resolved in favour of the Mick Mercer / Richard Fores Marcos Mantis, just over half a second shy of pole, but only 0.011 in front of the BMW M3 GTR of father-and-son duo Peter and Matt Seldon.

These two made up row two, followed by the Quaife Porsche 996 of Supercup and FIA GT3 star Phil Quaife, and in-demand young-gun journeyman Phil Keen, alongside the Team Nero Ferrari 360 of Aaron Scott and rapidly-improving Andy Ruhan, Scott at one point having had the car in the top three. Filling the fourth row was the Intersport BMW M3 GTR of Kevin Clarke and Iain Donaldson, and Britcar returnee Henry Firman, sharing his familiar gunmetal 911virgin.com Porsche 996 with burly midlands construction magnate Pete Morris.

Ninth fastest was the Topcats TVR Tuscan – the two-seater trackday hack - of team boss Warren Gilbert and Rob Wilson, and here hangs a salutary lesson for any would-be journalists; firstly, assume nothing, and secondly, check before writing, for it turns out that Rob Wilson was not the Rob Wilson of Jenson Button tutor and Edison Lighthouse notoriety, but in fact regular Topcats assistant Rob, who, having got the taste from a couple of trackdays, is now locked into the flavour, and was having his first-ever outing, in the dark, in the difficult Tuscan. Rob would be starting the car, and alongside him was the third Topcats car on the grid, the Marcos Mantis of Jon Harrison and Caterham expert Andy Beaumont. The similar Jemco machine had been re-engined before the weekend, and the regular pairing of Kevin Hancock and Leigh Smart placed the car 11th, sharing the sixth row with the first of the saloons, the venerable Metcalfe Motorsport BMW E30 of Mark Smith and Max Ferrari. The Lemmer / Brown Integra was 13th, followed by Essex boys Dave Shelton and Iain Dockerill, sharing the black BMW Z3 “breadvan”, entered by Kockney Koi, but in fact a full-on Chad Motorsport effort.

Jovial enthusiastic amateur Angus Dawe had Phil Bennett helping out as co-driver, and Angus would be starting his BMW M3 from 15th, next to the newer E46 320i of Ian Lawson and Mike Wilds.

Row nine saw the Smith / Plotnek MG ZR line up alongside the Daniels Motorsport Honda Civic of Jamie Ackers and Andy Neate, and, atypically on their own at the back – but, in a field of such class, somebody had to be – were Nigel Greensall and Jono Coleman, sharing Dave Shelton’s BMW M3.

Event Director Dave Scott’s precise timing had been respected by competitors and officials alike during the day’s programme, and, exactly on cue, the field set off on two pace laps for a 91-minute race that would see engines switched off within seconds of the 18.30 curfew.

It was Gardiner, in the Viper, who seized the initiative as the close-packed field blasted across the line, and has they went through Paddock, Drayson’s Aston slewed into the gravel; “Over excited / cold tyres / too fast / couldn’t see,” was the litany of reasons the personable peer later gave to commentator Brian Jones, and the knock-on effect of the spin was that the closely-following Peter Seldon, by his own admission “sucked in” by the incident, was forced to take to the gravel himself, although, hugging a line close to the Armco, he tiptoed out unscathed, rejoining just in front of the recovering Drayson. So, the Aston and the GTR, once in the vanguard, were now in the guards van, with the front runners already down the hill from Druids and away.

The first couple of laps was a very close procession, with Gardiner, Mercer’s Marcos, Quaife’s Porsche, Donaldson in the Intersport BMW, and Aaron Scott’s Ferrari virtually nose to tail. Scott was the first to try to break the deadlock, getting alongside Donaldson into Paddock at the start of the fourth lap. Side-by-side down through the exit of the corner, and up the hill to Druids, it was difficult to tell in the darkness which of the two black cars actually held the advantage, but as they came through Graham Hill Bend there was contact, and the BMW spun onto the grass on the outside of the corner, back across the track, and then scrabbled along the slippery grass of Cooper Straight before regaining the track. Pitting for checks, Donaldson was thankfully on his way again, but was now another man on a mission.

Back at the front, Mercer was hanging on to the Viper’s tail, and, with eight laps gone, took the lead. The leading quartet, with Quaife and Scott behind the Viper and Marcos, had little more than a quarter of a second between each other, and were already scything through the back markers, whilst, on the recovery front, Seldon was 8th, and Drayson 9th, but Donaldson, having pitted, was the penultimate runner.

Pete Morris had been contesting fifth place with Jon Harrison, but the Cup-class Porsche and Marcos couldn’t stave off the fired-up Seldon in his GTR – now the fastest car on track - and, once the blue BMW was past, Drayson got the bit between his teeth, and soon followed through. Any further progress, though, was brought to a temporary halt by the intervention of the safety car, on lap 28. Kevin Hancock had parked the Jemco Marcos Mantis on the grass at the entrance to Paddock Hill Bend, leaving the marshals to put out a considerable conflagration.

“Something broke, a drive shaft or propshaft, and whilst it was flailing round it severed the fuel line. Flames were leaping up in the cockpit, so I was out of there pretty quickly,” he said back at the pits.

With the safety car expertly picking up the leader, and the front runners luckily having no lapped cars between them, the business-end of the field were now back in touch with each other, but, with the first half-hour ticking over, and the pit-window opening (30-70% of the race distance), it was an opportune time for the mandatory pit stops, so on lap 33, Mercer, Gardiner, and Drayson all came in, leaving Quaife in the lead. Next time round, Quaife himself pitted, joining the other Class 1 cars in their 150-second pit stops.

This has all been about GT cars thus far, so, with the field under caution, perhaps a good time for a round-up of the saloon classes. Class 4 had the upper hand here, Mark Lemmer’s Barwell Honda Integra having been shadowed by Mark Smith in the BMW E30 for much of the early part of the race, but the pair now split by Dave Shelton’s ex-Hawthorns BMW Z3, the Class 3 leader. Gary Smith’s MG ZR, Ian Lawson’s BMW 320i, and Jamie Ackers in the Honda Civic were split by a couple of GT runners – the recovering Donaldson, now up to 13th, and newcomer Wilson, manfully taming the Tuscan in 15th. Angus Dawe’s BMW M3, and the strangely struggling similar (#48) car of Jono Coleman completed the field.

Lap 36, and after 12 safety car laps, the field went green again, and Aaron Scott had assumed the lead, with Peter Seldon second, Jon Harrison in the Marcos third, and Pete Morris fourth, none having pitted under the luxury of the caution period. The “virtual” leaders, Richard Fores (from Mercer), Paul Fenton (for Gardiner), and Jonny Cocker (taken over from Drayson), were seventh, ninth, and tenth respectively.

Peter Seldon pitted on lap 41, handing the BMW GTR over to son Matt, with 52 minutes, and still more than half the race, left. Jon Harrison and Pete Morris left it a little later, as did saloon protagonists Lemmer and Smith, the two faster drivers of their teams pitting simultaneously, and leaving around half the race for their less experienced team mates to contest. Lemmer, in fact, had capitalised on the Honda’s pace through the leader’s long pit stops, and was lying second overall when he brought the car in.

Scott stayed out in the Ferrari, and Fores, second in the Topcats Marcos, and in reality the leader-in-waiting, was coming under pressure from Jonny Cocker in the Aston, the youngster punching in the race’s fastest lap, a 48.321, on lap 42, as he made his pursuit. Showing signs of impatience and agitation, he was finally past the Mantis just as Aaron Scott finally made his mandatory stop, thus moving the Aston Martin into the lead.

Fores stayed in touch for a good many laps, though, before accepting that chasing the Aston Martin was a lost cause. A grudging acceptance, it would seem, judging by his demeanour when he related the tale; “I hung on for about 20 laps, but I could see he still had some in reserve, and then (Topcats race strategist) Keith told me to keep to a reasonable pace.”

Phil Keen had relieved Phil Quaife earlier, but, on lap 64, and with around 30 minutes of the race left, the white Porsche was driven down the pit lane and straight into the garage.

“Gear selection problems, could be the cable,” said Mike Quaife, emerging from under the car, whilst a fired-up Quaife junior barked “Let’s change it, let’s get back out there and prove a point”. Just what point was to be proved would be revealed by Mike after the race.

With a quarter of an hour left to run, Cocker was now a steady quarter of a minute ahead of Fores, with Fenton’s Viper safe in third, albeit three laps down on the leading pair.

Late-race interest was being provided by Kevin Clarke, who had been carving through the field in the 6-cylinder ersatz BMW GTR, and, having finally taken Andy Ruhan in the Nero Ferrari 360, was heading the Class 2 runners in fourth overall. Matt Seldon, having got a hurry-up message from the team when lying eighth, was mounting an impressive charge in the family GTR.

The closing minutes saw Nigel Greensall’s low-key race come to a smoky end as he parked the BMW up on the escape road behind the pits, and the Quaife Porsche reappear for the four final laps, and, with 103 laps chalked up (how many championships can claim to do 100+ laps of Brands Hatch?) Jonny Cocker took the flag in the Aston Martin, now over 34 seconds in front of Fores’ Topcats Mantis, with Fenton in the Moore Racing Viper keeping hold of third. Kevin Clarke had made a sensational recovery from the early clash and pit stop, first in Class 2 and fourth overall making up for the troubled year that he and Iain Donaldson have had in the Intersport BMW.

Fifth overall, and just off the Class 1 podium, was scant reward for the efforts of Peter and Matt Seldon, though, but the pair were buoyed by the new-found reliability since switching teams, which augurs well for next season.

Henry Firman moved up to the runner-up spot in Class 2, capitalising on the good work of Pete Morris in the early stages - the old firm's back in business - but series newcomer Andy Beaumont was glued to his tail in the Topcats Mantis started by Jon Harrison, the pair crossing the line just half a second apart. Such was their battle, they passed Andy Ruhan, in the erstwhile race-leading Nero Ferrari 360, as one in the closing stages.

Relative novice Mike Brown, a race engineer for Barwell Motorsport, gave an impressive performance in his newly acquired #60 Honda Integra, and finished the best of the saloons, winning Class 4, and co-driver / team boss Mark Lemmer was quick to sing his praises “This was Mike’s first time in a race of this standard, and I’ve got to hand it to him, he did an outstanding job, he was brilliant.” Good signs for next season regarding the Smith / Plotnek MG ZR, for the car held together to give them second in class, and, despite breaking a drive shaft on the final lap, the HWR Motorsport BMW 320i of Ian Lawson completed the top Class 4 podium.

The Kockney Koi BMW Z3 has finally found its form, two wins in Open Saloon races at Snetterton the previous week preceding the Class 3 win for Dave Shelton and Iain Dockerill in #13, with Angus Dawe and Phil Bennett, in the former’s M3 being the only other class finisher.

Despite coming out to complete the race at racing speed, the Quaife / Keen Porsche 996 was not a classified finisher, but was that much-vaunted point proved?

Yes, according to Mike Quaife, as he held up a gearshift cable on which the cable strands had become detached from the ferrule, causing it to jam. “We were keen to show that it was the cable, not the Quaife gearbox, that was faulty, because when a team reports gear selection problems, and retire the car, people naturally think it was a gearbox problem.”

So, a win for Paul Drayson in his last race on British soil – or was it?

“Oh, no, I’ll be coming back for some British races next year,” he said, adding, “I just love racing in Britcar, and, if the date doesn’t clash, and it could all come together, I’d really like to do the Britcar 24 hours.”

Mick Mercer was magnanimous in defeat; “We had no night running in Friday’s test, because we broke a drive shaft, and I could see there was no way we were going to keep up with Jonny. Tonight, I’m just glad to be best of the rest.”

A long and busy winter now, until the 2008 Championship begins at Silverstone next March.
STEVE WOOD