Silverstone - Race 22nd March 2008

Click on any image for a full-size version.

All pictures on this page are copyright

Silverstone Race Report - 22nd March 2008

GTS Beats the GTs – Again

The bizarre weather conditions played an important part in the result, but it was like old times on Saturday, when Harry Handkammer and David Leslie, in the GTS Motorsport BMW M3 E36, took the win in the two-hour opening round of the Britcar Championship, on the International circuit.

Thirty-eight cars lined up for the start, some kind of record, surely, for a season opener, but there were still some significant entries missing, chief of which was the Moore Racing Viper, having been comprehensively wrecked in a testing accident on Friday. Also absent due to a testing shunt was the Xero Competition Corvette (during the week, at Oulton Park), and Andrew Tate sadly withdrew his new Mosler after Friday testing due to the lack of a co-driver. Entries from the Trident Iceni team, and Graeme Mundy’s RSS Porsche, also failed to materialise, but nevertheless there was a grid of quality, variety and depth.

The early stages of the qualifying session – in cold, and alternately cloudy and bright conditions - saw the Paul Collis/Simon Mason ex-Tech 9 Porsche 997 go fastest, with even the vastly experienced driver coach Mason admitting that he was still finding his way round in the car. They had endured some excursions during testing, necessitating the TJH team – themselves having their first foray into GT preparation, after a lifetime in rally and saloon running – to purchase a replacement door, and borrow a front valance and splitter from John Gaw’s similar machine a few garages down the pitlane.

The status quo was rapidly restored, though, as first Richard Chamberlain, then Ian Flux, topped the timing screens, before a windy, sleet storm brought a natural end to time-setting, but proved useful for acclimatisation for the potential race conditions.

So, it was the Mosler of Kevin Riley and Ian Flux, now run by Riley’s KRM outfit, on pole, at 1:23.760, a full 1.606 seconds quicker than Chamberlain’s Porsche 935 Replica, with Mark Ticehurst deputising this weekend for regular partner John Allen. Third, and just 0.048 further down, was the Trackpower TVR Sagaris, with Richard Hay boosting the driving squad of Richard Stanton and Dennis Leech. The Topcats Mosler of Andrew Beaumont and Henry Taylor, actually the factory demonstrator, was an impressive fourth, and it was good to see the Team Tiger Marcos Mantis out again, Chris Beighton and Jon Finnemore – who started their “contemporary” driving careers in Britcar, in this car, don’t forget – showing they had lost none of their old magic, lining up fifth, although as an invitation entry, they wouldn’t be racing for points. Another Marcos was sixth, the Topcats car of Mick Mercer and Richard Fores, followed by the Collis/Mason Porsche, then what was the “sister” car, the ex-Tech 9 997 of the hastily reformed Kinfaun Racing. John Gaw had intended to campaign a self-run Renault Clio in PS1 this year, but an opportunity to purchase the 997 a few days prior to the meeting proved irresistible, and, with input from old friend Phil Dryburgh, the old “Nobby’s Nuts” team was mustered, and out testing on Good Friday. Dryburgh claimed just a handful of Knockhill clubbies, and a part-drive at the Britcar Spa race last year, as his competition provenance, but was to surprise later in the day.

Class 2 pole, and ninth overall, was bagged by the anything-but 911 virgins Henry Firman and Pete Morris, then the invitation entry of eventual overall victors Handkammer and Leslie.

Another duo of Class 1 cars, and coincidentally, both father-and-son outfits – Peter and Matt Seldon’s BMW GTR struggling to get heat into the tyres, and the the McInerney’s Eclipse Mosler - were next up, followed by the Class 2 ex-RSS Porsche of Peter Heintzleman and Scott Aitken, prepped by Geoff Steel Racing, but race-managed by Jim Hersey.

Fourteenth on the grid was what could be called the race’s star entry – the Kessel Racing Ferrari 430 of Swiss rich-lister Peer Slipsager and ex-Ferrari UK boss Almo Copelli, who has a reasonable GT heritage – remember the Callaway Corvette in the fledgling BPR series, and at Le Mans?

Marc and Patrick Charlton, in the evergreen Team Wireless Lotus Elise, claimed Class 3 pole, 18th overall, and the fastest Class 4 car was the Brunswick Mazda RX7 of Giles Groombridge and Dave Ashford, 28th in the field.

Atypically way down in the mix, due to tyre choice, was the Apex Motorsport Jaguar XKR of Stuart Scott and Chris Ryan, just 26th in the line up, and stone-last was family run ex-Chad Porsche 996 of Miles Masarati and Chris Wright, the newcomers looking dejected after losing a lot of testing and qualifying running due to a Friday front-end clip with the barriers, and subsequent radiator problems.

The rapidly changing weather conditions meant that tyre choice was going to be a lottery for the two-hour race, and the grid lined-up on a mixture of rubber. This would be a good point to explain the mandatory pit-stop regulations, for they were to have a significant impact on the way the race panned out, if not the actual result.

In a two hour race; Class 1 – 2 stops of 150 secs each, Class 2 – 2 stops of 120 secs each, Class 3 – 1 stop of 120 secs, and Class 4 – 1 stop of 90 seconds.

Across the line for the first time, it was the Red and Silver Mosler just ahead of the orange Porsche, and into Copse side by side once again, then into the face of that now was a blizzard of hail, beginning to encompass the whole circuit.

That second lap saw some dramatic changes of position, identifying those who had opted for a slick-shod start, with Riley missing, and Chamberlain heading almost half the field into the pit lane for a change of rubber. Riley eventually crawled down the pit lane with the rear left bodywork hanging, and lost time while the panels were taped up. “I was in the lead, and the snowstorm hit, and I realised I was going far too fast for the conditions. I spun 180 degrees in the gravel, and clipped the barrier,” said Riley later.

Some brave souls stuck it out for another lap – Mercer in the Marcos, Pete Morris and Simon Mason in their Porsches, Alun Edwards’ Marcos and Ian Lawson’s BMW – before deciding the snow was a serious issue, but sadly one car didn’t even make the start, Dominic Evans Porsche having been taken out by a fellow competitor on the second frenetic pace lap.

Gaw, it seemed, had also been brave, for he pitted on lap 6, as the snow eased off, as did Hay for a second time – none of these stops counting as mandatory; it was far too early – leaving Copelli in front, and, bizarrely, the Heintzleman / Aitken Porsche, rear valance dragging (below), in second place, and even more bizarrely, the little Honda Civic of Tim Saunders and Gerry Cain third, and the Peter Moulsdale/Steve Kent BMW M3 fourth.

With just 11 laps completed, but nearly a quarter of the race run, the sky was now momentarily cloudless, and the safety car returned to the pitlane. The first racing lap saw some semblance of normality restored, at least inasmuch as there were GT cars at the front, for now the two M-Tech Ferrari 430s that had been, despite winter fettling by Kessel, blighted by ABS problems in qualifying, were 30 seconds back in second and third places. The two cars had started on the back half of the grid, the three Castle Combe contenders being stabilised in the team by Ferrari expert David Back, and it was the Duncan Cameron/Back car that led its team mate, driven by Jon Dhillon and Nima Khanden-Nia . The little Saunders Honda was quickly passed by an impatient Peter Seldon, who was then putting Dhillon under threat for third. Heintzleman, the man who more or less initiated circuit racing in the Middle East, was still around in sixth, followed by the sensational Miles Masarati, then Nick Beaumont in the MN Racing Peugeot 307.

By now both John Gaw and Simon Mason were men on a mission, being the fastest men on the track, but it would be much later in the race that their presence, position-wise, would be felt. Handkammer brought the GTS BMW in, slightly earlier than planned, after a clash with George Agyeton’s E46 (below), and handed over to David Leslie.

There had barely been six laps of racing before the blue skies quickly darkened, and an intense blizzard once again engulfed the circuit, causing the further intervention of the safety car. Just two laps later, the sun was again shining, but the caution period remained in force, the field going green again on lap 24, with just over an hour of the race to run.

With the Kessel Ferrari having pitted under the caution, the M-Tech twins inherited first and second, but then, as the hour approached, and still under the caution, Cameron brought the #21 car in, leaving Dhillon in the lead. A spin at Luffield saw him drop down the order, leaving Nick Beaumont’s Peugeot, a Class 4 car, with just one 90-second pit stop, in the overall lead. It was at this point that Britcar supremo James Tucker entered the press room, gesturing towards the timing screen; “That’s what these regulations do – anyone has the chance to lead the race,” he commented with a proud smile. Mark Ticehurst had earlier spun the Chamberlain Porsche, momentarily blocking the pit entrance, and it wasn’t long after this that the Chimptune team called it a day; “The gear position indicator broke on lap one, and we couldn’t carry on, so we told Mark to park it – trouble is, he parked it in the gravel,” joked Chamberlain, as the team cleared the stones from the car. 

Dhillon had re-taken the lead from Beaumont within two laps, but the #18 Ferrari was itself now due a stop, and now at the halfway mark, 28 laps in, the race began enter another of its strange phases. Just look at the leader-board now; Beaumont’s Peugeot leading, David Leslie in the GTS BMW second, the Team Tiger Marcos, hitherto not a major player, in third, and the Nero Ferrari 360 of Simon Leith and Andy Ruhan fourth. Behind them, the Team Wireless Lotus (a one-stopper), then Phil Dryburgh in the Kinfaun Porsche, the virtual novice having a stunning middle stint, and fooling the assembled media into thinking that Gaw must be in the car. Next up, the Witt Gamski/Keith Robinson Ferrari 360, the Kessel 430, the Masarati Porsche, and the Duke Video BMW M3. 

Riley and Flux? The Barrett/Persson Porsche (below)? The Seldons’ BMW? Nowhere at the moment.

Leslie made short work of passing the Peugeot, taking the lead on lap 33, and Finnemore took the Marcos through next time around. Up to this point, the gaps had been almost irrelevant – the conditions, pit-stop, and out-of-position saloon cars meaning that gaps could be slashed or widened at a stroke, but now, with the true performances and positions beginning to stabilise, it was becoming important. Leslie held just over seven seconds over Finnemore, with Beaumont over half a minute further back and still to pit, so not really in the overall hunt.

Fluxie, though, was now coming into play, as was Richard Stanton, in the Trackpower TVR Sagaris, eighth and ninth respectively, and carving through the field.

The pit-stop window – between 30% and 70% of the race distance – was coming to a close, and the two- stoppers had been filing in progressively. On the very cusp of the limit were the Team Tiger Marcos, in from a recently inherited lead, and the one-stopping Beaumont and Patrick Charlton.

Such was the pit activity amongst the leaders, lap 40 showed on the timing screen for what seemed like an eternity, but once the activity settled, Leslie, who had stayed in the BMW, was back in the lead, in front of the Tiger car, then the Barrett/Persson Class 2 Porsche, John Gaw, who had unlapped himself from Leslie with what Jeff Wyatt described as an aggressive move at Becketts, and Cameron’s Ferrari 430. But where was the Riley/Flux Mosler?

Flying, with Flux still in it, rapidly up to fifth from seemingly nowhere, with just half an hour to do the business. He had a bit of scare though, avoiding the spinning erstwhile leading Peugeot, now in the hands of Mark Clynes, the saloon ending its impressive run in the gravel, a certain class win squandered. “Driver error – I could have driven it out, but the car wouldn’t restart – the battery was flat,” rued Clynes.

The race was now well into its final quarter, and the excitement was building nicely. It was a reminder of the Britcar old days, with the GTS BMW and the Team Tiger Marcos at the head of the field, but Gaw was taking no prisoners, side-by-side with the orange Marcos across the line, sealing it with another “aggressive” move at Becketts. The Marcos, though, was ailing, smoke emitting from the exhaust, and first Flux, then Barrett’s Porsche, were past, before it pitted to retire – a sad end to a fine run.

Flux (afterwards, right, with a delighted Kevin Riley) gave Gaw a taste of his own medicine at Becketts, and set out in pursuit of Leslie, though a one-minute deficit to pull back in less than a quarter of an hour looked a big ask.

And it was. Leslie had eased off, and the gap was just over 15 seconds at the finish. There had been drama on the last lap, though, as the #21 Ferrari had got out of shape, forcing Marc Charlton’s class 3 leading Elise into a spin, beaching itself in the Becketts gravel, and losing the class win. 

Harry Handkammer was delighted, but played down the performance. “It was only because it was wet,” – but GTS team boss Tom Shephard was more lucid; “We were lucky. Harry got hit by an E46, and collected a front puncture, and a broken rear wheel. It was just as the pit stop window opened, so he came in, but, because we weren’t expecting him, the fuel wasn’t ready. We lost seven seconds on that stop.” 

Nevertheless, GTS have proved in the past, with wins over Europe, that they are the masters of the mid-length endurance race, and have still got what it takes.

Third–placed John Gaw in #8 was ecstatic; “It’s a miracle – we set the team up again in under a week, and everybody did their job. Phil, who’d never raced in the wet before, made no mistakes (though he later admitted a spin), but in these conditions, I don’t think we achieved our true potential”. More to come from Kinfaun, then.

Fourth placed Rod Barrett, taking the championship points for the Class 2 win (the GTS BMW being an invitation entry), was equally delighted; “Jan, being Swedish, just loves driving in the snow, and was in his element, singing reindeer songs over the radio. I was lucky, my stint was in the decent weather.”

The Collis/Mason Porsche came back to finish fifth overall, a fine debut, and Matt and Peter Seldon were next after an up-and-down race, enduring a smoky cockpit at one stage. An amazing sixth overall, and the Class 3 winners by a considerable margin, was the Duke Video BMW M3 of Adrian Watt and Chris Wilson. “When the safety car wasn’t out, I just pushed, pushed, pushed, and passed lots of faster cars,” said Wilson.

Witt Gamski and Keith Robinson, in the MJC Ferrari 360 were eighth, followed by the Hay/Stanton/Leech TVR Sagaris, looking good for the future. The Kessel Ferrari 430 slipped back during Slipsager’s middle stint, but still came home 10th, in front of the Firman/Morris Porsche 911, claiming the Class 2 runner-up trophies. The Apex Jaguar had a low-key race, though they did incur a stop/go penalty for a re-fuelling infringement, and Chris Ryan was seen to have a quick spin.

Lucky thirteenth overall were Miles Masarati and Chris Wright, bagging the final Class 2 trophies: “What a result - after just 10 laps of testing, and four laps of qualifying,” exclaimed Masarati.

Little has been recorded of the Topcats team in this report, and they had an unusually quiet race as far as results were concerned. The Mercer/Fores Marcos followed home the team’s Mosler, in the hands of Andrew Beaumont and Henry Taylor, a lap adrift, and the Class 2 Marcos of Jon Harrison and Charlotte Gilbert was a frequent pit visitor, coming home 31st overall.

With dropped scores forming part of the championship points systems, this was a good race to bury your bad news.

Class 4 honours fell to Ian Lawson and Mike Wilds in the #55 BMW 320i, the pair as usual getting on with the job without any histrionics, and they were a considerable distance in front of runners-up Giles Groombridge and Dave Ashford in the little Brunswick Mazda RX7, with the Saunders/Cain Honda Civic completing the class podium.

Another car that plugged away and got a good result was the Paul Phipps/Robert Day BMW M3, finishing second in Class 3. Despite their last lap retirement, Patrick and Marc Charlton had done enough to round-out the class podium.

Others to make it to the finish through the melee included Gerry Harrison, sharing his Eurotech Porsche RSR with John Bussell (18th), Mark Smith’s BMW E30, now run by John and Russ Cockburn’s JC Racing (27th), the ISL Marcos Mantis of Alun Edwards and Trevor Knight (28th) and the Xero BMW of Benett / Fothergill (29th), whilst retirements were posted by the Jemco Marcos Mantis, the McInerneys’ Mosler, and the MGA Motorsport Honda Civic of Alex Frick and Terry Flatt.

STEVE WOOD

Click Here For MST/TSL Timings For This Event