Emotional Engineering - Donington
Discussion
Griffin storms from 18th to third.
Spinning rival stops epic Monaro performance.
The wet weather of Donington Park played into the hands of the Emotional Engineering squad as driver Matt Griffin put in a storming drive to move the team's Vauxhall Monaro up the order in the second round of the Avon Tyres British GT championship to run as high as third.
Griffin made use of fine strategy and was more than a little lucky with the safety cars in an eventful two hour long race. "It was the best stint I've ever driven," enthused 23 year-old Griffin.
"It just went perfect from 18th where we qualified. The whole race suited us from start to finish and the team played a blinder all weekend. We made absolutely the right tyre choice in the difficult conditions and we were eight seconds ahead of the Marcos that finished in second. I'm gutted we didn't finish."
Team-mate Steve Hyde had no luck at all however as a rival competitor spun in front of him at the beginning of his stint. "I came out of the pits a there was a Porsche a couple of cars ahead," explains Hyde. "It had a few moments at the Craner Curves then lost it at Old Hairpin leaving me with nowhere to go but off the track."
The Monaro sustained cosmetic damage to the front in the incident, but the engine could not be restarted until a tow from a tractor was employed.
Cont/...
Spinning rival stops epic Monaro performance.
The wet weather of Donington Park played into the hands of the Emotional Engineering squad as driver Matt Griffin put in a storming drive to move the team's Vauxhall Monaro up the order in the second round of the Avon Tyres British GT championship to run as high as third.
Griffin made use of fine strategy and was more than a little lucky with the safety cars in an eventful two hour long race. "It was the best stint I've ever driven," enthused 23 year-old Griffin.
"It just went perfect from 18th where we qualified. The whole race suited us from start to finish and the team played a blinder all weekend. We made absolutely the right tyre choice in the difficult conditions and we were eight seconds ahead of the Marcos that finished in second. I'm gutted we didn't finish."
Team-mate Steve Hyde had no luck at all however as a rival competitor spun in front of him at the beginning of his stint. "I came out of the pits a there was a Porsche a couple of cars ahead," explains Hyde. "It had a few moments at the Craner Curves then lost it at Old Hairpin leaving me with nowhere to go but off the track."
The Monaro sustained cosmetic damage to the front in the incident, but the engine could not be restarted until a tow from a tractor was employed.
Cont/...
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"The car was fine when we got back on the track, and although we'd lost a few laps we could still have had a good finish," continues Hyde, "but then a Ferrari made a far too ambitious move at the chicane and used me as a brake. I drove back on to the track, but the car was crabbing so it was race over."
Part of the performance boost Emotional Engineering have discovered is due to a new engine, which was on song for the race after qualifying in 18th for the race due to incorrect engine mapping.
"Matt drove like a stunner and it shows we've made a real step forward in performance this year," said team boss Allen Orchard. "We came to Donington with it being our bogey track but I can safely say we've got that monkey of our back."
The team now have three weeks before their next event, the EERC Britcar race at Brands Hatch, the same venue where the Monaro lead the Tag Heuer 250 race on the same weekend as the first ever A1 Grand Prix in September last year.
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"The car was fine when we got back on the track, and although we'd lost a few laps we could still have had a good finish," continues Hyde, "but then a Ferrari made a far too ambitious move at the chicane and used me as a brake. I drove back on to the track, but the car was crabbing so it was race over."
Part of the performance boost Emotional Engineering have discovered is due to a new engine, which was on song for the race after qualifying in 18th for the race due to incorrect engine mapping.
"Matt drove like a stunner and it shows we've made a real step forward in performance this year," said team boss Allen Orchard. "We came to Donington with it being our bogey track but I can safely say we've got that monkey of our back."
The team now have three weeks before their next event, the EERC Britcar race at Brands Hatch, the same venue where the Monaro lead the Tag Heuer 250 race on the same weekend as the first ever A1 Grand Prix in September last year.
~ends~
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