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Lights - crude, but very effective
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First came the distant rumble of thunder then came the bright lights. Night
racing GT style is an assault on the senses that has to be experienced at first
hand. Even louder than normal in the crisp night air, the GT cars provided ample
entertainment as they hurtled around the corners with a blaze of headlamps and
spotlamps. The finale to the 2001 British GT Championship was the Silverstone
night race.
Even before the race started, Colin Blower's luck ran out with his Ultima
ducking into the pit lane with smoking oil hinting at mechanical problems that
would deny him a race. On pole position was the Stealth B6, suddenly on form and
showing a clear pair of heels to the GT regulars. Followed by the Viper of
Watson and Pompidou it was refreshing to see some new cars at the front of the
field. Ian McKellar Junior made a welcome return in the TVR Cerbera Speed 12 and
snatched third place as the cars sped off into the night.
McKellar couldn't keep up with the front two however, who very quickly opened
up a commanding lead. In the GTO category it was the familiar sight of the
Rollcentre Tuscan R dicing with the leading Porsche. A brief excursion onto the
grass at Luffield left the Tuscan R down a lap however before it was fired back
into life and rejoined.
Dave Warnock was having a torrid time in the Lister Storm. Despite starting
second on the grid, by the tenth lap he was fully 26 seconds behind the awesome
Stealth.
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Stealth B6
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Tuscan R
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The Rollcentre Tuscan R was to form the centre of much of the race's drama
with the car dying on the pit straight in the hands of Rob Barff. Barff coasted
to a halt opposite the pit garage but on the right hand side of the track. After
exiting the car, it sat there for a few laps before the safety car was deployed.
Martin Short then hopped into the Tuscan and managed to bring it to life again
and set off to join the race.
The safety car coasted around the track waiting to pick up the leaders but
the leading Stealth stayed out whilst the Storm pitted. Strategy was key and the
pitstop by the Lister allowed it to gain a significant advantage whilst a later
pitstop by the Stealth still resulted in it rejoining down in 11th place. If
there's one car guaranteed to benefit from deployment of the safety car it's the
Lister Storm. Once again the cards fell into place for Lister and it led for the
rest of the race.
Martin Short caused much stress for race officials. Showing no rear lights on
the Tuscan R due to electrical gremlins he was shown the black and orange flag
for several laps which he failed to see. He then failed to see the black flag on
at least one occasion before returning to the pits to be berated by officials.
The final race of the 2001 season finished with the Lister in first, TVR
Speed 12 in second and the Viper of Wilson and Harvey in third. The Stealth made
a good comeback to finish 5th, but it was a frustrating day for the team who had
threatened to upset the status quo so dramatically.
